Page 6
The Clarion \ Feb. 11,2011
Atheism: Some assembly required
D^^3C%dvocate
Brian Burgess
Managing Editor
“He that is without sin among you, let him first
cast a stone... ” As an Atheist, I will be the first to
say Atheists need to get their act together This
is not to say that I am “sinless,” but given my
lack of faith in the existence of a divine stone
caster, and the apparent need for stones to be
cast, ni try my arm.
Atheists spend copious amounts of time
discussing how wrong other religions, especially
Christianity, are and they may be right. Yet
few of them offer much solution to any of the
problems they say religion presents.
We often speak of Christian legislation, and
how we need to stop it or help block it. Yet,
seemingly for fear of failure, we rarely see any
openly Atheist candidates running for office.
We hear ourselves ranting on about how closed-
minded and uneducated Christians are, yet
often refuse to crack open a Bible to challenge
ourselves.
In fact, while recent statistics may show that
non-religious people seem to know more than
the religious on religion, I would argue that
much of this is for the sake of verbal attacks and
battles, not due to a longing for understanding.
What’s more is that Atheists seem to have an
astounding obstacle when organizing. Often
compared to herding cats, getting a group of
Atheists together, while necessary, is hell on a
very good day.
Our kind often takes pride in our individuality.
This pride, though, is often our downfall it
seems. We go against the grain in our pursuit
of free thought, which teaches us to defend our
beliefs, teaches us to stand up and fight. Thus,
when we gather, a fiscally and rather socially
conservative atheist will almost always offend
a very liberal Atheist.
In short, we seem to be offended by anything
that challenges our opinion. We become overly
sensitive which makes progress virtually
impossible. We allow people like Rick Santorum
to take stabs at our youth by teaching them
about the so called “Theory in Crisis” because
the people who normally would stop him are
too busy trying to convince each other of the
“proper” form of Atheism.
A group that claims to gain strength in diversity
is ultimately conquered by it. With nearly 1.1
billion Atheists in the world it’s almost as
though there are 1.1 billion “denominations”
of Atheism. Even Protestant Christianity only
has 33,000.
Should we stop being individuals and become
the sheep we often label everyone else as? Of
course not; we should however beef up on our
vocabulary for the sake of clarity.
The word Atheist derives from the Greek
“Theos,” meaning God, the prefix A-, meaning
without, and of course -ism, meaning belief in.
Therefore Atheism purely means without belief
in God (or gods).
Most people, though, will consider themselves
“agnostic, not atheist.” Agnostic comes from the
Greek “Gnosis,” meaning knowledge, therefore
meaning without knowledge. The problem, then,
is that saying you’re agnostic doesn’t tell anyone
what you believe.
In fact, all reasonable people should consider
themselves agnostic as there is no empirical
proof either way on the existence of God; all
religion is belief, not knowledge.
This, then, is a problem as well as a solution.
The solution is that we, quarreling individuals,
may be united through our understanding that to
be atheist is simply to lack belief That, if only
that, we have in common.
The problem is that many lack the testicular
fortitude to come out and admit they don’t
believe. Many of us are scared of losing friends,
reputation, respect or anything of the sort.
Others claim that to say there is no God, which
we can’t prove, is along the same vein of the
Christian means of shoving religion down your
throat. Its not.
Stepping out and letting people know who
you are is what makes this country great. It is
not our conservative. God-fearing facade. It is
our bravery, our strength, and our civil fighting
spirit. Simply stating “I don’t believe” is not
only your right, it is the true essence of the
American spirit; Christians do it every day when
they disagree with Islam, Buddhism, etc, and it
is their right as well.
The trick to keeping respect and reputation
is, then, to hold yourself in a manner fit for
any faith. Being an Atheist doesn’t mean being
immoral. In fact, it allows one to update and
adapt morality to be more comprehensive.
Whereas ancient texts may condone slavery, or
chauvinistic manners. Atheism can reason its
way to an ever improving morality.
This being said, I present my final, major
problem: Self-centeredness.
In Wisconsin there is an organization called the
Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF), an
incredible example of when Atheist community
flourishes. This group publishes a monthly
newspaper, free thought texts, and gives an
incredible amount of aid to civil cases that
encroach on individual’s first amendment rights
to freedom of religion.
I applaud this work, and have one simple
suggestion: reach out in different ways. While
I think their work is outstanding, I often find
myself wishing they would organize “missions”
to poor or underdeveloped areas, much like
our religious brethren. Through the lens of
humanitarian aid God becomes irrelevant; if
he’s there, he beckons us to help, if not, who
else will help? This organization is directed
towards aiding first world problems, while the
third world suffers no less.
Through our faults, however, I think we
Atheists have got the right idea. We challenge,
we fight, and we evolve. What sets us apart is
that this article would not destroy our institution.
I highly doubt I will be burned at the stake
for it. I can play the role of Martin Luther yet
be embraced rather than expelled. It is only
through my love for our quest for truth, freedom
of thought, and pure growth that I urge my
fellow secular souls to strive endlessly for self
improvement; to long for the mirror that shows
our imperfections rather than shy from it.
Senior Staff
Editor in Chief .
. . . Daniel Heyman
IVIanaging Editor
. . . Brian Burgess
Copy Editor. . .
. . . Dave Alexander
Photography . .
. . . Position Open
Faculty Advisor.
. . . John B. Padgett
Other Staff
Parl Baler
Alex McCracken
Patricl Veilleux
Thea Bader
1 Jermichael Tanner Jordan lager 1
Scott IVIcCormicl
Melissa Sullebarger
Sarah Bowers
Karam Boeshaar
The Clarion is a student-run college
newspaper produced by student journalists
enrolled at Brevard College. Unsigned
editorials represent the collective opinion
of the staff of The Clarion. Other opinions
expressed in this newspaper are those of
remective authors and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of the faculty, staff or
administration of Brevard College.
All correspondence should be mailed to:
The Clarion, Brevard College, One Brevard
College Drive, Brevard, NC 28712, or send
E-mail to clarion@brevard.edu
www.brevard.edu/clarion
E] Letters Policy
The Clarion welcomes letters to the editor. We reserve the right to edit letters for length or content. We do not
publish anonymous letters or those whose authorship cannot be verified. E-mail: clarion@brevard.edu.