Can a Theist be an Atheist, Too?
an open horizons approach
For process theologians like me, and for others in the open horizons tradition,
God is not an all-powerful ruler in the sky, or a judgmental moralist,
but an eternal companion and healing presence, more concerned
with the well-being of life than with being flattered or worshiped.
People who have their doubts about God and God's existence,
can sometimes cooperate more fully with God's love than fervent believers,
and their rejection of God is part of what empowers
their cooperation. There is a "yes" to life in their "no" to God.
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Thus I share with atheists a disbelief in God as a bully in the sky,
a supernatural being, a substitute for reason, and a cosmic moralist.
For me as for them, that God does not exist: a projection into
the sky of overly human and sometimes despicable traits.
This page, developed for atheists, theists, and the vast majority in between,
offers springboards for reflection when considering the place of atheism
in personal life and interfaith work. Such reflections best begin
with an understanding of atheist's "no" to "God." John Lennon can help.
-- Jay McDaniel
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Links for Humanist/Atheist History and Beliefs
(mostly from Harvard Pluralism Project)
On being tired of God.
Some Reasons even Theists
Grow Tired of "God"
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Tired of God as a substitute for Reason and Inquiry
Tired of God as an idea to which people appeal when there is a gap in scientific knowledge, otherwise called the god of the gaps. Tired of God as a tool for Social Control Tired of God as a conceptual tool people use to control others and pull them into a single way of thinking and acting. Tired of God as an object of intellectual Obsession Tired of God as a focal object in the intellect and imagination, which becomes an object of obsession. They cannot think about anything except this focal object -- God -- and always turn conversations back to it. Tired of God as an excuse to avoid Ambiguity Tired of God because the idea of God functions in people's lives as an "answer" that allows them to hide from complexity and ambiguity. The idea of God keeps people from growing up and dealing with ambiguity on their own terms. Tired of God as an excuse for Violence Tired of God as an excuse for violence: that is, an idea to which they appeal to validate and sanction the harm they do to others. Tired of God as a substitute for Curiosity and Wonder Tired of God because, when God is construed as an answer, people fail to enjoy what makes life worth living: curiosity and wonder. Tired of God as one who allows or permits Suffering Tired of God as an answer to tragedy and suffering, when God is construed as an agent who "allows" or "permits" unnecessary suffering and needless heartache. Tired of God as a Caesar in the Sky (almost always angry) Tired of God as as an entity in the sky whose sole preoccupation is with reward and punishment for small and harmless sins and who is almost always morally outraged. -- Jay McDaniel |
Tired of God as Elevated Above the Muck of LifePeter Rollins is tired of God as an abstract entity who distracts us from being fully immersed in the ambiguities, complexities, pain, and beauty of life.
Tired of God as a Controlling EntityThomas Oord is tired of God as a controlling power who either "allows" or "causes" unnecessary suffering, terrible heartache, and injustice.
Tired of God as a God of the GapsNeil Tyson is tired of people appealing to God when there is a gap in scientific knowledge.
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Can a Theist be an Atheist, Too?
A pan-en-theist exploration
If you are a process theologian, you believe in an inclusive Love with consciousness and purposes, who is not all-powerful but who provides fresh possibilities for healing and wholeness relative to each situation and whose life includes all things. See God with a Spacious Heart: an Introduction to Panentheism. You believe that this Love is natural, not supernatural, and that it is everywhere. Thus, you are not an atheist. And yet you are as troubled by concepts of God as are atheists; indeed, you share in the eight reasons to be "tired of God" noted above. You, too, are an atheist if that means resisting images of God as a bully in the sky. If, in addition, you are involved in interfaith work, you welcome humanists and atheists into the network of interfaith, as you do many others, with a desire to understand and appreciate their points of view. In the words of Eboo Patel, you want an "appreciative knowledge" of atheism/humanism: that is, a sense of what atheists and humanists know and see about the world, and what they find beautiful, and honest, in atheism itself. For you, part of this appreciative knowledge will consist of three things:
The reflections below are toward these ends.
- seeking to understand them in appreciative terms understanding not only the "no" of atheism but also the "yes" -- that is, the vision of positive good and beauty which can inspire their lives.
- imagining what it might be like to "become an atheist" without sacrificing your theism, incorporating the wisdom of atheism into your own life.
- imagining what it might be like for them to move from atheism to some kind of theism, without sacrificing the wisdom of their atheism.
The reflections below are toward these ends.
Moving from atheism to panentheism without leaving atheism behind
Apophatic Pentecostalism
Apophaticism is negative theology: theology that finds wisdom in negating concepts of God for God's sake. Apophatic pentecostalism is a special kind of apophaticism. It is not so much theology as it is a movement of the heart and mind: a interior movement of the soul. It is the psychological and spiritual activity of awakening to God's Breathing, and thus understanding that God is more than our concept of God; not because God is so far away but because God is closer and more palpable than we ever imagine. It is a shift from God the concept to God the breathing. From Atheism to Faitheism For some people this activity requires a process of disbelief, an act of negation, a recognition that God is not a policeman in the sky or a king on a throne. Some become atheists, because God the policeman is the only God they've ever known. In time, for some, this act of negation is followed by an affirmation, the emergence of a trust in God's Breathing. Atheism becomes faitheism. God becomes a universal Consciousness whose breathing winds it way throughout the course of life, animating all things and luring us toward wisdom, compassion and creativity. This Consciousness is not a cosmic person but also not a mere nothing. The Faitheist may or may not believe in the Consciousness, but she believes in the Breathing. From Faitheism to Pan-en-Theism In this belief there is no pretense of certainty or absolute knowledge. Indeed certainty is the opposite of faith. We come close to this Breathing when we walk in hopeful uncertainty, not clinging to what is possible, but rather walking in the cloud of the impossible. In the cloud of impossibility, in the womb of hopeful uncertainty, the Breathing walks with us and in us. We cannot grasp it with our minds but we can trust it with our hearts. This is Faitheism. Is there a Breather behind or within the Breathing? When people pray, is Someone listening? The matter is best left to the lights of the individual Faitheist. If she senses that there is someone listening, she can affirm God the Bodhisattva: the womb-like Life in whom all lives unfold. She becomes a Pan-en-theist: which mean that everything is inside God but God is more than everything added together. If she senses the opposite – namely that there is only the Breathing but not a Breather – she stands in the tradition of Faitheism. Either way, she can live from the Breathing, adding her part of beauty to the larger world. That addition is her gift to the world. -- Jay McDaniel |
Believing in the Holy Spirit but not the cosmic moralist or bully in the sky
an existential possibility "You think about God too much," a friend said to me. Her point was not that God is unreal, but rather that I was spending too much time thinking about God. God had become an object of my intellect, a focal point in my imagination; and I was trying to be clear about it, figure it out, and share it with others. "You won't grow up spiritually," she said, "until you grow tired of God." She was right. Sometimes being tired of God -- or least tired of talking and thinking about God -- is a sign of spiritual maturity. It is better to pay attention to the Holy Spirit. The word "God" is, after all, a finger pointing to the moon. The problem is that, sometimes, we end up worshiping our finger and forgetting the moon. This is true for those among us who are overly focused on our idea of God at the expense of being open to new truths, accepting the ambiguities of life, and loving our neighbors as ourselves. We have turned God into a position in our imagination, a idea to defend, and somehow become lost in our theological heads. And it is especially true for those who unconsciously use "God" as a tool for controlling others, all under the auspice of sharing what we consider right thinking and good news. We spend too much time trying to convince others to agree with us because we need to feel right about things, not realizing that our need to feel right can suffocate the beauty of differences. If we are in this situation, the God may well lure us to grow tired of God. In our weariness we gain freedom from a focal object in our imagination and turn to that really matter: loving others and being loved by them. This love is more important to God than "God." In our turning we are not really leaving God behind, rather we are awakening to the Holy Spirit or God's Breathing. This is thespirit of creative transformation at work in the world, which is inside us as a quiet beckoning to seek truth and goodness and beauty in our lives and to love others as we love ourselves. This Breathing is not in humans alone. It is also in other living beings as their innermost lure to live with satisfaction relative to the situation at hand and within the universe as a whole as a lure toward new forms of order. The ongoing evolution of our universe -- galactic in its scope -- is evoked by this Breathing. If we grow tired of God as a focal object in our imagination, we may be relaxing into God's Breathing and not worry so much about the rest. -- Jay McDaniel |
World Loyalty
A covenant for theists, atheists, and agnostics
Yes to the song of the universe and no to the bully in the sky.
Theists believe that someone is singing the song: not a bully in the sky but a divine companion who is infinitely loving and needs our cooperation for the fulfillment of divine aims. The aims of God are not self-centered but rather to promote the well-being of life. God is Love. Agnostics don't think there's enough evidence for or against the existence of a singer, and suspect that it is dishonest to pretend certainty on such matters. Atheists are pretty sure there is no singer at all, only the song of the universe, and they are particularly troubled when people believe in a bully in the sky. They believe that this belief has caused great harm in the world. If theism means belief in the bully, atheists are anti-theistic.
Theists, atheists, and agnostics all believe in the song of the universe. The song has two intertwined melodies. One melody is that aspect of the universe which leads toward order, novelty, and heightened forms of life. It is the cosmic lure toward self-organization and adventure. We see its presence in the ongoing history of the stars and galaxies and in the evolution of life on earth.
The other melody is that aspect of the human heart which leads to wisdom, compassion, and creativity. It is the indwelling lure toward awakened life and the well-being of life. We see its presence when people are true to the goodness within their hearts as expressed in kindness and courage, honesty and creativity.
Put these melodies together and you have the song of the universe as a lure within the depths of the human psyche. We do not create these melodies; we respond to them. They are not supernatural but ultra-natural: as natural as gravity and rainbows.
We theists, agnostics and atheists place our trust in this song and want to live from its rhythms. We make a collective covenant to the well-being of life on earth. We call it world loyalty.
Our covenant is simple and freeing. We will do our best to add our small portion of justice and beauty to the world by taking care of the earth, taking care of the vulnerable, and making sure no one is left behind. No need to worry about appearance, affluence, and marketable achievement. No need for keeping score, accruing merit badges, or holding grudges. For us, it's the love that counts.
-- Jay McDaniel
A covenant for theists, atheists, and agnostics
Yes to the song of the universe and no to the bully in the sky.
Theists believe that someone is singing the song: not a bully in the sky but a divine companion who is infinitely loving and needs our cooperation for the fulfillment of divine aims. The aims of God are not self-centered but rather to promote the well-being of life. God is Love. Agnostics don't think there's enough evidence for or against the existence of a singer, and suspect that it is dishonest to pretend certainty on such matters. Atheists are pretty sure there is no singer at all, only the song of the universe, and they are particularly troubled when people believe in a bully in the sky. They believe that this belief has caused great harm in the world. If theism means belief in the bully, atheists are anti-theistic.
Theists, atheists, and agnostics all believe in the song of the universe. The song has two intertwined melodies. One melody is that aspect of the universe which leads toward order, novelty, and heightened forms of life. It is the cosmic lure toward self-organization and adventure. We see its presence in the ongoing history of the stars and galaxies and in the evolution of life on earth.
The other melody is that aspect of the human heart which leads to wisdom, compassion, and creativity. It is the indwelling lure toward awakened life and the well-being of life. We see its presence when people are true to the goodness within their hearts as expressed in kindness and courage, honesty and creativity.
Put these melodies together and you have the song of the universe as a lure within the depths of the human psyche. We do not create these melodies; we respond to them. They are not supernatural but ultra-natural: as natural as gravity and rainbows.
We theists, agnostics and atheists place our trust in this song and want to live from its rhythms. We make a collective covenant to the well-being of life on earth. We call it world loyalty.
Our covenant is simple and freeing. We will do our best to add our small portion of justice and beauty to the world by taking care of the earth, taking care of the vulnerable, and making sure no one is left behind. No need to worry about appearance, affluence, and marketable achievement. No need for keeping score, accruing merit badges, or holding grudges. For us, it's the love that counts.
-- Jay McDaniel
Greg Epstein, Humanist Chaplain at Harvard
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From the Harvard website:
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Greg M. Epstein has served as the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University since 2005. In addition, he is the Executive Director of the Humanist Hub, a center for humanist life in Harvard Square, where atheists, agnostics and allies can connect with other people, act to make the world better, and evolve as human beings. At the Humanist Hub, Greg speaks monthly as part of the Hub’s popular weekly Sunday speaker series; co-facilitates the Hub’s Monday night discussion group; advises the Harvard Community of Humanists, Atheists and Agnostics (HCHAA); and meets regularly with students, Harvard affiliates, and Humanist Hub members from all over the greater Boston area.
Greg oversees the Humanist Hub’s staff and its busy and diverse range of programs and initiatives, including a Secular Mindfulness/Meditation group (Tuesdays); a Reading Harry Potter as a Secular Sacred Text course (Wednesdays); the Learning Lab, a secular Sunday school and curriculum development initiative for using creative and play-based techniques to teach ethics, mindfulness and community to the children of local non-religious and interfaith families; Values in Action (VIA) interfaith, community service and social justice initiatives; as well as regular game nights, social gatherings, and much more....more
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Greg M. Epstein has served as the Humanist Chaplain at Harvard University since 2005. In addition, he is the Executive Director of the Humanist Hub, a center for humanist life in Harvard Square, where atheists, agnostics and allies can connect with other people, act to make the world better, and evolve as human beings. At the Humanist Hub, Greg speaks monthly as part of the Hub’s popular weekly Sunday speaker series; co-facilitates the Hub’s Monday night discussion group; advises the Harvard Community of Humanists, Atheists and Agnostics (HCHAA); and meets regularly with students, Harvard affiliates, and Humanist Hub members from all over the greater Boston area.
Greg oversees the Humanist Hub’s staff and its busy and diverse range of programs and initiatives, including a Secular Mindfulness/Meditation group (Tuesdays); a Reading Harry Potter as a Secular Sacred Text course (Wednesdays); the Learning Lab, a secular Sunday school and curriculum development initiative for using creative and play-based techniques to teach ethics, mindfulness and community to the children of local non-religious and interfaith families; Values in Action (VIA) interfaith, community service and social justice initiatives; as well as regular game nights, social gatherings, and much more....more