The word atheism originally meant 'another theism', another form of religious belief. For once upon a time not believing in God was inconceivable. And indeed, Atheism can present itself with a declamatory aloofness similar to that of a Pentecostal Preacher. The urge to brow beat you into submission can feel unrelenting.
Modern atheism’s raison d'etre depends on the eradication of a belief in God. Theism and Atheism facing off against each other, like two bookends back to back in an unedifying duel for supremacy. Atheism finds itself unable to stand alone, unsupported by what it is in opposition to. That it cannot offer us a broader more compelling vision for humanity than that, is fundamentally the problem with it. It’s like being on a stringent diet, without being able to envisage what we’re hoping to achieve through it, we’re unlikely to stick with it.
That we might be much better off without a God, overlooks what an unbridled human nature is capable of without guide rails. Nietsche's declaration that ‘God is dead’ preceded a century of brutal atrocities. The worst of which entirely political in causation. If you turn off the light, it's alarming how quickly the dark sets in.
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