Newspapers / The clarion : the … / April 22, 2011, edition 1 / Page 5
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April 22, 2011 | The Clarion Page 5 rm on team Jesus, not Edward D^M’^^ilvocate Brian Burgess Managing Editor Concerning the content of my earlier articles, I received an email this week containing a letter expressing some issues and concerns the author had with my content. They have asked me to keep their content and name anonymous, and I intend to do so. They did, however, bring up a point that I think anyone who reads my articles would be interested to hear my answer to. As an atheist, it was argued, it seems absurd that I should find complaint against God when I don’t even think he exists. My friend pointed out that I often harbor a tone that seems confrontational towards God, and I wholly concede that they are right. It would seem strange, then, that if God does not exist, I seem to hold a kind of grudge against him (or her). Simply put, I do believe God exists, in the exact same capacity that Harry Potter and Edward Cullen do; God is an abstract. God exists in the form of a fictional character in my understanding of the world. He influences us through our interpretation of him, through the books he stars in, and the characteristics we give him in discussion, church, etc. Edward Cullen is a fairly decent example of how this phenomenon works. Upon the growth in popularity of the Twilight series, girls nationwide began to look for Cullen-like qualities, whether it be the way he was described to look, or his personality. Girls quoted him, bought items with his depiction on it, threw their money at the movie adaptation, etc. This non existing character made some of them behave in a way that they normally may not have. Smack those same ideas on God and you have my understanding of him. He exists in the capacity that his books and his fans can, and obviously do, encourage us to assume particular behaviors; sometimes to take up arms in a holy war, sometimes to open arms in fraternity. Regardless of the nature of the action, without this fictional character many of us would not act the way we do. Tangibly, as far as I can assume, God does not exist. There is no creator or deity “out there”, or in me, watching my every thought and action, along with the rest of humanity, in order to decide whether or not I gain admission W Edward Cullen is a fairly decent example of how this phenomenon works... this non-existing character made some of them behave in a way that they normally may not have. // to the theme park to end all theme parks. There is, however, a concept, created and constantly revised by humans, that guides many of our behavior, and that think I call “God”. A thought for anyone who takes issue with the idea of God being a fictional character: we as educated members of the liberal arts community have most likely dealt with classical mythology. The Christian often understands the beauty and influence of the deities of the Greek and Roman pantheon, but very comfortably reject their actual existence. Quoting Stephen Roberts, “I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours.” Pastimes History Club presents: This weel in history (April 22 - 28) April 22, 2010 The largest oil spill in US history begins when the Deepwater Hori zon rig, owned by BP and Transocean sinks to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. People along the Gulf Coast are still working to clean oil from the Gulf and stop the rig from leaking with “support” from BP. Not getting much attention anymore, because as horrible as having gallons of oil pouring into international waters is, gallons of radioac tive waste are worse. April 23 1985 Coca-Cola releases New Coke. 1993, Eritreans vote for independence from Ethiopia. 2003, Beijing closes all schools because of the SARS virus. Heaps of things happened today, but none of them of huge significance. Sorry Eritreans, most Americans can’t even pronounce your name or locate you on a map. Unfortunately, I don’t think they’re ready for your history. April 24, 1916 The Irish Republican Brotherhood starts a rebellion in Ireland with an event known as The Easter Rising. The Brotherhood captured much of Dublin and declared Irish independence from Britain. It didn’t last long, but the Irish Republic was formed within the next several years as a direct result of this action. April 25, 1939 DC Comics publishes its second major superhero in Detective Comics #27. This is the first appearance of the Batman, who went on to become one of the most famous comic book characters of all time. His is still the most popular billionaire-playboy-by-day-tech- sponsored-vigilante-by-night superhero on the market. Iron Man can suck it. April 26,1986 A nuclear reactor accident occurs at what was once the Soviet Union’s V.I. Lenin Nuclear Power Station, better known as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. Ukrainian Predictions state that the area will still be unsafe all of the way through 2065. For the moment, this event is still considered to be the worst nuclear disaster in world history. April 27,1981 The computer mouse is first introduced. Interestingly enough, some dictionaries list the proper plural of this usage of the word “mouse” to be “mouses.” They were named for their approximate size couple with the resemblance of the wire to a tail. April 28,1789 Following the famous mutiny on the Bounty, Lieutenant William Bligh and a small collection of other sailors are set adrift. The former crew returns to Tahiti and Pitcairn Island having been drawn to the idyllic lifestyles they had observed in these places and repelled by the cruelty of their commanding officer
April 22, 2011, edition 1
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