Let's be blunt and right to the point in a somewhat formal and informal manner.
I'm not afraid to disagree with people, openly debate, and be active at this Catholic institution. In addition to being an atheist, I consider myself to be an anti-theist - a person who is in active opposition to theism. I'm vocal because I believe that Christianity is not only false and unsubstantiated, but it's also often very harmful to society and to individuals at a personal level. Please don't misconstrue my position as "hating religious people" because this clearly isn't the case.
I've received a tremendous amount of hate from various King's College students and many others who are very rude, ridiculous, and not willing to actually look at the issues. Many people haven't heard arguments from atheists before and many are simply afraid. Some people just want me to shut up. Whatever.
It's probably odd to expect that an atheist would be vocal at a Catholic school...and it certainly is. Unfortunately, I'm often marginalized, stigmatized, and hated because people simply don't know what I stand for and hold many false assumptions.
Why am I at a Catholic college, you ask? When I first arrived at King's, I was a theist who went to CCD classes, received the sacraments, etc. As I progressed through my college career, I noticed that my faith was very shaky and that it was very important to see if Christianity was correct and that I was correct in believing that God exists. A very good friend of mine challenged my faith and I was compelled to ask myself "Is this true? Should I dedicate my life to something like this?" After months of research, I came to the conclusion that there is no good reason to suggest that Christianity is true. After taking this position, I quickly found that theism is very harmful as I saw more and more instances and could not be quiet about this.
I'm here to be educated and have a great year, just like you are. Many people come from various backgrounds. Many people have different ideas about politics, musical taste, sports teams, restaurants, etc. You probably have a hobby and a field of expertise that you devote a significant amount of time to. I'm probably just like you, but I speak up about my "cause."
I don't only limit myself to religion. I blog about philosophy, critical thinking, gay rights, politics, etc. I enjoy playing board and card games. I enjoy playing D&D. I have many interests. I'm a nice guy. People try to villify me for whatever reason (they hate me, they don't have real arguments so they resort to personal attacks, etc).
If you truly want to learn about me and my positions, you can easily read my blog, meet me in person, follow me on Facebook and have a genuine conversation before jumping to wild conclusions and hating me just because I don't believe in a god and I'm vocal about my unbelief. You can also be like many other students and be willfully ignorant and spread a campaign of hate. Send the hate mail and make yourself look really stupid.
I really enjoy being at King's College. I love going to classes. I love attending public forums. I'll be sad when I graduate this year because I don't want to leave. I want to make this last year better than all the others and contribute to the King's College community by encouraging critical thinking, thinking for yourself, and learning as much as possible for the sake of learning and personal development.
I'm not really interested in hearing people making snide remarks about me and seeing hate groups on Facebook made by King's College students. Instead of this, I'd rather have honest and fair discussion. Wouldn't you? If you held a position that was contrary to that of others and were vocal about it, wouldn't you want to be treated with respect and have other people actually listen and understand what you have to say even if they disagree?
I'm not out there to be a jerk or to make people feel stupid. I'm out there to use my voice, encourage people to think, and challenge people to make reasoned decisions for themselves. If you can't handle that, then you might as well just live in a cave and never come out. Beliefs should exist because of good reason, not because you just want to believe. If you don't have good reason for your beliefs, you should think again.
I'm not an inflammatory person at all. I try to be as charitable as possible in discussions and present a reasoned case for my positions. I've been blogging for more than a year now and have extensively studied the issues that I enjoy discussing. If you want to learn something, my blog is a great place to learn. If you disagree, feel free to comment.
The choice is yours...be informed or be ignorant.
- Justin Vacula
You are well beyond your years my friend.. :)
ReplyDeleteHi Justin, this is Mike from the interfaith group. I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask a philosophical question, but I'd like your thoughts on how 'humanism' can avoid being a quasi-religious position even if one attaches the word 'secular' to it. There is, after all, no empirical evidence as such for 'human rights' and all that implies - none that I am privy to, anyway. When asked questions along the lines of 'where do human rights come from' and 'what is their nature' and 'why should we believe in and follow them', it seems that we will ultimately find ourselves empty handed. Moreover, isn't 'humanity' something of a non-empirical metaphysical universal to begin with? How does one avoid, in the final analysis, adhering to humanism in a religious way? I'd be interested in your thoughts on this whenever you get the time.
ReplyDeletePeace to you,
Mike
Mike,
ReplyDeleteThe difference between humanism and theistic beliefs is that there is no personification of an outside agency to the actions involved. Humanism makes no claim of a force that is unverifiable through current means.
Human rights, depending on outlook, are established by consensus of the people involved. Conflict arises through this, depending on the culture. Then again, such conflict arises between the rights of those of different faiths that assume rights come from a deific source.
And someone can 'believe' in humanism as a 'faith' certainly; I'm not sure how you conduct 'worship' in this regard, so it falls out of the traditional definition of 'religion'. The dividing line, though, is once again that of agency. Humanism seeks to place the responsibility on the actor and not an outside agent that tempts us, made us in its own image, etc.
Justin will have his own views on this, of course. Thought I'd jump in though.
I outlined much of my "beliefs" regarding morality in this post:
ReplyDeletehttp://greenatheist.blogspot.com/2010/06/naturalistic-explanation-of-morality.html
Wikipedia does good justice in defining secular humanism:
Secular Humanism is a secular philosophy that espouses reason, ethics, and justice, and specifically rejects supernatural and religious dogma as the basis of morality and decision-making. Secular Humanism is a life stance that focuses on the way human beings can lead good, happy and functional lives.
Secular Humanism (capital "H") is distinguished from various other humanisms. Though Secular Humanism posits that human beings are capable of being ethical and moral without religion, or God, that is not to say it assumes humans to be inherently or innately good. Nor does it present humans as "above nature" or superior to it; by contrast, the Humanist life stance emphasises the unique responsibility facing humanity and the consequences of our ethical decisions.
We can though, use evidence of what makes society flourish in order to make decisions about matters of morality. We see, for example, that splashing battery acid in the faces of females and mutilating clitorises (or is it clitori) is not conducive to a good society. We also see that theocracies don't do well either. We can use a system of ethics based on emperical observations to inform morality.
When we use the word religious, we usually speak of something containing dogma, creed, and faith...but there's none of this when secular humanism is concerned.
I use secular humanism in addition to atheism and anti-theism because atheism and anti-theism doesn't tell you what I do "believe" in. Secular Humanism is probably the closest you'll get to a life stance that I can identify most with. I don't really like the labels much because terms are often misunderstood and confused, but I think going with three is good.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your responses Justin and Caias.
ReplyDeleteI agree that morality as such does not need God to justify its existence. Yet religion, to me, is a slippery word, and God (or theism) is not a necessary condition for religion's existence, either.
There are four entries for 'religion' in the Microsoft Encarta dictionary:
1. beliefs and worship: people's beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life
2. system: an institutionalized or personal system of beliefs and practices relating to the divine
3. personal beliefs or values: a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by
4. obsession: an object, practice, cause, or activity that somebody is completely devoted to or obsessed by
If humanism is in any sense 'religious', it would seem to be closest to the 3rd entry. Although, perhaps "personal beliefs or values" doesn't have much bite as far as that connection is concerned. I think 'life stance' was also a good way of putting it.
Justin, you wrote,
"We can use a system of ethics based on emperical observations to inform morality."
I certainly agree with this. But I'm interested in getting to the heart of what this is all about; that is, what is going on existentially?
I consider myself 'religious', though not in a typical Western sense of the word. But I am also a humanist. When I find myself asking myself about the foundations of humanism - what's really behind humanism as a belief or life-stance, I personally find a conviction that there is something in the living of life (without positing that this 'something' is any kind of entity) that makes the whole endeavor worthwhile and meaningful. I also find that this 'meaningfulness' is not the possession of any one person (nor can it be, no man is an island), that we are all participating in and actualizing that meaning. This seems to be a 'religious' stance, even if not a traditional one.
I speak personally here only because I'm not sure that there is any other way to do it, since humanism is ultimately a personal engagement with the world.
I believe that Christianity is not only false and unsubstantiated, but it's also often very harmful to society and to individuals at a personal level
ReplyDeletePure.. complete.. poppycock. By what metric shall we compare Christian and recently post-Christian societies with others that are/were atheist?
I've received a tremendous amount of hate from various King's College students and many others who are very rude, ridiculous, and not willing to actually look at the issues. Many people haven't heard arguments from atheists before and many are simply afraid
Are you quite certain that this isn't due to the fact that militant, evangelical atheists are often viewed as self-centered, annoying and nihilistic people?
I'd like your thoughts on how 'humanism' can avoid being a quasi-religious position even if one attaches the word 'secular' to it
ReplyDeleteThis is difficult to explain away if one uses the Functional definition as utilized by Merriam Webster's dictionary.
It's a moot point anyway insofar as the United States is concerned given that the courts have already ruled that secular humanism along with atheism are religions.
"Atheism is [the inmate's] religion, and the group that he wanted to start was religious in nature even though it expressly rejects a belief in a supreme being," the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said." Link
"Pure.. complete.. poppycock. By what metric shall we compare Christian and recently post-Christian societies with others that are/were atheist?"
ReplyDeleteWell, let's see...nations such as Finland and Sweeden demolish the United States in terms of societal health. Of all first world nations, the United States is the "worst" in terms of societal health. How that's abstinence-only education workin' for ya'?
http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP07398441_c.pdf
Correlation certainly isn't causation and Christianity certainly isn't the only determining factor, but it's a big one. Theism hurts society when the Pope tells Africans that condoms can make AIDS worse, the Knights of Columbus march to ban distribution of contraceptives, Mother Teresa tries to ban contraceptives and abortion, homophobia is rampant in society, atheists are villified, Catholics stop charity when gay people are involved, gays are denied marraige to other gays, evolution isn't taught in classrooms...
How about a personal level?
People are taught not to ask questions of God lest they burn in Hell, children are taught nonsense in schools, Children learn about Hell, people are told they're unworthy sinners who are held to impossible standards and keep failing, people send me hate mail, family members talk shit simply because I'm an atheist...
"Are you quite certain that this isn't due to the fact that militant, evangelical atheists are often viewed as self-centered, annoying and nihilistic people?"
What exactly is a militant and evangelical atheist? Is this a person who speaks up and is an activist? Militant Christians bomb abortion clinics. Militant Muslims are suicide bombers. Militant atheists challenge people to think and ask questions.
If people are going to stereotype atheists are "self-centered," that's their ignorance and stupidity, not mine. Atheists actually give tremendous amounts of money to charity and aren't worse off in morality than theists. Please name one moral statement or action that a theist can do/speak/perform that an atheist can not.
Your link was to Conservapedia...that's not a reputable source for definitions. One doesn't bring a dictionary to a discussion, anyway. Terms have several different meanings, are often confused, and vary. Example: Define "spiritual," "energy," "soul," etc.
Humanism simply isn't a religion. World New Daily also is not a reputable source, either. Saying that atheism, a lack of belief, is a religion is stupid. Is not collecting stamps a hobby?
I typed a response, but the response didn't go through. It's almost not worth responding because you're coming to the discussion with various false premises and stereotypes and you link non-reputable sources like Conservapedia and World Net Daily.
ReplyDeleteSimply click "harmful religion" in my sidebar to see all the harm religion can do to a society. View my hate mail to see harm at a personal level.
...and if atheism is a religion, not collecting stamps is a hobby. Atheism is a lack of belief with no creeds, leaders, dogmas, etc. The single qualifier for an atheist is lack of belief in any gods.
Here's a good link to compare countries with belief and lack of belief:
http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP07398441_c.pdf
I had a longer response, but I'm not typing much again. You can easily read more of my blog and do the research.
J.D. Curtis: what do you think of the theories of special and general relativity? Since you gave a link to conservapedia as a reputable source, I figured it'd be worth asking.
ReplyDeletenations such as Finland and Sweeden demolish the United States in terms of societal health
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I was under the impression that the nations of Finland and Sweden were officially Christian, not atheist. Could you provide a link indicating otherwise?
Of all first world nations, the United States is the "worst" in terms of societal health
By what standard?
Theism hurts society when the Pope tells Africans that condoms can make AIDS worse
Perhaps at this point, you might like to educate me as to the diseases that condoms are 100% effective against the spread of?
Mother Teresa tries to ban contraceptives and abortion
Is this another way of stating that Mother Teresa thought that sex was something a bit more important than something done casually and that human life was precious?
homophobia is rampant in society
The only thng "rampant" about the term homophobia is the misuse of the word and the fact that it is a etymologically incorrect term. Unless of course you would like to argue otherwise.
atheists are villified
And this comes as some sort of suprise?
children are taught nonsense in schools
[citation needed]
people are told they're unworthy sinners who are held to impossible standards and keep failing
Convienently left out of your crying jag is the fact that scripture provides a way out of the problem.
people send me hate mail, family members talk shit simply because I'm an atheist
I'm sorry for that. But I can't be held directly responsible for the acts of others no more than you can.
By this time you might have figured out that you aren't exactly dealing with Billy Bob Bible Thumper, the Young Earth Creationist right now.
ReplyDeleteYou might be debating with someone who has critically examined their own belief system and can see right through the shallow positions that you seemingly have adopted for your own.
Just be prepared to answer questions when directed to you in this discussion, that's all.
No, JD, what we see is a pompous ass who has no idea what the words "reliable source" mean.
ReplyDeleteFoundation Beyond Belief has donated over $50,000 to a variety of charities in 2010 alone.
ReplyDeleteThe Skeptics and Humanists Aid and Relief Effort (SHARE) raised over $100,000 for Haitian Earthquake relief and continues to raise money for large-scale disaster relief.
Members of SECULAR Center USA volunteer their time constantly, as do many members of many local atheist groups. The group in Austin, TX has done several food giveaways to the homeless with no strings attached.
Atheists donate blood, give to non-profits, and do what we can to make the world a better place because we know there’s no afterlife that will make things better.
http://foundationbeyondbelief.org/
http://www.facebook.com/cfishare
http://www.facebook.com/pages/SECULAR-Center/165870498342
http://www.atheistvolunteers.org/Austin
I'm sorry, but I was under the impression that the nations of Finland and Sweden were officially Christian, not atheist. Could you provide a link indicating otherwise?
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Europe
http://www.amazon.com/Society-without-God-Religious-Contentment/dp/0814797237/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1283093789&sr=8-1
--
Of all first world nations, the United States is the "worst" in terms of societal health
By what standard?
I already linked the study.
---
Condoms don't make AIDS worse. I'm not talking 100% by any means. The pope's proclamations are akin to genocidal stupidity.
---
Mother Teresa tries to ban contraceptives and abortion
Is this another way of stating that Mother Teresa thought that sex was something a bit more important than something done casually and that human life was precious?
No, because some people do think that, but they don't take political steps to try and ban abortions and contraceptives.
---
homophobia is rampant in society
The only thng "rampant" about the term homophobia is the misuse of the word and the fact that it is a etymologically incorrect term. Unless of course you would like to argue otherwise.
It's fear of gays. People are very afraid and ignorant about gays and don't want to see them marry. People believe that homosexual parents will ruin the lives of their kids, ruin society, etc. This isn't true.
---
children are taught nonsense in schools
[citation needed]
Intelligent design. Texas Schoolboard.
----
...and don't forget that Bill Gates and Warren Buffet are non-theists.
ReplyDeleteInsofar as Finland and Sweden are concerned, is it you belief that there has always been a considerable organic atheism presence in these two countries and they were not historically Christian nations in centuries past?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI too was unable to comment here. I deleted my post because of a glaring typo, and after that I wasn't able to re-post it.
ReplyDeleteLet me try again...here it is:
Thanks for your responses Justin and Caias.
I agree that morality as such does not need God to justify its existence. Yet religion, to me, is a slippery word, and neither is God (or theism) a necessary condition for religion's existence.
There are four entries for 'religion' in the Microsoft Encarta dictionary:
1. beliefs and worship: people's beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and divine involvement in the universe and human life
2. system: an institutionalized or personal system of beliefs and practices relating to the divine
3. personal beliefs or values: a set of strongly-held beliefs, values, and attitudes that somebody lives by
4. obsession: an object, practice, cause, or activity that somebody is completely devoted to or obsessed by
If humanism is in any sense 'religious', it would seem to be closest to the 3rd entry. Although, perhaps "personal beliefs or values" doesn't have much bite as far as that connection is concerned. I think 'life stance' was also a good way of putting it.
Justin, you wrote,
"We can use a system of ethics based on emperical observations to inform morality."
I certainly agree with this. But I'm interested in getting to the heart of what this is all about; that is: what is going on existentially?
I consider myself 'religious', though not in a typical Western sense of the word. But I am also a humanist. When I find myself asking about the foundations of humanism - what's really behind humanism as a belief or 'life-stance' - I personally find a conviction that there is something in the living of life (without positing that this 'something' is any kind of entity) that makes the whole endeavor worthwhile and meaningful. I also find that this 'meaningfulness' is not the possession of any one person (nor can it be, no man is an island), that we are all participating in and actualizing that meaning. This seems to be a 'religious' stance, even if not a traditional one.
I speak personally here only because I'm not sure that there is any other way to do it, since humanism is ultimately a personal engagement with the world.
Sorry, I have no idea what's going on. I open comments and don't even have moderation on.
ReplyDeleteI assume he's trying to lure you to his blog so he can delete your comments if the conversation doesn't go his way.
ReplyDeleteJustin.
ReplyDeleteHello. I have had much experience blogging with JD. Do not waste your time. He is a waste of space. He is your guy if you need to get the latest evangelical spin Christian propaganda. And, he is nothing but an online troll. I tell you this because you seem like a nice guy, and I really hate to see you beat your head on the wall as much as many of us have.
I'm vocal because I believe that Christianity is not only false and unsubstantiated, but it's also often very harmful to society and to individuals at a personal level.
Could not agree with you more. And, you have every right to say so. I look forward to reading more of your postings.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteJustin.
ReplyDeleteHello. I have had much experience blogging with JD. Do not waste your time. He is a waste of space. He is your guy if you need to get the latest evangelical spin Christian propaganda. And, he is nothing but an online troll. I tell you this because you seem like a nice guy, and I really hate to see you beat your head on the wall as much as many of us have.
I'm vocal because I believe that Christianity is not only false and unsubstantiated, but it's also often very harmful to society and to individuals at a personal level.
Could not agree with you more. And, you have every right to say so. I look forward to reading more of your postings.