Day 20: They were atheists... when atheism wasn't cool.

"Dan Barker and Annie Laurie Gaylor meet on Oprah... (in 1984)"

There is a song I adore by Barbara Mandrell.  "I was country when country wasn't cool"  It reminded me of my first year in boarding school in the middle of Saskatchewan.  I liked country music, but my musical tastes didn't meet with the approval of my dorm-mates who were into Duran Duran and a plethora of '80's pop and rock music.  One girl came into my room and turned off the stereo when I dared to play Kenny Rogers.  For me... "country wasn't cool" either.  

When I saw this interview that came out in 1984 before Oprah was the "Oprah Winfrey Show"... I was amazed that any talk show back in the '80's wanted to put atheists on their stage and give them a voice.  Their presence was met with mixed responses from the audience, some inquisitive and some vitriolic.  I was amazed at a young woman who stood her ground and gave well thought out responses to the back lash of reactive defences to religion.  That woman was Annie Laurie Gaylor, who co-founded and still heads up Freedom from Religion Foundation. 

"The FFRF was co-founded by Anne Nicol Gaylor and her daughter, Annie Laurie Gaylor, in 1976 and was incorporated nationally on April 15, 1978. The organization was supported by over 19,000 members in 2012 and operated from an 1855-era building in Madison, Wisconsin, that once served as a church rectory." (Wikipedia) 

I did the math... looks like Annie was about 21 when she and her mother started FFRF.  Wow!... is all I can muster to describe how that amazes me.  They were outed atheists when atheism wasn't "cool".  Now there is access to multiple resources and even though, coming out as an atheist is still painful in one's own circles, there is no lack for support around the world now.  But back in the seventies, did the Gaylor women even have a community of like minded people around them? Or were they truly pioneers in their endeavour to reach out and help people "recover from religion."?  What they started then is still helping people today.  

Annie Laurie Gaylor teamed up with Dan Barker  who was also part of that Oprah interview in 1984.  Together, as partners in their mission and in life,  they have brought community and support to thousands of people who have been disenfranchised from their religious communities, families and support networks.  

Dan Barker also started "The Clergy Project", together with Richard Dawkins and some others,  which has been an oasis for religious professionals to go to after losing their faith.  

Some lines from Barbara Mandrell's song seem to inspire me in this journey and make me think of Dan and Annie's story.   

"I took a lot of kiddin'

'Cause I never did fit in

Now look at everybody

Tryin' to be what I was then"

"I still act, and look the same

What you see ain't nothin' new"

"I'm just glad we're in a country

Where we're all free to choose"

Day 20: 2022 - "God is the explanation for the unexplainable  - Feuerbach"

Day 20: 2023 - "Didn't he find his "God" there?"

Day 19: "It's a Dog's life"

I am nineteen days in to Authentic Lent... nineteen out of forty five.  I am wondering if I will have enough material to go that long.  I might have to dedicate one week to dead influences.  I don't think it will take away from the amazing living voices that I have discovered along the way.  So that is still an option.  I would love to bring Bertrand Russell back.  

Today, I don't feel that inspired.  Sundays are supposed to be a catch up day with my thoughts and feelings.  Today, it's cold outside and my head is tired.  I just want to get back on my puzzle and keep working on assembling pieces that don't seem like a contradiction to my life.  I think it is why I puzzle.  It is a lot easier to put together puzzle pieces than the try to figure out how to piece together the puzzle of my life.   I also adore the pictures.  There is a peace experienced when I am perusing puzzle pictures.  I don't have to buy them or put them together.  Part of the joy is just admiring the pictures. 

This week I finished a 2000 pc Cobble Hill puzzle called "It's a Dog's life".  I have found myself envying critters this week.  They don't have to ask the big questions.  No one is asking them to process life by a certain narrative.  They can just exist, do life, pass along some love and then cease to exist.  Somehow, they evolved faster than humans.  Humans still need work to get past the requirements they place on other humans to be like them.  

I want to imagine being loved just for being me.  Isn't that was a dog is... loved just for being a dog.  Some dogs work for a living, but some dogs are just there to love and be loved and that is all of their purpose.  Maybe I am loved for me, but the picture still wafts around in my brain that I have to be somebody beyond myself to really be valued.  Maybe I am loved.  But is it not also loving to embrace people for who they want to be.  Can we ever get to a place with people like we do with dogs?  Can we just love and be loved?  

Day 19: 2022 - "Too many amazing minds and not enough years to read them all". 

Day 19: 2023 - "Just give me Bob Ross" 

Day 18: An Atheist looks to Religion for Life Lessons

The School of Life

Yesterday, I highlighted Richard Dawkins.  Today we get to meet Alain de Botton who takes a very different approach to religion than Dawkins does.  Dawkins has made no apology that he wishes that religion could end.   Alain de Botton finds that maybe wishing religion away is not even worth his energy.  He wants others to learn that religion and religious organizations have something to teach the secular world.  

“I never wavered in my certainty that God did not exist. I was simply liberated by the thought that there might be a way to engage with religion without having to subscribe to its supernatural content." Alain De Botton -  Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion

I found two Youtube videos where Alain shares his vision of a different kind of Atheism.  One is a twenty minute Ted Talk that is a summary of his vision, and the other is a talk he gave at the Sydney Opera house, which is more in depth and includes a question and answer session as well.  Sorry Richard Dawkins... this makes more sense.  

Atheism 2.0 (Ted Talk) 

Alain de Boton: Religion for Atheists  (Ideas at the House) 

Day 18: 2022 "God is not a god"

Day 18: 2023 - "I really don't know life at all" 

Day 17: Richard Dawkins in Conversation.

 

"The chances of each of us coming into existence are infinitesimally small, and even though we shall all die some day, we should count ourselves fantastically lucky to get our decades in the sun." RD

I will admit up front that I haven't read any books of Richard Dawkins.  I will also admit that I haven't read any books of any other of the "Four Horseman" (Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchins).  I have only exposed myself to their oral contributions on Youtube and found that when they get into conversation with each other or with others... I find that fascinating.  To immerse myself in only their own thoughts for the duration of a book read... well, somehow that hasn't been as inviting for me.  That may change in the future... but right now, that is all I can offer as an explanation.  

“If you are religious at all it is overwhelmingly probable that your religion is that of your parents.”  RD

I went on the hunt for some less than abrasive quotes from Dawkins this morning.  When a lot of people think of Richard Dawkins, abrasive comes to mind, but maybe he's not all that abrasive when you dig a little deeper.  Maybe he just comes across that way because he is passionate about the harms that religion has caused this planet.  

“Religion is not the root of all evil, for no one thing is the root of all anything.” RD

I enjoy listening to his conversations, but I have to dig deep to find common ground with him.  I don't wish an end to religion, like he has mentioned on occasion.  I wish for common ground with those that still need religion to navigate this world, and I wish that those needing religion would understand that their view point is one of many and not everyone's answer to their existence.  

“I cannot know for certain but I think God is very improbable, and I live my life on the assumption that he is not there.” RD

This makes sense. "God" doesn't have to be the default just because I can't understand the world without a supernatural narrative.  I may not understand all the things Dawkins understands, but I don't have to default to "God" just because I need to fill in a hole.  

“Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by the rulers as useful.” RD

It's the last one that just sticks out in my brain.  Rulers find religion useful because religion teaches and models subservience.  What government would shy away from that?  

“Fundamentalist religion is hell-bent on ruining the scientific education of countless thousands of innocent, well-meaning, eager young minds. Non-fundamentalist, ‘sensible’ religion may not be doing that. But it is making the world safe for fundamentalism by teaching children, from their earliest years, that unquestioning faith is a virtue.” RD

I wonder what it would have been like had I been invited to ask more questions when I was younger.  

“I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist when considering Zeus, Apollo, Amon Ra, Mithras, Baal, Thor, Wotan, the Golden Calf and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I just go one god further.” RD

One god further... a big picture approach that is seldom experienced when one is immersed in one's own religious expression.  I will leave you with some great conversations with Richard Dawkins.  

Stephen Fry and Richard Dawkins in Conversation

Ricky Gervais and Richard Dawkins in Conversation

The Four Horseman: Hour 1 of 2: Discussions with Richard Dawkins 

The Four Horseman : Hour 2 of 2: Discussions with Richard Dawkins 

Day 17: 2022 - "Katie and Eilish: Beautiful Because of Chance"

(I read this one this morning... and didn't feel like I agreed with my thoughts of two years ago.  I may have to revisit this one.) 

Day 17: 2023 - "ONE Can't Create"

Day 16: Aren't we all Agnostic?

I once told my mother, "We are a planet of Agnostics."  I wanted to convey that at the heart of the matter, knowledge evades us.  We can feel certain about something and sell our selves to the cause, but do we really KNOW?  

I came across Leslie Hazleton about three years ago when her book popped up on my radar.  I was looking for Agnostic stories and I found her book, Agnostic, A Spirited  Manifesto.  

The Journey of the AGNOSTIC: A SPIRITED MANIFESTO by Lesley Hazleton. Leslie Hazleton - The Doubt Essential to Faith 

Lesley originally hails from England but became a U.S. Citizen.  I figured that still gives her credence to be a part of my "across the pond" week of Authentic Lent.   

I like Lesley's approach to life.  She values words and their meanings which excites me.  I am always frustrated that I am fluent in the only language that butchers the story of the inner human existence.  Her Ted talks have been invigorating and I will add a couple at the end of my post.  

It's encouragement from voices like Lesley's that give me hope that I don't have to have my "Atheist" label tattooed on me or embroidered on a hoodie for everyone to see.  She is comfortable with the Agnostic label and then goes further to uncover her story beyond the labels.  She still understands people's need for faith and has spent a lot of energy and time to understand the world of faith and the people who embrace it.   

I am not personally convinced that being Agnostic is a just stop on the way to being Atheist.  I am in good company with a lot of Atheists who still add Agnostic in to their identity.  It's somewhat humbling and freeing at the same time to let go of the need to know everything and even know anything.  To leave room for doubt in any moment, choice or feeling is wisdom in action.  At least that is what makes sense to me.  But what do I know?  

Lesley Hazleton: The doubt essential to faith

The Real Meaning of Soul - Lesley Hazleton

Day 16: 2022 -  "God Hates us ALL ... A message worth risky graffiti?

Day 16: 2023  -  "The Show must go on"  (This post contains the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes".   How brave of me would it be for us to put myself in the shoes of that child again.) 

Day 15: Not all atheists are scientists... some are artists

My husband I and were first introduced to Stephen Fry during the years we were engrossed in the TV drama "Bones".  I was unaware of the magnitude of this man's resume when he showed up on American television as a psychiatrist.  His British wit that I would eventually come to appreciate so much was evident even in his character. 

Bones Booth and Gordon Gordon S2E13 Clowns

His compassion for humanity also shined through his character Dr. Gordon Gordon Wyatt.   It makes me wonder just how much Booth's "shrink" was fashioned after the actor that played him.  

Bones S04EP21 Sweets and Gordon talking 

The spectrum of atheist voices can appear to be filled with university professors, astrophysicists, and Post-Christian activists.  Stephen Fry is none of these.  His awareness of his non-belief in a super being happened at a young age.  He was enamoured by the beauty and pageantry that the Anglican church had to offer, but couldn't embrace the "God" that the rituals were wrapped around.  

The Best of Stephen Fry on Religion

His love for literature is his energy and what gives him such a unique, well rounded and informed voice in so many discussions with academics.  His love for story has seeped into so many of his ventures:  acting, writing, directing... from theatre to television and film.  

His love for mythology brought me back to my grade five interest in his book Mythos.  He captured the stories with such passion and wove them all into a tale that has the reader engrossed in the journey. 

Last night, I found myself deep in a conversation with Stephen Fry and Jordan Peterson.  I am not the biggest fan of Jordan Peterson, but when he gets into conversations with atheists, I find those interchanges engaging.  

An Atheist in the Realm of Myth : Stephen Fry Ep 169

Stephen Fry doesn't hold back his convictions and discoveries.  It is a skill I hope to learn one day.  I am tired of my closet.  

Day 15: 2022 - "Marguerite Porete and a Love worth burning for" 

Day 15: 2023 - "Travelling with my words: Maybe a "holy" experience." 

Day 14: Seeing the world through the eyes of Sir David Attenborough

"There isn’t a more distinguishable voice for our planet than Sir David Attenborough. Over the years, he’s taken us on countless journeys to some of Earth’s wildest places and inspired entire generations to take care of the place we all call home. " WWF Australia

"It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement; the greatest source of visual beauty; the greatest source of intellectual interest. It is the greatest source of so much in life that makes life worth living." DA

I haven't followed this British broadcaster and biologist much over the years, but I did watch the conversation he had with the late great Queen Elizabeth 2 in her garden and I found them both down to earth as they walked around looking at trees and laughing at the shady location of a sundial.

The Queen's Green Planet

The Queen laughs with Sir David Attenborough about a sundial

"An understanding of the natural world is a source of not only great curiosity, but great fulfilment." DA

I found their interchange very light hearted and casual. It wasn't the standard visit laced with royal protocol. It was like they were friends going for a walk like friends do. It gave me a sense that she was indeed human, and he had access to that humanity in that moment.

"It's surely our responsibility to do everything within our power to create a planet that provides a home not just for us, but for all life on Earth." DA

Sir David Attenborough's love for the planet and everything on it that draws breath and exudes life is inspiring. He has spent over nine decades loving this earth and doing what he can to see that it stays beautiful.

The truth is: the natural world is changing. And we are totally dependent on that world. It provides our food, water and air. It is the most precious thing we have and we need to defend it.” DA

How does a man like Attenborough process the world around him? What does he accredit the beauty? Who is responsible for this planet and all it's life and wonders? After decades of life roaming the globe... what does Sir David Attenborough see?

“The whole of life is coming to terms with yourself and the natural world. Why are you here? How do you fit in? What’s it all about?” DA

Sir David Attenborough on God

Nature doesn't need one answer.  There are many stories that try answer the ultimate question.  Why are we here?  But like Attenborough say in the video... "Which one do you choose?"  I appreciate his agnostic approach to the question.  Maybe it doesn't need an explanation or a conclusion.  It is and may be the ultimate answer isn't available to humans and doesn't need to be.  

“People must feel that the natural world is important and valuable and beautiful and wonderful and an amazement and a pleasure.” DA

Day 14: 2022 - "Revisiting Robert Ingersoll and the Agnostic Message"

Day 14: 2023 - "Haunted by the music of Hildegarde"