tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5102345806482065959.post2916806047064970171..comments2014-10-21T15:18:44.198-07:00Comments on Tom Shetler: The End of Metaphysics?Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02083511689909853826noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5102345806482065959.post-39250883137513270422010-07-03T00:33:27.208-07:002010-07-03T00:33:27.208-07:00The Huxley quotation you refer to seems to indicat...The Huxley quotation you refer to seems to indicate that his change in philosophy led to a subsequent change in behavior. It does not sound like he sought out a change in philosophy first in order to justify sinful behavior. And I can't say whether the quotations from Johnson and Freud that you have in mind say it either. But that's the kind of thing that I'm looking for. Obviously, a realization that God is imaginary should lead to a subsequent change in certain behaviors: one should enjoy drinking a beer, or enjoy having sex, or enjoy saying Damn without feeling too bad about it. But this does not mean that one must begin his inquiry about God intending to enjoy those sinful habits.<br /><br />Unfortunately you do not qualify as a source either because you are not an atheist now. I recall hearing Lee Strobel give his testimony on TV once.. he said something to the effect that he was an atheist and he knew he was running away from God. But the belief that you are running away from God presupposes a belief in God. Therefore Strobel was not an atheist, he was a backslider. An atheist is someone who does not have a belief in God.<br /><br />Your reply is filled with code words that imply you have some "secret knowledge" about the innermost thoughts of other people: "an unspoken..unconscious element," which I guess means unconscious to me, but not to you. "Their stated reasons," or "another deeper and more personal reason," implies that you have personal knowledge about my thoughts.<br /><br />Let's be honest. The Christian understanding that atheists have a belief in God and are willfully rejecting him is an article of faith. It goes along with the whole Christian doctrine package, doesn't it? Once you buy-in to Jesus, you have to take all the other ideas in the Bible too. You have to believe in a Satan figure who is leading unbelievers astray. Your contention that atheists are seeking justification for a sinful lifestyle depends on the very point your trying to prove. <br /><br />So if you can, please try again. I'd like to interview a real atheist who thinks like you say.<br /><br />JeffJeff Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454164693102031973noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5102345806482065959.post-44428613743833705392010-07-02T21:17:09.300-07:002010-07-02T21:17:09.300-07:00Thank you for your comment Jeff,
One of the most ...Thank you for your comment Jeff,<br /><br />One of the most famous quotes that support my allegation is from Aldous Huxley, "For myself, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation, sexual and political." Many more examples can be found in Paul Johnson, the famous British historian's book, "Intellectuals," and the British literary critic John Carey's "The Intellectuals and the Masses." I am of the opinion that Sigmund Freud's views of sexual inhibition were an expression of this principle, that sexual mores were a form of repression born of the influence of Christianity upon Western culture.<br /><br />I am not saying that most people who reject religious belief consciously reject faith for this reason. In fact, Aldous Huxley's statement is almost shocking in its honesty. In my experience, liberation from moral restraints was an unspoken and even unconscious element for many of the atheists/agnostics I've known. In other words, they would never say they were rejecting God because he is the enemy of their pleasures. Their stated reasons have to do with science or history or philosophy. We certainly must take them at their word, but there is another deeper and more personal reason too. They do not like the restrictions they believe that religion places upon them.<br /><br />In many ways this is a tragic misunderstanding. Fulfillment and happiness come through living according to the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, and of course, through a relationship with Christ. I was a non-Christian long enough to know the pain of guilt and uncertainty, and so, I will be forever grateful to Jesus for His redeeming grace. As an unbeliever, I avoided exposure to anything Christian because it made me uncomfortable about things I was saying and doing. I believed that if I got seriously religious I would be guaranteed a dull, strict, and unhappy life. I couldn't have been more wrong. There is a real sense that I could give you my email address as an example of someonoe who "disliked the idea of God because they see Him as the enemy of their pleasures."<br /><br />I will check out your website.<br /><br />Thanks,<br />Tom ShetlerTomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02083511689909853826noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5102345806482065959.post-67535814960751595952010-07-01T22:39:32.461-07:002010-07-01T22:39:32.461-07:00You wrote: "It is rather easy in your 20'...You wrote: "It is rather easy in your 20's and 30's to boast of your courage in rejecting religion, while never disclosing that your real motivation is to be free of moral restraint. Most people dislike the idea of God because they see Him as the enemy of their pleasures."<br /><br /> I am 43 and an atheist. I guess I don't fit the mold. If you can give me the name and email address of ONE atheist you know who became an atheist in order to be free from moral restraint then I will read your book. I would like to interview that person myself. Of course your contention is that an atheist wont admit such a thing. Why couldn't someone logically conclude that your view of God is false? But let's be honest. You don't know that from experience; it depends entirely upon the theological view which you are trying to argue.<br /><br />If you fail to provide the reference then you can instead read my argument for why a biblical, Christian view of God cannot be true. You can find my deconversion story at WhirledBulletin.blogspot.com<br /><br />thanks,<br /><br />jeffJeff Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11454164693102031973noreply@blogger.com