"Finding My Religion" interviews Julia Sweeney

[Book Lover]

After I complained a few weeks ago in this forum about this series not interviewing more than the one token atheist, they up and interview Julia Sweeney.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2005/08/15/findrelig.DTL

How do you relate to people who strongly believe in God?

If somebody has credible evidence that there is a supernatural power that knows what I think and cares about me and offers me a life after death, I would look at that evidence with an open mind. On the other hand, I can't imagine there would be that evidence.

I mean, I have all kinds of people writing me and saying, "Oh! I'm so glad you are open-minded, because here is the evidence!" And then the evidence is "Jesus is God. Read the Bible." I realize that those people don't know what evidence means. They don't have a scientific view of the world.

[shrike]

1. I think Ms. Sweeney and I would get along fine

She would defend my right to be religious and I would defend her right not to be religious. Sounds good.

I also like her point about leaps of faith: we all take them every day. Belief of some sort is so important to our lives as human beings. I know people who are going for broke, literally, as artists, to pursue their own artistic visions and create a body of work. They have no proof whatsoever that they will succeed, or that what they are doing has any merit at all. But they believe they will, and that it does.

Of course, some people have decided that God, or someone else's concept of God, requires evidence and not faith, and that's fine, too. I have never understood why, in this country, we cannot leave each other alone; respect each other's boundaries. This is why I advocate a complete separation of Church and State: it might bring us closer to that ideal. (Although, unlike most people, I don't give a rat's ass whether "Under God" is in the pledge or not. I think it's a bullshit issue. But maybe we should return the thing to its original state -- One Nation, Indivisible -- and be done with it.)

[Book Lover]

2. I can't agree that everyone takes leaps of faith every day

or any day. Julia speaks for heself; no one can speak for all atheists.

[shrike]

3. Well, that may be a bit of an exaggeration, yes

Maybe not a daily occurrence. Maybe not even a weekly or yearly occurrence. But hope and faith are a vital part of being human, whether or not one believes in a deity. Even the search for love -- one cannot prove that one will find a loving, appropriate partner, but who among us does not hope -- or even believe -- that such a person is out there.

Maybe the word 'dreams' is a better one than faith -- the capacity to dream makes us human, wish and hope for better things. Yes, I know that one must work long and hard to make a dream come true (even believers know that), but it all starts with the ability to imagine and hope.

[Book Lover]

5. Perhaps

I am far less of a romantic than you appear to be. I don't know that I can agree with your assertions.

[shrike]

7. LOL. Yeah, I guess I am a romantic

I guess my outlook colors my view of the achievements of man: accomplishing great things, not always out of need or expediency, but because some so-called crazy person had a grand idea he/she wanted to put into practice. I guess I regard that sort of thing as a leap of faith.

[beam me up scottie]

4. I think atheists would be more than happy

if everybody left each other alone in this country.

If religion was a truly private thing and not being forced on the public in schools and government institutions, I doubt you'd even know we were here.

[shrike]

6. I think we ALL would be much happier if we left each other alone

One of the many things that drive me crazy about American society.

[SheepyMcSheepster]

8. she had a piece on NPR's "This American Life"

it was simply great, i don't know if she was reading excerpts from her book, but it was fantastic. i recommend giving it a listen if you can find it.

she talks about going from a catholic upbringing to attempting to "understand" god through bible study in her later years. the more she looked, the more it became obvious that the whole concept was ludicrous.

[LisaLynne]

9. What she said about the "evidence" some people think they have...

is right on. I've had those conversations. I remember long ago being a naive 12 year old who had been indoctrinated since birth in a Fundie religion trying to ask the "church elders" how to prove to someone who doesn't believe in the Christian bible that it's true. I honestly thought at the time that there had to be some way to "prove" it, but all they could give me was that people have to be "open to Jesus" or some such nonsense. I mean, I think I really thought there had to be actual proof, or why would these people expect anyone to believe? I still vividly remember talking to these guys, who weren't bad guys, really, and realizing that I, a 12 year old GIRL, nonetheless, had just stumped them and they didn't have an answer for me -- because there wasn't one. Suddenly, it made sense why my parents had gotten so angry all the times I had tried to ask them for such proof.

Ah, good times. :)