From: Spike Jones (spike66@ibm.net)
Date: Sun Nov 07 1999 - 12:26:54 MST
> Spudboy100@aol.com wrote: ...WASP culture survives (opinions, attitudes
> and beliefs) even though their view of God has been deposed. The analogy
> would be like going to a Thai restaurant and dousing everything with
> mayonnaise...
You raise some interesting questions Spud, ones with which I have been
rassling for years. For many of us who grew up in CFC-dominated (christian
fundamentalist churches) society, or WASP culture, our core system
of ethics and morals are based directly on those teachings. After years
of being atheist, I am still unable to give a simple, crisp bumper sticker
answer to those who claim that CFCs provide a solid framework upon
which to base ones morals and teach ones children ethical behavior.
Of course, atheists are moral and ethical people too, but the reasons why
we are tend to be more complicated and subjective than the CFC version,
which is: god says do this, so I do. Humanism contains all the same
core values of honesty, forthrightness, etc, but it requires *brains* instead
of blind obedience.
And to be honest, I am not sure myself that had I been an atheist from
the start, would I still have the same moral and ethical values. I am
an extremely introspective person. I am deeply entangled in the values
memes with which I was infected as a child. I cannot turn them off,
even tho my mind has overpowered the <god>.
Consider for instance the <faithfulness in marriage>. Most would
recognize that this meme is solidly CFC based, and yet I cannot shake
this one off even if I tried, and it is unclear to me that I should try. Yet
from an atheist's point of view, it is difficult to explain to others why
the meme holds under atheism. All I can say is: I do not believe in
god, but I do beleive in the ethical and moral system which the <god>
people espouse.
As you can see, I am groping here, so anyone can jump in and help
at any time.
{8-] spike
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 15:05:43 MST