FINDING JEAN MESLIER IN ATHEISM FOR LENT 2022:
JEAN MESLIER: THE SECRET ATHEIST
I first found Jean Meslier in 2022 during my first journey through Atheism for Lent. I blogged three times during Lent of 2022, which was more than any other voice that year other that Pete Rollins and myself.
"I am drawn to the life and work of Jean Meslier because of the way he demonstrates how the most potent atheistic critiques often emerge from the very ground they seek to reject. It is from this ground that various inconsistencies, antagonisms, deadlocks, and contradictions can be most clearly seen. The strength of Meslier’s critique lies not just in his rejection of the religious dogma he witnessed, but in the depth of his understanding of that very system. Having spent his life within the Church, he was uniquely positioned to observe its practices and ideologies, which granted him a rare, insider’s perspective on its flaws. This duality of both adherence and eventual rejection provides a powerful foundation for his philosophical work, which critiques not just the institutions of faith, but also the psychological and moral underpinnings of religious belief. " Pete Rollins
I guess the reason that Pete admires Meslier is very close to what I admire about him. Meslier knew the system well. His voice reminds me of a smoker who spends decades ingesting nicotine only to despise the very thing that they still need to consume to make it through the day. There almost seems to be an inner self loathing at the inability to let go of the very thing that you have lost conviction for.
When I look at Meslier's journey, I am thankful that I never had to go through that in my own life. I left the institution of church on good terms. I was changing geography. When I moved... I just didn't need to find a replacement for what I left behind. I didn't have job dependant on my beliefs at the time. I didn't have the feeling of being a hypocrite while promoting the message and performing the rituals that keeps the system alive for so many. I also didn't have to wait until I'm dead to leak my thoughts out to other people.
Jean Meslier may have had no other choice but to stay a priest. I can't fault him for that. There are a lot of pastors and priests today that still have the same dilemma. They don't know how else to feed their family, so they continue to be atheists in the pulpit.
Meslier's words still resonate with me. He is so simple to understand. He doesn't wrap his words in a lot of extra language. His questions are real and make sense to me. I am glad his words were preserved and that his voice was able to continue to inspire readers who were needing his courage for their own journeys. His is and maybe will always be my favourite atheist.
