I saw a billboard that read: Atheism, a personal relationship with reality.
This would not be good to feel all warm with.
Of course my son was delighted as he picked out and counted five A’s. The reality that there were only 4 is not important to a 3 year old.
(later I checked and the sign had sponsors listed at the bottom and there were five A’s in that row, which makes me ask – Just whose reality?)
The sign made me think of a child laying down to bed at night cuddling and resting her head on cold wooden blocks that have numbers and letters to count. It did not make me think of a happy loved child with a teddy bear that protects and comforts.
I would venture to say, that most violent offenders, learned the behavior from reality.
I know very happy and content Atheists. They all have one thing in common: they are filled with love.
I also know very unhappy Atheists. They all have one thing in common: abundance of anger.
When I see a child in suffering I help because my deep love for that child. When an Atheist sees a child in suffering they also help, frequently out of rage toward the travesty. Here I am not suggesting that either of our acts of kindness are superior to the other. I do not even believe that the acts create any higher likelihood of either prospering somehow in an eternal space of love. I am speaking here strictly of which reality I prefer.
Kind of just makes you want to snuggle
Warm and fuzzy reality vs. Cold and prickly reality.
I will match intellectual achievements and rational arguments here with any that would comment. Many will overmatch me, but no one will be out of my league. I live an intellectual reality filled life. I even submit to the ridiculous standards of university style education. But I would not under any circumstance call what I have a personal relationship with reality. That just sounds yuckie! I do have personal relationship with real things like, earth, plants, animals and especially humans, I do love them all. All I have snuggled up next to and shared warmth. But not a test tube or kitchen table or car.
If a theism is where you have your personal relationship, you may have a problem.
I attend but do not have a personal relationship with any church. I do not have a personal relationship with any religion or sect. I do not have a relationship with money or work. I certainly do not have relationships with things – because they are real. Relationships to me are binds that tie us to what we consider living things. Some books come alive for me, but we do not have a relationship. I certainly hope that none of my loved ones think I Love a concept more than them.
A personal relationship with Christ.
This fellow Christ taught Love in the most divine way possible. I know of no one without sin except for him. The lessons he taught are guideposts for my life. To this day I see miracles as a result of his presence. I feel like He is easily, my best friend, my brother, my father, my teacher and my artist. I think of divinity as perfection. I think of Jesus as perfection. And yet his teachings reveal that He loves me even more than that. That is a relationship. You may like it or not. But only a bozo brain could think he has a personal relationship with reality. Reality does not love back. However I suppose that many who would espouse such an idea also do not love back.