"Existence isn't a part of a definition of anything, except for God" Pete Rollins
It's Ash Wednesday today... the beginning of Lent and the beginning of Atheism for Lent.
Pete's introduction to AFL left me with a special quote that needs my further thoughts. I have been thinking of the whole idea of existing for this past year. Primarily, I've been thinking about my existence and striving to find ways to remind myself that existing is a good thing. It has been easy in the past three years to doubt the blessing of existence, but I have to narrow my focus and then I find existing something I value. The big picture gets strangely depressing for me. But when I think of my husband and my mother... I am glad I exist, if now, especially for them. It's a journey.
But enough about that challenge. What about existence in relation to the other?
Pete made a good point. Things exist and we don't have to question their existence. Things exist in my world. I don't need to ask myself if they do or not. I don't think about the things that don't exist in my world. When I was a child, I didn't think about iPhones. They didn't exist for me. Now they do. But even if I didn't know about them, no one would find it incomprehensible . Most would just show me an iPhone and introduce me to it. They wouldn't question my character or judgement or wonder about my eternal future.
And then there is "God". Defined by existence or non-existence. And don't forget what is at stake if you don't get it right. Mmmm... Please tell me there has to be more to "The Ground of Being" than mere existence.
Is this the point of Atheism for Lent? To take us beyond the simple matter of existence? Maybe existence isn't the point. Maybe there is something that can allow us to dwell with "God" like I dwell with my iPhone. At one point in my life, the iPhone didn't exist, now it does, but it was never a question I needed to ponder. I just lived without it when I didn't have it, and now that I do, I live with it and it helps me navigate my world better than when I didn't have it.
What a joy to be on this AFL journey with you and your experience. I have been concerned with existence as long as I can remember. What lies beyond existence has been a source of anxiety since childhood. Existence itself has been a source of anxiety since puberty. And in moments of turmoil, loss, disruption, dysregulation, and upset, it often seems as though the ground upon which I stand, that which I take for granted, but when disturbed shatters my worldview and view of self and future, I long for a ground beneath the shaky ground that feels so uncertain, wobbly, threateningly ephemeral; I long for meaning grounded in something that cannot be so easily unsettled. I look forward to being unsettled with you. I yearn to land someplace, grounded, but until I discover that, I am enjoying alighting here in AFL with you.
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