Scott Adams is fun to read. Today he has a post about Atheists that made me think. In the post he writes:

I sometimes call myself an atheist because it’s too hard to explain Spinoza’s version of god. And it’s too hard to explain that agnosticism is the only intellectually defensible position.

That comment made me think about the way I view religion and my own philosophy about life after death. I, like Adams, often use the term Atheist because it is a lot easier to say that to explain to people what I really think about God and the afterlife. Explaining my beliefs could take a long time; telling people you’re an Atheist takes about a half a second.

But I think I’ve come up with a better way to explain myself and still stick to the succinctness of “I’m an Atheist”: From now on I’m going to tell people I belong to The Church of I Don’t Know.

Because that is basically the way I think about God, religion and the afterlife. I simply don’t know, and I believe several things are very possible. For instance, I believe it is very possible that when we die the light simply goes out. There’s nothing else: No Afterlife, no Heaven, no Hell, no ghostly apparition. We just cease to exist because our brains cease to function.

That outlook is rather grim (at least to some people), however, so I also happen to believe it is very possible that there is some sort of Next Life. Maybe this life is just one in a long chain of lives; maybe we have somewhere to go after this, and somewhere to go after that, and so on and so forth.

Or maybe we just become one with the universe, from which we were born, living subconsciously in the cosmos without form.

Or maybe we reincarnate.

Or maybe we become Gods of our own universes.

Who knows?

The fact of the matter is: I don’t know. And I’m perfectly OK with that.

Because there is one constant among all the possibilities floating through my head: No matter if we existed before this life, or if we’ll exist in another form/place/time after this life, we have no knowledge of anything else other than this life. We know nothing for certain outside our immediate existence.

Which means that the only proof we have, the only thing we really know for sure, is that we’re alive now; this is the life we’ve been given. So it stands to reason that we better make the most out of it.

As to the rest of it - whatever came before and whatever is next - I don’t know. And I think that’s an answer that should be OK to give.

A little something for everyone to chew on while we head into the weekend.

There’s a great post on Scott Adams’s blog (he’s the guy who writes Dilbert) from a poster who describes himself as Arab Muslim. It is an interesting read because you get to see things from a different perspective - you get to see how the rest of the world perceives us, the West.

If you’re like me, you feel like President Bush has made poor decisions when it comes to foreign policy, particularly his handling of the War in Iraq. His actions have alienated the world, particularly the Muslim world, and we are not viewed in a positive light. Indeed, as the person in that blog post points out, they perceive the West with skepticism. We are taking the wrong tack.

But I love what this person has to say toward the end:

The only thing the west could do that won’t make things more messed up is pulling out their arms and sending in something different. Education, culture, information exchange. That’s the only safe way to change people, give them means and choice to change themselves. Bad ideas sort themselves out when exposed to good ideas.

The emphasis is mine. I like it because it represents my own thinking, not just in regards to foreign policy, but in any aspect of life. We see this effect every day. Bad ideas, when exposed to and compared with good ideas, are almost always universally disposed of. The only way bad ideas persist is when there are no good ideas to compare them against.

I maintain that the internet - information in general - is still the best weapon we have against terrorism and hate. We need to spread education like a plague. We need to expose people to all the different ways of thinking; all the world has to offer. Inform people. Give them all the facts. Let them make their own decisions. When people are given the choice between love and hate, they’ll generally choose love. We have to give them a reason to quit hating us, instead of feeding the fire like we are now.

Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying, “A little revolution, now and then, is a healthy thing.” We cannot change the middle east by invading it, occupying it, and dropping bombs all over it. Would we all convert to Muslim worship tomorrow if that happened to us? No, we would only become more defiant. And that is exactly what is happening. Humans are most resistant to change. Attempt to change us from the outside - attempt to force change upon us - and we fight it with our very lives. The middle east is only doing what we ourselves would do if we were put in the same position.

But change can come from within, when we’re ready for it. When we know we need to change, then we can embrace it.

We need to inform and educate. Share knowledge, show empathy and love, and inspire hope. And then let the middle east lead its own revolution against hate and tyrrany. Let it change from within.

Something to think about.

Dooce has a post about a book that makes for some pretty funny commentary. But that post isn’t the best part; this comment left by jezzy_girl is:

People do think their religion is normal, and the others are ‘nuts.’ That’s why my family and I choose to have *no* religion. (Unless you count the church of hiking which we do as a family most Sundays where we worship nature and enjoy being together as a family). We *are* more alike than different, so why separate people by religion? Religion divides people, it is not a uniter. You are right - EVERY religion has goofy beliefs, rituals, and symbols. Once I saw through the b.s. of Mormonism, it’s sure easy to see through the b.s. of ALL organized religion.

Religion DOES separate people into ‘us’ vs. ‘them.’ People who have the truth and people who don’t. Sinners vs. people who obey commandments. It causes people to judge, it causes people to condemn, it causes people to not appreciate or celebrate all the beautiful ‘differences’ that people possess. Hate the sin, love the sinner?? What kind of nonsense is that?

Yes, I am a good person, volunteer in the community, own a successful business, have a great marriage, am teaching my kids morals and how to be loving and accepting of all - without the weirdness of ANY religion, and without the belief in a god or anything supernatural or superstituous for that matter. No believing in hell or ghosts or the devil or eternal damnation. We take responsibility for our actions - there’s no destiny or fate - you choose your own path in this life - it’s not predestined already. It’s just us in this world. And I couldn’t be happier.

I think when this sort of belief becomes a mainstream religion I’ll have a reason to join. Because that’s exactly how I feel about all religion.

I especially like the part where she says, “We take responsibility for our actions - there’s no destiny or fate - you choose your own path in this life.”

Amen.

I’m about to go on vacation for a week and I figured I might as well give readers something to chew on while I’m away. So here it is: Big Love.

HBO has been a cornerstone in my house for a while. They produce some of the best drama on television. Everyone knows about the Sopranos of course, but what most people may not know is that Six Feet Under and Deadwood have at times been even better than the network’s flagship franchise of Italian gansters.

Six Feet Under came to a (fitting) end last season, and HBO has replaced it with a new show called Big Love. It’s a brave, bold move in television history. Maybe the boldest move in mainstream television to date.

Big Love is a drama about Bill Henrickson (played by Bill Paxton), a polygamist in Utah, and his three wives. Bill is a successful business owner of a budding franchise of megastores (think WallMart). As Dooce points out in her blog the main characters are not practicing Mormons. The show makes sure to point that out early and often. They are polygamists from a fundamentalist group of Mormons located in a fictitious encampment named Juniper Creek, which earily and immediately reminds the viewer of Waco Texas.

That Bill and his wives are not practicing Mormons is not going to stop Mormons from hating the show however, because indirectly the show is very much about Mormanism. Polygamists are Mormons. The only thing that differentiates them from modern day Mormons is that they practice Polygamy, something the church no longer endorses (and only because the U.S. Government mandated they stop). One could argue that the polygamists are actually the true Mormons and that the modern day LDS folks are simply borrowing selected practices from their polygamist bretheren.

Polygamy is at the root of Mormanism. The religion was founded on it. I know this because I was, for a brief time in my life, a Mormon. I was baptised, went to church, read the Book of Mormon and prayed for guidance. I wasn’t born Mormon though. In fact, I wasn’t baptised until I was 18 years old. Like most kids that age without a strong spiritual guide in their life, I was seeking answers. My best friend was a Mormon and his family lived right next door. He may not know it, but he was someone I always looked up to even though he was younger than me. Dave is a great guy - a great person - and it was easy for me to make the connection between his religion and his persona. It wasn’t until much later in my life that I realized Dave’s religion didn’t have much to do with Dave being a great guy. Dave would have been a great human being if he was a born a Buddhist, Catholic, agnostic or aetheist. Dave’s spirit, his very being, would never have allowed him to be anything lessthan what he is. I know this because the opposite is true; because I’ve met Mormons who were the absolute slime of the Earth as human beings, and that tells me that religion does not make the man. You are who you are.

Back to the show though…

Big Love is bold television. It’s brave television. It’s got balls just for showing up to the dance. When I watched the first episode what struck me was the thought that even five years ago America wasn’t ready for this kind of TV. Polygamy is not a mainstream subject. It’s not even on most people’s radar. It’s a taboo practice that even the Mormon church, which is founded on it, tries to distance itself from at every turn. Dooce understands this very well, writing:

Mormons believe that polygamy will be practiced in the afterlife, and what I can’t help thinking is that when the civil right of marriage is ultimately extended to homosexuals and then to polygamists, why wouldn’t the Mormon Church start practicing it again? And when they do start practicing it again, how are the members of the church going to handle it? If Mormons truly believe their religion they have to believe that polygamy is their destiny, so why are they always trying to distance themselves from it? I think that many of them don’t want to ask themselves that question because they might be terrified of the answer: they aren’t okay with it.

In the second episode the directors deal with that sentiment directly when one of Bill’s daughters informs her inquisitive and judgemental Mormon friend that she, herself, doesn’t approve of Polygamy and that it is something between her dad and his wives, but not for her.

What makes this show great (and yes, it is a great show) is that one can immediately see how this could have easily turned bad in the hands of the wrong people. Polygamy is bad joke, yet it’s so taboo that not even the bravest comedian would attempt to touch it. Still, HBO bought into it and put it on TV, but they did so by doing what HBO does best - they got great folks to work on it and make it real. Big Love is not just a show about Polygamy, but a great show about relationships, religion and the pressure of having three spouses. It’s a drama in every sense of the word.

Think about this for a second: If you’re married then you know the pressure a relationship can put you under at certain times in your life. You know how hard it can be to manage the expectations of your spouse as well as your own ideas of what makes a successful relationship. You know how difficult it can be to deal with all the problems that couples manufacture during the course of a lifetime together. Then consider than half of marriages fail because two people can’t navigate the difficulties of their relationship.

Now multiply that by three and imagine how crazy that would be. That’s Big Love.

What has struck me the most about the show in the first few weeks is the absolute reality of it. It’s like watching a reality television show such as Big Brother, only better, because it’s written and directed by folks who actually know how to develop drama. These look, act and feel like real people that live next door. It amazes me that as absurd of a practice as Polygamy is, it does not detract from the quality of the show. I think it speaks volumes about the people doing Big Love that they can sell this without it seeming seedy or farcicil.

Regardless of how good the show is though, Mormons will hate it. They’ll hate it because it will remind them of their roots; of where they come from. A Polygamist founded the religion. That is inescapable fact. And if you go down that road, if you elect to acknowledge the Mormon religion’s polygamist roots, then you may find yourself digging up a whole host of other skeletons that you never wanted to see.

For me, truth became more important than dogma. I elected to dig up those skeletons, to unearth the truth. And once I saw it for myself I could no longer participate in the charade.

Big Love puts the shovel in every Mormon’s hands who watches it and begs them to dig. It even does some digging for them, a little kickstart. Having that shovel in their hand is going to make them squirm. It’s going to make them uncomfortable. It’s going to make them want to turn away and not look. It’s a lot easier to be a member of a righteous religion when you don’t have to acknowledge or debate the foundations of it.

Mormons will hate this show.

But that still doesn’t change the fact that it’s absolutely great TV.

Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. I love the spirit of it; giving presents, cooking (and eating) good food, getting family together to share stories of the past year, putting up the Christmas tree and decorating it with all the ornaments that have sentimental value, telling my kid about Santa Claus… Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside (that could also be the Tom and Jerry).

What bugs me about Christmas though is what has happened to it this year. It’s become a victim of religous zeal and political correctness, neither of which have anything to do with my Christmas.

You see, I’m not Christian. I don’t believe in the existence God, or the divinity of his sidekick, Jesus. I’m an Atheist who believes in Intelligent Design (wrap your head around that idea for a moment - I believe in a supreme being that created the universe, I just happen to think he’s currently dead. I mean, he/she/it created the universe… Don’t you think that took some effort, and might have required every ounce of personal Godly power to make happen?)

So, Christmas to me has nothing really to do with Jesus or God. It has everything to do with Santa Claus, Rudolph, Charlie Brown, a tree, lights, ornaments, snowmen, food, family, presents, bygones, and love. Oh, and football.

All of that presents me with a unique dillemma, because I’m stuck in the middle of this stupid, political/religous debate. It isn’t “Happy Holidays” to me, it’s “Merry Christmas”. But if I speak up and say that, someone’s going to mistake me for a right-wing, Jesus-worshipping Christian, and that would be incorrect as well.

I don’t want someone telling me I can’t say Merry Christmas because it offends them in a religous way. Guess what? Christmas isn’t religous to me. Am I still in trouble if I tell you Merry Christmas? Do I have to augment it by saying, “Merry Pagan Christmas?”

It makes me wonder… How many more people in the world are like me? And would Christmas be better off if we held it on a day other than Jesus’s birthday?