The Ignorant Atheist

I keep a keen ear out for religious debate. I do not do so for hopes of participation or persuasion, but simply to hear what people have to say (this is not entirely true, but I would hope that one day it would be).

Lately, I’m becoming aware of a large quarrel in the debate that is bothering me, and it’s not coming from the religious side.

When it comes to the ‘how?’ or ‘when?’ in regards to the universe, it seems that the religious side holds the upper hand, since it has an answer (albeit a false one).

The Atheist

I want to make it plainly clear to those who are not atheists that atheists are not of a one-track mind. There is a plethora of disagreement and varying philosophy within the school of thought. Atheists disagree on many issues, including morality, prejudice, scientific truths, etc.

Therefore, I need to be clear when I say that I, in no way, can speak for atheists-at-large, since such an organization cannot exist. Those that do exist are usually only in agreement on the absence of God; they are not in agreement on alternative possibilities.

The Ignorant Atheist

Having said that, here is an angle from which I think an atheist can safely, and justifiably, counter religious origin questions.

It can be summed in the following, completely honest and blatant truth:

“I don’t know.”

There are two more points that need to be added if the above is not enough:

“Neither do you.”

And

“It’s okay that we don’t know.”

There it is. Currently, we (mankind) are not able to answer questions about our origins (at least not all of them). Many atheists argue that, someday, we will be able to answer these questions, that science will yield us the truth. This is wishful thinking, at best. Or, they may present theories about the origin of the universe, citing the high probability of each. Again, these may even be close to truths or very logical; but they are still conjecture.

But it does not matter. The unknown is acceptable. It is scary, yes, which is why religion has such a stronghold in that department. Providing an answer always makes a man stronger. Lighting up the dark, illuminating the way, showing the path, bla bla bla, are some of the ways to tribal domination. But they are illusory.

The quest for truth cannot tackle every unknown; it focuses on the presentable and evidenced present and past, sometimes able to predict the future.

The ignorant atheist accepts that a Godless world is a mysterious world, filled with dark alleys and unknown roads, and that such a world is acceptable, true, and with which he must deal.

And that is all.

Questions?