Chamblee54

This content was originally published March 24, 2012. … Whenever someone writes a book about religion, the writer pays tribute to mammon. Interviews are conducted, TED talks are given, and the printed donkey flogged within an inch of its life. The book of the moment is Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion. The author is Alain de Botton. The idea is that atheists can learn a thing or two from the believers. Mr. de Botton gave a TED Talk about this concept.
We could begin by questioning the entire belief paradigm. Christians believe God exists, and a few other things. Atheists do not believe God exists. What no one seems to be questioning is whether belief is the best way to go about the God issue. The word gnosis (the root of agnostic) refers to having a “knowledge” of God … to feeling her presence in your soul. There are some who say that man and God are one and the same. When all you have is a belief … a strongly felt thought … you just might be missing most of the picture.
Christianity is a religion based on beliefs. One of the central beliefs is the notion that having the correct beliefs will cause you to be “saved”… to go to heaven when you die, instead of hell. This is a big deal to Christians, who find it difficult to deal with someone who is not fascinated by “salvation.”
Atheism seems to be a reaction to the Christianity/salvation paradigm. If Christians did not tell atheists about God, how would atheists know what to not believe in?
“There have been some very vocal atheists who’ve pointed out not just that religion is wrong but that it’s ridiculous. These people … have argued … that believing in God is akin to believing in fairies and essentially that the whole thing is a childish game.” Oh my, what a terrible thing to say about faeries. Maybe faeries are not something to believe in either. Just wear fabulous fashions, and don’t worry about that silly religion business.
Mr. de Botton laments the lack of community is atheism, and he may have a point. I have often envied the sense of extended family that churches seem to offer. If only those pesky beliefs didn’t get in the way. Does religion fulfill a tribal need for conformity, rather than spiritual fulfillment?
It is a common rule of public speaking… you treat children as though they were adults, and adults as though they were children. The concept of being “born again”, of having a second childhood … these are very appealing notions. Can an atheist church offer these good times? Or would it spoil the fun by treating “worshipers” as adults?
I have a big fat problem with one issue. Jesus worship is an emotional affair. Powerful feelings are stirred up. This power, and fury, can be a terrifying thing if it is used against you.
This use of Jesus driven emotions is an issue in American politics today. The force and thunder of a screaming Jesus worshiper, leading his flock of angry sheep, is a terrible thing to have used against you. It is hoped that an Atheist church would be more “humanistic”.
Two wrongs do not make a right. Jesus worshipers are notorious for interrupting you if something is said they do not like. Perhaps this is another function of the belief based religion. When you believe something, and do not understand why someone does not share your belief, you don’t have time to listen. This rudeness does not speak well for Jesus. Hopefully, atheists can be a bit better. Pictures today are from The Library of Congress. Russell Lee took the social media picture in October 1938. “Crowd, listening to the Cajun band at National Rice Festival, Crowley, Louisiana”
©Luther Mckinnon 2026 · selah