The World Beyond BetterMost > Anything Goes
Atheists: Come out, come out, wherever you are
Impish:
I came across a quote I like that was said by a character in a David Ellis novel:
"Philosophy is the study of questions that cannot be answered; religion is the study of answers that cannot be questioned."
Pretty pithy, huh? :laugh:
isabelle:
That's a good one, Impish! Will keep it in mind, to use in my family reunions ;D. OK, maybe not!
TexRob:
--- Quote from: Impish on May 27, 2006, 06:58:44 pm ---It's easy to confuse atheism with existentialism: all existentialists are atheists, but not all atheists are existentialists.
--- End quote ---
Not all existentialists are atheists. There is a strong vein of religious existentialism, of which Soren Kirkegaard is an example. Personally, my interpretation of existentialism is purely atheistic, and influenced a bit by Sartre.
One thing that struck me about Brokeback Mountain is that it's the purest example of existentialism in film that I've ever seen -- start to finish. Existential themes have been taken up in a lot literature, but never in film or television -- at least, not to this degree. This is part of what absolutely floored me while watching, and it has a lot to do with the film as a work of art.
Impish:
--- Quote from: TexRob on July 10, 2006, 09:07:08 pm ---Not all existentialists are atheists. There is a strong vein of religious existentialism, of which Soren Kirkegaard is an example.
--- End quote ---
I'm fascinated. Could you give a brief summary of the beliefs of religious existentialists? Are these people who believe in a god but don't believe in an afterlife?
delalluvia:
--- Quote from: Impish on July 09, 2006, 07:24:47 pm ---I came across a quote I like that was said by a character in a David Ellis novel:
"Philosophy is the study of questions that cannot be answered; religion is the study of answers that cannot be questioned."
--- End quote ---
Good one. Was depressed again upon reading a woman's letter to the editor after one magazine wrote up an interesting article on 'Harry Potter' and its themes.
To paraphrase one part of her letter - she was a Christian - "I don't care if you spell it demon or daemon, it's still a demon..."
Yet another fine example of the closed-mindedness and ignorance that the exclusivist religions encourage.
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