| View Blog
|
|
|
|
A friend of mine and I were talking this week. She got angry at me for swearing to god (her anger was that I was swearing to her god); the whole being an atheist thing. So now I have started swearing to something else now: Oprah. But all of this got me thinking about how someone should live his or her life according to the beliefs of an atheist (as I see things).
I got kind of obsessed about this last week. I really needed to get this down. I talked to a professor of ethical studies at the University that I attend. I tried to figure out where the values that we as people hold come from. I tried to figure out what would be “ethical” to historical figures that I look up to. Some of them include: Thomas Jefferson, Galileo, Abraham Lincoln, Milton Friedman, and David Hume (All of these historical figures have been considered atheists by some). I drew some conclusions from their writings and the things that they said in speeches. I drew up a few guidelines.
1) Be skeptical. Don’t believe everything you read, see, or all told. If your mother says she loves you, you had better check it out.
2) Seek out the truth. Nothing is more important than the truth. Religion has propagated itself because the intelligent individuals didn’t look for the truth.
3) Educate yourself on science and philosophy. They are the armor that you must surround yourself within. Also educate yourself on the teachings and values Christianity and other religions. You must be able to defend your beliefs and the best way that you can do that is by knowing more about the religion that the members.
4) Live in peace with all other members of mankind. Religion has been the cause of many wars and conflicts. Learn the lesson from that. This also means that you should never pick a fight about philosophical points of view with someone who is religious. If you make it known that you are an atheist, then those who have been wronged by religion will find a way to you. Besides, you can never convince someone who is religious that their god isn’t real. If they have faith in what they believe, then you can’t touch them.
5) Live this one life that you have to its fullest potential. People who believe in a higher power tend to believe in life after death. An atheist should know what happens after you die. You don’t get a second try at life.
6) Follow your own ethical and moral code. American morality comes from more than the bible. And while it comes from the Judeo-Christen perspective, it also comes from the Greco-Roman philosophical point of view. The two ideologies are almost identical. The only exception is that the Greco-Roman philosophy didn’t come about because god gave to them. The Greeks and Romans looked at what kind of lifestyle they wanted to live and then they looked at what kind of lifestyle they were living and they moved to change.
7) Leave a valuable contribution for the future. Fight to progress science above religion. Leave behind proof of science.
I consider these guidelines to be an accurate representation of Thomas Jefferson, Galileo, Abraham Lincoln, Milton Friedman, and David Hume. I hope that my guidelines are more helpful than a blind command to follow. I also don’t want anyone to think that I hate the religious. I love the people but I happen to have chosen a different way to look at the world than they have. Let me know what you think.
|
|
Posted by tradecraft on 2008-04-02 17:00:00 | Rating: | Views: 100
|
|
| |
|
|
| Blog Comments
|
|
|
|
From a heart that is unlike mine... but your words dd not enrage me as i first thought I would be. I feel to peace in your being, and the love in your heart.
|
|
Posted by feelfree
on 2008-04-02 18:02:58
|
|
|
|
|
|
Email This to a Friend 
