Post-Atheism, from the experience of an Ex-Mormon
Truth does not begin with an answer on behalf of which all questions must constantly rearrange themselves. Truth begins with fearless questions.
Originally the material for this book dealt with my Ex-Mormonism, but soon evolved into a broader context. It was originally titled, The Higher Mormon, then the Mormon Crucible, then Post-Atheism. (There is essentially no difference between the books titled Deliberate Belief and Post-Atheism.) I hope the book continues to evolve ... which gives me some I hope that I am still evolving with it, if not by it.
Why do I believe what I believe? If I were to persist, unquestioningly, with the presumptions of my own culture, then in Germany 1939, I most certainly would have been a Nazi. If born into the Ku Klux Klan, I most certainly would have been a racist. On the other hand, if I were born into sainthood and conferred great value upon humanity, I would be accidental and therefore without merit. At some point in my life I must examine my cultural and moral heritage ... at some point I must transcend the official message of my culture and identify those natural laws which influence my behavior and account for my beliefs.
Thus far, the sum of my faith has been determined by having too few parts at its disposal. In times past, the Hopi built his pueblo out of adobe and the Eskimo, his igloo out of ice. How could it have been otherwise? The Hopi did not have ice. The Eskimo did not have clay. Just so, I build my faith out of the facts available to me, the nearest facts, the facts of my cultural inheritance. Suppose that I refuse to challenge this inheritance. Is my belief system then more than that of an animal in a zoo which has had its label securely fastened to its cage? All are agreed, this is a "Leopard" and that a "Cow" ... just as we have the "Christians" here, the "Muslims" there, the "Buddhists" down the way. And if I claim to have made "my choice," do I do so with any difference than a duck "chooses" to quack and not to bark? A duck quacks, a dog barks, I parrot my culture. Do I want more for myself? A born Christian claims Jesus; a born Muslim, Muhammad; a modern Japanese, ... no religion. Do I want more for myself?
Note: Post-atheism was also published under the title, "Deliberate Belief: Diary of a Religious Crisis." The two books are almost identical.
Next Page: from the chapter The Conversion of Faith
from the chapter The Conversion of Faith
from the chapter The Modern Fetish
Table of Contents from Post-Atheism
Ex-Mormon - On the Outside, Looking In
This book is also titled, Deliberate Belief
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Truth does not begin with an answer on behalf of which all questions must constantly rearrange themselves. Truth begins with fearless questions; answers arrive accordingly.
There is more ape in man to deny the relation than there is more than ape with which to accept it.