How to Be a Spiritual Atheist
Is "spiritual atheist" a strange concept? Only if
you only think spirituality has to mean a belief in a god. But
do the two have to be related? Not at all. Most people think
of the historical Buddha as a spiritual person, yet don't know
that he never expressed a belief in a god. In fact, he even discouraged
his followers from such "speculation," preferring that
they work on their salvation in this world.
A Computer Spirituality
Let's imagine a computer that has begun to get so complex
and powerful that it starts to ask questions "outside the
box." It is starting to become conscious. One of the first
things it would realize is that for all its computing capacity,
it's still very limited. Humans who use it, most of whom can't
begin to understand it's complicated algorithms, are more powerful,
and see the world more clearly.
Such a computer might recite a million facts, and yet not
know what to use them for. It could describe human psychology,
and not understand a smile. It wouldn't know why it existed,
or what it was being used for. Now, if it came to understand
these limitations, and to actually wonder about the world outside
its circuits, and to desire to see more, and to grow - that would
be a computer spirituality.
An Atheist Spirituality
Atheists simply don't believe in a god. Without sufficient
evidence, there is no belief. Contrary to what many think, there's
no need for an atheist to disprove that a god exists, anymore
than a Christian needs to disprove that the world is ruled by
intelligent termites. The burden of proof is always with the
person making a positive assertion.
Atheists can recognize the mystery of life, and marvel at
how everything learned deepens that mystery, pushing "final"
causes further into the distance. Atheists can recognize their
own limitations, and seek to grow beyond them, perhaps even by
developing contact with "higher powers." This is an
atheistic spirituality, but how is it different from "regular"
spirituality?
An atheist feels no need to pretend to understand the mysteries
- no need to create gods and religions to explain them. Contacting
"higher powers" might simply be tuning into subconscious
resources through meditation or other means. Are these "higher
powers" nothing more than electrical patterns in our brains?
We don't know, but we don't have to know to tap into them.
Does this mean atheists don't want to know? Absolutely not.
In fact, to "understand" by forcing religious explanations
on things short circuits any search for the truth. How can you
understand and integrate new evidence when you are no longer
questioning? Better to simply use spiritual tools like "intuition"
and let them be understood - or not - with time and real evidence.
If we look into the past, we see how narrow-minded people
were, and how little they understood compared to us. Of course,
we will appear that way to people in the future, as they will
to people further into the future. We're forever growing in our
knowledge and power, but just like that spiritual computer, our
circuits are confined to a box that we need to grow out of. Seeking
the way beyond that box is what makes one a spiritual atheist.
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