In Kansas no less: Include atheists in making the world a better place

[Synnical]

http://www.kansascity.com/255/story/617764.html

Posted on Tue, May. 13, 2008 10:15 PM
Include atheists in making the world a better place

Should atheists be welcomed into religious conversations? Can agnostics, secular humanists and others sometimes grouped together as “freethinkers” make a contribution to people of faith?

To answer these questions, let’s consider the thoughts and lives of some to whom such labels might be applied.

Some Athenians accused Socrates of atheism. Early Christians were considered atheists by the Roman authorities because they did not believe in the gods recognized by the empire.

Thomas Paine, whose “Crisis” papers fueled the American Revolution, was called a “dirty little atheist.” Thomas Jefferson wrote: “It does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods or no God. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” He was accused of atheism. So was Abraham Lincoln, who never joined a church.

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Neither Confucianism nor Taoism is founded on the belief of a creator. The Tao is not God, but rather the way the universe works.

Most Buddhists hold no belief in a creator God. They prefer to be called “nontheists.” If you ask, “If there is no God, where did the universe come from?” then you might be answered, “For us, the universe is an ongoing, interrelated process that, like your God, has no beginning and no ending.”

Although most Hindus believe in God, some branches of the faith are atheistic. Mimamsa, for example, teaches the importance of dharma, which can be translated as morality, duty and virtue.

Another ancient Indian faith, Jainism, teaches respect for all creatures, advocates nonviolence and encourages charity and good works such as building hospitals and animal shelters. It also is atheistic.

Personally I want the conversation to include everyone who is helping to make the world better.

Vern Barnet does interfaith work in Kansas City. Reach him at [email protected].