A spiritual atheist? Many people think of the historical Buddha as a spiritual person, but most don’t know that he never expressed a belief in a god.
Computer Spirituality
The computer could recite a million facts, perhaps, and yet not know what to use them for. If it came to understand these limitations, and to actually wonder about the world outside its circuits, and to desire to see more, and to grow – that would be computer spirituality.
The humans who use it, most of whom can’t begin to understand it’s complicated algorithms, still are more powerful. They see the world more clearly.
Atheist Spirituality
The difference is that an atheist feels no need to pretend to understand the mysteries – no need to create religions and gods to explain them. We don’t know, and we don’t have to know to tap into them.
A spiritual atheist? An atheist simply doesn’t believe in a god. Contrary to what many think, there is no need for an atheist to disprove that a god exists, anymore than a Christian needs to disprove that the world is ruled by intelligent termites. The difference is that an atheist feels no need to pretend to understand the mysteries – no need to create religions and gods to explain them. Seeking the way beyond that box is what makes one a spiritual atheist.
An atheist can recognize the mystery of life and marvel at how everything learned deepens that mystery, pushing “final” causes further into the distance. This is an atheist spirituality.
Is it that atheists don’t want to know? Better to simply use spiritual tools like “intuition” and let them be understood – or not – with time and real evidence.
We are growing in our knowledge and power, but like that spiritual computer, our circuits are in a box that we need to grow out of. Seeking the way beyond that box is what makes one a spiritual atheist.
An atheist simply doesn’t believe in a god. Contrary to what many think, there is no need for an atheist to disprove that a god exists, anymore than a Christian needs to disprove that the world is ruled by intelligent termites.
