Q:Do you believe we have a soul?

iloveranch

Short answer?  No.  I don’t.

Longer answer?  The “soul,” to me, is simply consciousness.  And consciousness does not exist outside the human body.  When we die, the brain ceases to function and our “soul” or consciousness is gone.  

I used to believe there was some type of consciousness outside of our physical bodies and it was something I held onto from my religious days for quite a long time (I’ve written about it HERE, if you’re interested).

Thanks for the question!  ~JJ

caitlinchronic replied to your post: Since you’re still accepting anons, I have a secret I just really need to tell someone. I feel so so guilty for being an atheist, because it means that my sister isn’t in a better place somewhere and I won’t see her again- she’s just dead.
I think this was why I had such a hard time grieving the loss of my brother. While my mothers grief is different, because son and brother are different, she has the comfort of believing she will be reunited with him.

Agreed.  That is something atheism cannot provide - comfort for the grieving after a death.

I actually wrote about this subject way back when I first joined tumblr.  If you’re interested, you can read it HERE.

Q:Since you're still accepting anons, I have a secret I just really need to tell someone. I feel so so guilty for being an atheist, because it means that my sister isn't in a better place somewhere and I won't see her again- she's just dead.

Anonymous

Oh, hun.  I’m so very sorry about your sister.

I’m curious why you chose the word “guilty.”  Why does accepting the finality of death make you feel guilty?

Q:My stepdad, raised catholic, has been discussing religion with me since I confirmed that I am agnostic atheist. His main argument is that the "soul" can't exist without god because if there's life after death, someone has to be in charge of all the souls... I feel hopeless in trying to explain to him that the "soul" is merely our consciousness, because he responds saying it's something spiritual that's not attached to the physical body in any way. What do you think about "souls" in this context?

bjulianne

The “soul,” to me, is simply consciousness.  And consciousness does not exist outside the human body.  When we die, the brain ceases to function and our “soul” or consciousness is gone.

However, I do know some pantheists that believe in a soul separate from the human body… and their description might be of some use to you when speaking with your step-dad.  

In the most simplistic of terms, pantheists believe that everything is unified, so everything is “god.”  There is the physical world (our bodies, the air, the rocks, the trees, etc.) and the spiritual world (the “consciousness” or “soul” of everything in the universe) and we’re all connected.  When a person dies, their “soul” is simply enveloped back to the spiritual world and their body decomposes to be renewed again in the physical world.  Nothing is “in charge” of the spiritual world because it is ALL the spiritual world.  Nothing is separate.  All is one.

Pantheism, to me, was a transitional belief between theist and atheist.  The concepts are less jarring and the truth that we ARE all connected (star dust, of course!) is nicely explained within this philosophy.  Dawkins calls pantheism a “sexed-up atheism,” so using their explanation in this situation isn’t entirely an abandonment of your agnostic atheist beliefs.  :-)

Again, I believe as you do - soul is consciousness.  Period.  But the pantheism explanation might be helpful when speaking to a theist if he can’t make the leap from “soul” to “no soul.”  I hope that helps!  Good luck.  :-)   ~JJ

Death is sad, not scary; hug tighter; tigers (reblogable by request)

Have you dealt with the finality of death yet with your son? My little brother recently learned I am an atheist, and he asked “Why?” many times, so I answered. He brought up heaven, which I told him I don’t think it exists and that it is a nice thought, but I don’t think it is real. He broke into tears, him extrapolating to never seeing family again after death. Advice?? He is 8.

I’ve been pondering how to answer this all night.

My only experience with talking about death with a child is with my own… and my own children have never been told there was any type of heaven.  We’ve talked about the “circle of life,” of course: Death follows life, and new life follows death.  My son’s version of an “afterlife” is the hope that his body will decay into dirt, which will then grow grass, which will then be eaten by a deer, which will then be eaten by a tiger.  He really, really, really hopes that his body will eventually nourish a tiger.

He’s asked me “What does being dead feel like?” in the past.  I responded with the typical “Well, remember what it was like before you were born?  It will be just like that.”  He was perfectly happy with that response.

The concept of death as the end is brand new to your brother, though… and you know, that IS sad.  But that feeling of sadness can be a catalyst for living the life we have right now to the fullest.  For my 7 year old, if the discussion is happening before bed, that usually means “more hugs, tighter blankets, and read me three more chapters.”

So… to summarize: death is sad, not scary; hug tighter; tigers.

Does that help at all??  ~JJ

Q:Have you dealt with the finality of death yet with your son? My little brother recently learned I am an atheist, and he asked "Why?" many times, so I answered. He brought up heaven, which I told him I don't think it exists and that it is a nice thought, but I don't think it is real. He broke into tears, him extrapolating to never seeing family again after death. Advice?? He is 8.

capturethebomb

I’ve been pondering how to answer this all night.

My only experience with talking about death with a child is with my own… and my own children have never been told there was any type of heaven.  We’ve talked about the “circle of life,” of course: Death follows life, and new life follows death.  My son’s version of an “afterlife” is the hope that his body will decay into dirt, which will then grow grass, which will then be eaten by a deer, which will then be eaten by a tiger.  He really, really, really hopes that his body will eventually nourish a tiger.

He’s asked me “What does being dead feel like?” in the past.  I responded with the typical “Well, remember what it was like before you were born?  It will be just like that.”  He was perfectly happy with that response.

The concept of death as the end is brand new to your brother, though… and you know, that IS sad.  But that feeling of sadness can be a catalyst for living the life we have right now to the fullest.  For my 7 year old, if the discussion is happening before bed, that usually means “more hugs, tighter blankets, and read me three more chapters.”

So… to summarize: death is sad, not scary; hug tighter; tigers.

Does that help at all??  ~JJ

She will be remembered

I’ve been struggling to write this all morning.  I’m usually pretty clear in what I want to convey, but today I’m not.  At all.  If you bother reading this, please forgive the fragments and lack of direction.

Today is the anniversary of the death of a dear friend’s child.  

She was less than a year old.  ”SIDS” was all the doctors could tell us.

Celine Dion’s ‘A Mother’s Prayer’ played at her funeral.  That moment, listening to that song, was the only time since becoming an atheist I have ever wished I could believe in God again.  God with a capital G.  A loving, forgiving, faithful Father that was cradling that baby girl in His arms right then and there.  That there was some purpose, some ultimate plan that made her death make sense.  And that, most importantly, my friend would see her daughter again some day - smiling and happy - in heaven.

I wanted that to be true, so badly, for my friend and her family.

But the problem with atheism based on education and studying the Bible and reading works by genius authors that destroy any last bit of doubt you might have held… there’s no going back.  I didn’t “lose my faith” when I became an atheist.  I simply opened my eyes and saw religion for what is was.

My friend’s daughter was a beautiful, joyful, precious baby girl.  We miss her terribly and her face will be imprinted in our minds until we die.  And that has to be enough… because that’s all there is.  She will be remembered.  Never forgotten.  Always loved.  ~JJ

“Where faith really pays its dividends, however, is in the conviction that the future will be better than the past, or at least not worse… The allure of most religious doctrines is nothing more sublime or inscrutable than this: this will turn out well in the end. Faith is offered as a means by which the truth of this proposition can be savored in the present and secured in the future.”

~ Sam Harris (The End of Faith)

This quote, this entire idea, has been on my mind all weekend long. 

Kim’s post this morning expounds on the effects of this idea.  Complacent acceptance of others’ (and their own!) pain and suffering.  Willingness to overlook the atrocities in our world as a “plan.”  A belief that everything is temporary and that death will be better than life.

But faith in the happiness of death keeps people trapped in their prayers, in their churches, in their dreams.  In most situations, it doesn’t inspire action.  (Though in the worst situations, it DOES inspire action.  Horrible action.)  We have a large segment of our population that literally hopes we are nearing the end of the world.

What a horrible way to live!  We have this one, very precious, life.  And think of the changes that will happen once more people start to realize this.  I know how accepting the finality of death changed my life and how I interact with my family, my friends, every person I meet.  This is it.  It’s all we have.  

I personally do not fear death… but I sure as hell don’t think it will be better than life.  ~JJ