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mentor: profile

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mentor

golo url: mentor.golo.com

born: 1961

gender: male

golo member since: March 18, 2008

about mentor

I am a freethinker...a scientific naturalist, if you will.

Freethought: a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logic and not be influenced by authority, emotion, tradition, or dogma.

Philosophy is questions that may never be answered...

Religion is answers that may never be questioned...

Politically I would self-identify as a moderate, though some other golo members might still consider me a "moonbat." At times my political views tend to be more Libertarian, which is one reason I have so much admiration for Thomas Jefferson. It seems political points of view are treated as stereotypical caricatures by many members. It's always easier to attack your own cartoonish version of the other person's views than to understand what the other person's views actually are.

One of my favorite pastimes is studying the philosophers of history, especially in the area of religion. I spent years mentally "at sea" on the topic, knowing my Methodist upbringing wasn't ringing true in my mind...yet not being willing to entertain the possibility that what I had believed all my life might not really be true. I came across the writings of a man named Robert G. Ingersoll, and realized I had stumbled on what I was looking for. If you have never seen or read any of his speeches, do yourself a favor and do so! You can find his work (among others) at www.infidels.org He echoed all my unspoken sentiments about everything that was wrong with Christianity.

Why I Am An Agnostic (1896)

About the Holy Bible (1894)

I floated for a short while in the deist realm, along with the likes of (the much maligned) Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. After more study of the theist/non-theist debate, and soaking up all the modern evolutionary biology I could get my hands on, I began to realize that the universe is explainable without a god as a first cause...in fact it was more convoluted to insert a complex un-caused being at the beginning! Ockham's razor chops away the unnecessary complexity and leaves a simple conclusion: The universe, in some form or other, has always existed. A hard concept for us to grasp, but much simpler than a creator god who was there when it started - but who had done "god only knows" before that! (pun intended)

The hardest part of letting go of God is letting go of the idea of an afterlife...we all somehow feel we should continue on forever, even after our bodies die. I came to realize that this life is all we have. This bothered me for a bit, but it makes a lot more sense than tripping off into an eternity of existence after just a quick 'blip' of a biological life. Epicurus long ago noted that death need not be feared..."If I am here, death is not! When death comes, I shall not be here." Why fear something we will never "share the room with", so to speak? Mark Twain brought his wit and common sense to the topic as well when he said, "I was dead for millions of years before I was born and it never inconvenienced me a bit!" I expect it will be the same for all of us as well. My memory of 2112 will be the same as my memories of 1812! :-) The belief that our lives are just a quick prelude to some vague eternity to come later robs us of the full appreciation for the life we have right here, right now! When we can realize that this is our one and only life, it becomes all the more special and dear to us.

The other difficult part of letting go of religious belief is realizing that there will be no "final justice". Hitler is dead; simply dead. There is no hell for him to go to...his existence is ended except for the horrible memories of all the wrongs he perpetrated on humanity while he was alive. Horror was his legacy. Hopefully his miserable life will continue to teach us what the fruits of racial hatred and fascism really are.

You and I have our own opportunity to leave a legacy as well...hopefully a positive one! Maybe this is our shot at immortality after all - to leave behind good memories in the minds of people who knew us..to bequeath to the future all the best we could muster, seen through the eyes of our children.

But, I digress. If you want something to happen in your life, go out and make it happen! If you want justice, you will have to work for it. There is no celestial umpire that is going to call the game in your favor and fix all that was wrong with your life. Prayer is mind-talk and may help some people, but if you use your mind and your reasoning skills, one day you will realize that you're only talking to yourself. YOU are the architect of your future! Be proud of your successes, and don't beat yourself up over your failures. Life is short, and precious....live it for what it is: a rare and special opportunity!

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Please don't misunderstand my purpose here solely based on the amount of material I present relating to non-belief. Actually, I would characterize myself as more of a logic-based polemicist than an iconoclast. I have no agenda to "bash" religious faith per se, or to cast aspersions on anyone for whom faith and religion are important. In my contributions I will do my best to avoid contributing to the consequences and pitfalls of a world in which the lines between fact and opinion, informed expertise and amateurish speculation are willfully blurred.

Fun YouTube Destinations!

MadTV Carlin sketch.

A few notable quotes.

A few thoughts from Sam Harris.

It's not always easy to be secular in the U.S.

"Of all religions, the Christian should of course inspire the most tolerance, but until now Christians have been the most intolerant of all men." - Voltaire

"I would defend the liberty of consenting adult creationists to practice whatever intellectual perversions they like in the privacy of their own homes; but it is also necessary to protect the young and innocent. - Arthur C. Clarke

The Bible is not my book, nor Christianity my profession. I could never give assent to the long, complicated statements of Christian dogma. - Abraham Lincoln

In religion and politics, people's beliefs and convictions are in almost every case gotten at second-hand, and without examination. - Mark Twain

Fear is the mother of all gods. Nature does all things spontaneously by herself without their meddling. - Lucretius

About the name Mentor: Years ago, when I was running a bbs, I had a user with this handle. He was an old guy who had a way of bringing just the right mix of wisdom and common sense to a discussion. He's long gone now, and I use the name mostly as a tribute to him.

We now have a group for atheist/agnostic golo members! Please apply if you would like to be part of it:

nc-atheists.golo.com

An expanded blog on these topics is under construction on Wordpress HERE. Comments and discussion are welcome! If you prefer, you may reach me directly at free.thought2@gmail.com.