I was approached some time ago by the writer of the blog
You, Me, and Religion to do an interview over there. The blog is dedicated to
gathering the stories of people of various faiths and the non-religious like
me. People from all different religions and walks of life have been interviewed,
and I’m happy to be a part of the project.
There’s quite a few questions in the standard interview, 21
in all, it’s a long interview, and when I was reading my responses, I was
thinking, “damn, I’m long winded”. As
usual, I talk about my past, my transition from Christian fundamentalist
to agnostic, and being the Undercover Agnostic, but I also dive into quite a
few other issues including reincarnation, the Freethought Blogs/Atheism +
controversy, Islam and Sharia, the US concept of patriotism, John Piper and
Neo-Calvinism, and much more.
Here’s a few excerpts from the interview:
When asked what my
reaction would be if I had children and they ended up not becoming atheist or
agnostic:
If I did have a child,
and they grew up and wanted to be something other than an atheist, well, that’s
their choice. I wouldn’t have objections unless they become a religious
fundamentalist, and/or join a dangerous cult. I’m not of the mindset that one’s
children, especially when they become young adults, shouldn't have no
rights, which is the way I was treated. That’s a toxic mentality to have in a
family.
On holidays and
atheism:
I celebrate the
typical holidays that are widely celebrated in the US, and I don’t mind the
typical get togethers and feasts associated with them, but I have found
that some of them have become rather hollow, and have no real meaning to me.
Some, because of their religious origins, like Christmas and Easter, even
though Christmas has become more and more of a secular holiday in recent
decades in the US
On the idea of Heaven:
“There is no heaven or
hell, but honestly, sometimes I wish there was. I mean, wouldn’t it be
nice to know that some of the worst murderers, terrorists, and dictators in
history or even people that have abused you in your lifetime will get what’s
coming to them in the next life?”
Check out the rest of the interview at You, Me and Religion
Sheldon’s note: For some reason, all of the links I had in
the post were removed, and part of my response to question 19 will not make any
sense without the video of John Piper that I was referring to. Here is the
video I was talking about:
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I got this same well reasoned comment on my blog.
DeleteComment deleted, the name "Mabus" makes me wonder if he is the same mentally unstable (literally) Catholic guy from Montreal that made many atheist blogger's lives hell.
DeleteHe was actually prosecuted for making death threats online, and spent some time in a psychiatric hospital because of it.
Nice interview, Sheldon, but the link you posted doesn't work. Use this one instead: http://youmereligion.blogspot.com/2013/08/sheldon-cooper_24.html
ReplyDeleteOops, will correct it.
DeleteSounds interesting I will go have a look. Thanks for the link Grundy :)
ReplyDeleteit seemed to me that the question of Sharia and Burka popped out randomly....?.......or are these conversations happening in the U.S. and therefore it has relevance...?....
ReplyDeleteI did hear about some anti-Sharia groups who wanted to "ban sharia" or some such, but I was unaware that there was any conversation of these issues in the U.S.?....I know that wearing the Burka has become illegal in some European countries such as France....
CM
I had wondered about that question as well, it kind of sprung up out of nowhere. It hasn't been an much of an issue in the US yet, since there are still so few Muslims in the US, and they typically tend to stick to Northeastern cities, and the Detroit/Dearborn area in Michigan, anywhere else in the US, you're hard pressed to find any Muslims.
DeleteThat hasn't stopped some extreme right groups from stirring up people into thinking that Sharia is coming to America. There was a state, I think it was Oklahoma, that tried to pass a law banning the use of Sharia in courtrooms. First of all, that's not going to happen, and even if it did, a place like Oklahoma would be one of the last places to adopt it.
"It hasn't been much of an issue in the US"---that also seems to be the position of the American-Muslim community.
ReplyDelete"Sharia is coming to the U.S."...!!???!---Did they miss the memo that "Sharia" IS already in the U.S.?---Both Jewish and Islamic law are used in U.S.(and also in Europe) arbitration courts(marriage, divorce,... etc)
But I do agree that overhauling the U.S. judicial system and replacing it with "Sharia"(or Halacha (Jewish) or Canon law (Catholic)or Dharma (Buddhist/Hindu/Sikh)...etc) is an impossibility......
By the way, Protestant/Evangelical Christianity does not have a "law"---right? Some interpretation about Jesus Christ abolishing the law...?...or did I misunderstand?
CM
Technically, yes, the Old Testament law is supposed to be dead, but they still like to quote and venerate the Ten Commandments, as well as passages in the OT about homosexuality. ;)
Delete