Bill asked me this question:

If you were to die and find out that God DOES exist, do you think you’d go to heaven or hell?

A few years ago I came to the conclusion that if such a thing as hell existed in the universe of an all-powerful all-knowing Being who is all-good and all-compassionate, that all-powerful Being would do something to prevent any human going there. Because even the thought of any human being tortured forever would literally be hell to that all-powerful all-knowing all-good and all-compassionate Being. Even when I’m frustrated with my kids I don’t wish eternal torture on them. And obviously I’m not all-good and all-compassionate although I try not to be a complete jerk.

If the universe is being run by a sadistic monster, maybe a lot of people including me will find themselves in hell.

Actually I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it either way. I have no control over who runs the universe. Read the rest of this entry »

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Last week the Dalai Lama was in Seattle for a five day meeting focused on compassion. Here’s the description of the event from the website:

An unprecedented gathering to engage the hearts and minds of our community by highlighting the vision, science, and programs of early social, emotional, and cognitive learning.

Anchored by the deep wisdom of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, this community–focused event will celebrate and explore the relationships, programs and tools that nurture and empower children, families and communities to be compassionate members of society.

Each of the five days will provide parents, educators, business and community leaders with an opportunity to better understand the real benefits of compassion, and concrete steps on how to bring compassion into their lives.

I flew out to attend the final day, whose theme was ‘Youth and Spiritual Connection’. I was privileged to attend a private prayer breakfast with the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu. That was followed by a two part panel discussion with those two men and several spiritual leaders from a variety of religions/spiritual traditions. Read the rest of this entry »

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Beth, a Christian, and her atheist friend Traci decided it would be fun to visit Christian women’s ministries together and write about their experiences. They’ll be posting about them regularly on our ChurchRater blog.

To give you a taste, this is what they posted after the first two visits (they’ll be writing about them in more detail soon - this was just a quick update):

A quick debrief on the heels of a spiritual formation workshop (soulcare) and — a mere 13 hours later — BSF

Traci was greeted with a hug at her first women’s ministry event.
Beth’s stress zit is beginning to vanish.

Traci opted out of dinner before the workshop.
Beth joined Traci for post-workshop beer and debriefing chez Cumbay where Dr. Cumbay stunned her by saying, “Traci is the least spiritual person I’ve ever met.”

Traci earned bonus points in our “I’ve never said that” game when she said, “I need to go shower - I have Bible study this morning” before BSF.
Beth exhibited a tiny bit of Christ-like (righteous) road rage on the way to BSF.

Beth anticipated a hug from the syrup-smiled greeter who rushed her at the door but got spanked instead for trying to carry Starbucks into the sanctuary.
Traci remains awed by the reaction to Beth’s introducing her as an atheist.

Update: Traci posted Beth and Traci and the Looks on Their Faces this weekend.

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I went to see the movie The Golden Compass yesterday. The movie version doesn’t incorporate all the plot complexity and subtlety of the book but I enjoyed it nevertheless. The effects were well done and Lyra was perfect – smart, brave, loyal, kind and feisty!

The rest of my comments are about the trilogy His Dark Materials which begins with The Golden Compass. It’s hard to comment on just one book (or movie) since I’ve read the whole trilogy. (But I won’t include spoilers)

Reading His Dark Materials (in 2002) was a powerful experience for me. I found myself very caught up in the story and characters and didn’t want it to end when it did.

More than that, it did the very thing some Christians fear; it drove a deeper wedge between me and conservative Christianity. Read the rest of this entry »

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A few years ago I realized acceptance is essential to living a happy life. It also occurred to me that acceptance may be simpler for atheists.

When Christians encounter personal suffering or tragedy, there’s always a ‘why’ question that has to be dealt with, namely:

“Why did God, who is all-powerful and claims to love me, allow this to happen?”

When atheists encounter personal suffering or tragedy (any type which isn’t directly caused by another human), it’s ‘just the way it is’. There’s no person behind it to ask ‘why?’ to.

I think this makes such things easier to accept (not easy, but easier) than if God is in the picture.

What do you think?

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Here’s something fun to end the week with. This video is not ‘mean’ church humor - it’s a series of “oops - it wasn’t meant to happen that way!” video clips. I hope you enjoy it!

Church humor video

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What would it be like to be an atheist at a Christian college? If you want to know, read the blog Leaving Eden. The author of it is at Wheaton College and is an atheist.

Last week it felt very lonely:

I walked across campus today after a conversation that signaled the end of another friendship. Thinking, this is what it feels like to be alone. It sucks.

If Jesus was the friend of non-religious people, shouldn’t Christians be too? Why does admitting to being an atheist end this person’s friendships with Christians?

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God’s Gal posted an excellent question in the comments yesterday:

I have a question for any non-believer on this site, and I really do want to know this…I’m not being flip here… Do any of you, or any athiest believe in sin? I mean crossing the boundaries on moral issues? I’m not sure where to look up definitions of words for you anymore, I guess the dictionary doesn’t count according to former posts…but I’m just curious. And, how do you know the difference between good and bad…in your opinion?

So far one atheist, ash, has responded:

@GG1, i believe in right + wrong, but not sin as that tends to be a religious thing, and often about absolutism. last time i answered this question it took about a month, so i’ll direct you to that convo…any more questions, feel free :d

Can we have government without faith?

ps, i join in at July 11 - the thread may sound political, but we mostly talk about ethics.

I’d love to hear what other atheists have to say. Christians, feel free to join in the discussion. Everyone please be respectful of others even if their moral boundaries doesn’t make sense to you.

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Hi everyone - Bill kindly invited me to be a guest blogger here and this is my first post.

A bit about me: I’m almost an atheist; I was a Bible-believing Christian for about 17 years. In ‘real life’ I’m a stay-at-home Mom. Online I’m blog manager for Off The Map and I host the blog Conversation at the Edge for them.

Onto my question for today: I’m curious about how differently Christians and atheists (evidently) see the world. The other day Gods Gal was saying she can’t look at the world outside without seeing evidence of God. hoverfrog, writerdd and siamang responded that when they look at the world outside they don’t see God at all. (That conversation is in comments #49-#52 on What If…)

Why do we see things so differently?

• Do you think it’s because you’re open to what’s real, but those who see differently are too biased to see clearly the way you do?
• Do you think you’re smarter than those who see differently from you?
• Do you (if you believe in God) think people can only see evidence of God if he lets them see it - and that’s why some see it and some don’t?

Here’s the tricky part See if you can answer these questions without offending those who see differently from you.

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