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E-SKEPTIC is the weekly electronic version of Skeptic magazine. In November 2002, I posed a challenge to E-SKEPTIC readers that was presented to me by an old friend named Randy Kirk, who is a Christian with whom I have had many long discussions and debates about science, religion, and philosophy. That question is: What are the benefits of being a skeptic (or nonbeliever, atheist, agnostic, free thinker, etc.); conversely, along the lines of Pascal's wager, in Randy's words: "How can the anti-god folks argue that their persuading others away from God, Jesus, and religion is a benefit to them now or in some potential afterlife. All the scientific evidence points to benefits of faith." Some entries were lightly edited for grammar and length. The response from several believers, and Randy Kirk's response, follows at the end. Why would anyone purposely add the limitations of a superstition to his/her intellect and imagination? As human beings on a backwater planet, our faculties are already limited enough. -Ron LaDow, rwmld@email.com What does not believing in God have to offer? Nothing. I believe things because I'm convinced that they are true, not because they make me happy. If I believed in things to be happy, I would believe in God. -Dan Mason, jlapaglia@hotmail.com Our ability to feel the affect that might be named "transcendence" seems to be an emergent characteristic of our species. It appears in all ethnic groups, but with variation among individuals and tempering by culture. Our ability to hold at one time both a rational understanding of something and a faith-based understanding also seems to be an emergent characteristic of our species. An appeal to a religious faith as an explanation for a feeling of transcendence simply diminishes both "explanation" and "transcendence." I have enjoyed a lot more of both since dropping my belief in the personal presence of a god. -Lee Van Slyke, San Clemente As a student and teacher of anthropology of religion, I've always been struck by the extreme religious ethnocentrism that is almost invariably inherent in the Pascal's wager-like arguments presented by Christian devotees. If they were to take this "wager" seriously, it would be incumbent on them to apply it to all of the world's diversity of religions. This would take them into a study of that diversity, and they would soon become aware of the in-depth lack of uniqueness of their particular religion, as well as the contingent nature of their "chosen" faith. In fact, such a study, if carried out in any depth at all, would leave them little to no time to devote to just one religion! -Leon Albert, lalbert001@earthlink.net Although my "conversion" was more discovery than change, I have substantially shed the debris of superstitions, unwarranted assumptions, and attacks on my credulity that characterizes life among the faithful. I feel exhilarated, and even cleansed. At long last (I'm 81), a substantial chunk of who and what I am seems to be falling into place. Although I have and will debate/discuss/argue with others, and write letters to editors and to members of the Ohio school board re "Darwin v. Design", I think it is fruitless to proselytize. I just enjoy. -Shel Harper, Broadview Heights, Ohio Ever since the day I became a full blown skeptic, and I was unafraid to announce my skepticism in organized religion and the need to answer to a God who seemed to be very demanding in areas of Love of him/herself, I am now free to live without fear of a Godly damnation and a life of everlasting fear and pain, as described by the Christian religion that I was raised in. I am now prepared to leave this world one day, and I have no fear of the unknown anymore. I am being judged by my own conscience and I still believe that man must assist others when necessary in order to achieve the most important thing that I know of: Self Respect. -George Poole, gpoole@adelphia.net I have embarked upon a journey. An entity whose world was prescribed from beginning to end, where the deepest mysteries are given meanings, and life is promised beyond the grave. Not willingly did I depart, nor yet know the final port. But once underway, there is no turning back. The winds that push me are the sins of manipulation and deceit. Only my ignorance of these practices allowed me to reside in the Promised Land. Awareness began my journey and insight and understanding became my destinations. Is there a benefit to this journey for me or for others? The question is open-ended by not specifying to what end. If your purpose will be enhanced by a close affinity to reality and truth then the dissolution of mythologies is required. If subjugation to pacifistic norms is desirable and rational thinking disruptive then there is no benefit to journey away from the dogmas of religious beliefs. I measure the benefits of my journey through the knowledge and understanding of who I am denied me in that far away Promised Land. -MMantyk@bcbsm.com My behaviors are now my own. They are not the product of religious guilt or indoctrination, but of my own mind and my own appreciation of that which makes life (all life) great! I am free to appreciate a Muslim, a Buddhist, or a "sinner" for whom they are, not what they are. When I walk beneath the stars, I can look up and wonder at their origins, while tasking my mind to try and comprehend their endless mysteries. Everything in this world becomes a question, leading to more questions, leading to endless possibilities and thought invoking quandaries. The simplest organism is precious and awe inspiring. Questions and thoughts have replaced faith and dogma. My mind is now free to roam in places once restricted. Where God once imprisoned my mind, atheism has set it free to roam the universe in search of answers...in search of nothing more substantial than a place to roam! -Shawn K. Heflick There are more than a dozen major religions, many of which profess to represent the true nature of existence. Among these, some describe an afterlife, promising wondrous things for believers, and eternal torment for the rest. Being a believer would mean choosing one of these religions, or possibly personalizing one for myself. In essence, I would be betting on the one that seems most appropriate to me. But what if there were no afterlife? I would have wasted some of the short time I have on this world encumbered by my religion's code of conduct. Even worse, what if there were an afterlife, but I had picked the wrong beliefs, thereby vouchsafing for myself eternal torment? In short, the chances of my choosing the right religion and experiencing a wonderful afterlife are slim. Given the further possibilities of no afterlife or eternal torment, I find it best to live my life true to myself. -Jamie Sanderson, jamie@sanderson.ca Let's separate 'faith' and 'doctrine'. As a person raised in Christianity for the first 18 years of my life, I can tell you that it was a huge relief for me to reject religious belief. I was rid of a lot of guilt and confusion. I am much happier now. Has Mr. Kirk read the Old Testament? How can anyone in their right mind revere a god like Jehovah, who murders, burns, and destroys his 'chosen people' when they disobey him? -james2112@rocketmail.com Freedom to see/hear/feel life through my own experiences, not through the filter of religion. Without religion, I can immediately experience, enjoy, judge and evaluate any experience without first running it through the "God filter" and deciding how I am "supposed" to feel. And contrary to what most people think, I find that a greater sense of moral responsibility comes from only having to answer to oneself. -Sheila312 Benefits to being a non-believer in the supernatural: 1. You are constantly searching for meaning and the truth since you do not settle for the "god did it," "it was a miracle," "God has his own (not-understandable by mortals) reasons," etc. 2. You believe that everything is "explainable" in principle, and the only difference between a miracle and a natural phenomenon is that you are not able yet to explain the former in natural terms. 3. You do not feel compelled to teach your children a dogma of any kind other than to think freely and to push the limits of knowledge. There are no questions that need to be silenced, ignored or dismissed as an "attitude" problem. It makes it okay to answer, "I do not know" to many of the great questions in philosophy. 4. If, in the future, a more technologically advanced civilization learns about our rituals and myths they may want to enslave us by putting on a "Second Coming" show, or impersonating Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed and the like. That will not work with skeptics. 5. You are more likely to like and understand science because it will not conflict with your belief system since it is your belief system. 6. Your moral values are not based in a reward and punishment system and the complexity of morality is more apparent to you than to those that believe it was handed out to them by a being that supposedly "knows best." 7. You do not blame the devil for the bad things that happen to you, you do not thank God for the good things that happen to you. You understand the statistical nature of events beyond your control and you take responsibility for your own mistakes if that is what caused the bad thing to happen and thank yourself and your teachers (parents, friends etc.) for the good things that are a direct result of a good decision you made. 8. You live life to the fullest because you do not trust there is "life" after death. You have obvious reasons to work on making this world a better place. You acknowledge that nobody really knows what happens after you die so there is no reason to see death as a good or a bad thing for the individual that dies and definitely as a bad thing for those who are emotionally attached to that individual. 9. You have no moral quarrels with the advancement of medicine and the extension of life because if this is it, you may want to stay around a bit longer. 10. From my personal experience I have found that I am more likely to have friends belonging to different faiths than someone that feels compelled to stick to their own kind. People also tend to speak their minds more freely around you. -Jose H. Diaz, jdiaz100@cox.net We need to first clarify the question by making a few distinctions and definitions. Skepticism does not necessarily equate with non-theism. Skepticism is essentially a way of forming and evaluating beliefs, in philosophical terms, an epistemology, plus perhaps an associated ethics of belief. Skeptics believe that in matters of the intellect we ought to follow our reason so far as it is possible. This means keeping an open mind and basing your beliefs, so far as possible, on the total evidence. None of this necessarily precludes belief in God or an afterlife. It may be that most skeptics are non-theists and doubt the possibility of an afterlife. If this is so, this is a contingent matter of fact-it just so happens that, in reality, there is no credible evidence for the existence of God or an afterlife (and perhaps rather strong reasons for doubting both). A second and essential point is that if someone is a non-theist, he or she ought to adopt that position because it is the truth (or the most likely to be true given what we know). It is a mistake to think that we ought to either believe in God or not believe in God because of the psychological benefits of doing so (or not doing so). So, in answer to the question "Why should I be a non-believer?" the response should fundamentally be, because that is the truth, and you ought to believe the truth-this what rationality requires. Someone might say that the existence or non-existence of God is not a matter of the intellect but rather of the heart, of the emotions, of faith. My response is that going this direction leads us to nothing but a quagmire of incompatible positions that all claim to be based on faith or feeling, for if reason can give us no guidance, what is there to indicate that any one faith is any better than any other? Reason is and must be the final arbiter of truth. Having said all this, I think it is a misconception that a non-theistic, non-religious worldview must be bleak and depressing. The universe may be contingent and it may have only the meaning that humans give it, but why should this be so terrible? There is abundant awe and wonder in the natural world for those who are willing to see it, and the achievements of humankind, while finite and fragile, are achievements nonetheless. As Bertrand Russell once wrote, "Happiness is nonetheless true happiness because it must come to an end, nor do thought and love lose their value because they are not everlasting." -Shawn Dawson, sl.dawson@sk.sympatico.ca One benefit I derive from my nonbelief in a God or gods is the satisfaction of being honest with others and myself. Intellectually, I find the proposition of the existence of God or gods fantastic, to say the least, and about as likely as being true as of there actually being leprechauns. I began feeling this way at an early age, but because I was raised by fundamentalist Christians it took me many years to own up to my own brain. It also took me time to develop my thinking skills to where I could make such decisions rationally and objectively rather than based simply on emotion, as I was raised to do. Years later, I can finally say, "I am an honest person-I admit that I do not believe in God, Zeus, Osiris, or any other such supernatural entities." A second benefit I derive is freedom-freedom from fear of being watched by the All-Seeing Eye of God who watches and judges everything a person does; freedom from the rules and dictates of the writers of the Bible thousands of years ago whose motives, morals, education, and very identities are unknown. I remember distinctly the terrifically joyous feeling I had when I finally admitted to myself that there was no God! I was finally free of all the superstitions, rules, tired aphorisms, and nonsense that is organized religion. I could be my own person, act by my own humanist beliefs, and finally enjoy life instead of spending my time worrying about death. And I was free to find my own meaning to my life rather than blindly adopting someone else's.
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