A Boring Demonic Life

In my earlier post today, I began examining a quote by Tamara Scott, an Iowa Republican National Committee member, who made the claim that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles because "what made better Christians made better citizens." Granted, I am not sure exactly what she meant. She went on to say that "law only punishes crime but Christianity changes the heart and prevents it." You can go look at crime statistics that show this isn't the case.

I have heard Christians witness, and I intellectually understand what Scott is trying to say. People who are born again claim that they committed every sin, partied every night, were drunkards and fornicators and on and on. I hear it, but it does not connect to my own life. I could understand if a Christian says that religion has improved his/her life or that the beliefs make his/her life more meaningful. It is wrong to draw these very broad conclusions and say that Christians are just better period.

In my own case, I was raised Catholic, attended Catholic school where we read the Bible, and went to mass and on religious retreats to explore my spirituality and relationship with God and the saints. I eventually questioned everything about Catholicism in particular and Christianity more generally, eventually becoming "spiritual not religious" and finally dumping all the supernatural beliefs altogether. I spent many years as an agnostic before really embracing the atheist term.

What I can say in all this is that I really haven't changed much about my life at all in this transition.

If the devil is working through me, he is creating a very ordinary life.

In my immediate family, we are all atheists and I have several close friends and neighbors who are atheists. No one I know has gone to prison. We all have jobs and homes. Some have families, some don't. Most of us have pets. We pay taxes, our mortgages, and the bills. Some of my friends are on their town's planning board and school board. We are supporters of the arts and we like to buy from local businesses. We try to tip our servers well; many of us have worked in the service industry and know it can be a tough job. We give money to charity and have done volunteer work. We keep up with the news and vote.

On a day-to-day basis, my life is no different than the ones I see my religious friends living. I have friends and family of various denominations of Christianity, and I have a colleague who is Muslim. In general, religion is not a big part of our conversation. Instead, we talk about work, our families, movies, books or tv shows, and our vacations. In terms of being good citizens, I do not perceive that they are better than me or other atheists.

Long story short, I do not perceive any notable difference between theists and atheists in terms of how they live their lives and the outcomes of their choices. 

And, just as a reminder, Tamara Scott's comments are her reaction to a secular invocation at a town council meeting. (Links for Part III and Part IV of this discussion.)

Random small pleasures for this afternoon:

-meetings where something actually gets done

-air conditioning in the heat

-chocolate