The triumph of gratitude over wishful thinking

“I would love to believe that when I die I will live again, that some thinking, feeling, remembering part of me will continue. But much as I want to believe that, and despite the ancient and worldwide cultural traditions that assert an afterlife, I know of nothing to suggest that it is more than wishful thinking. The world is so exquisite with so much love and moral depth that there is no reason to deceive ourselves with pretty stories for which there’s little good evidence. Far better it seems to me, in our vulnerability, is to look death in the eye and to be grateful every day for the brief but magnificent opportunity that life provides.”

–Carl Sagan

Matt Taibbi rocks it (as usual)

Matt Taibbi, who’s my hero when it comes to delivering smackdowns to terrible writers, read my mind and wrote a kick-ass response to Stanley Fish’s much-discussed New York Times column “God Talk.”

I was dinking around the WordPress tag pool when I came across a blog called The Curious Atheist, which linked to Taibbi’s post on True/Slant.

Consider this excerpt, which he wrote in response to the idea that since science can’t explain all the mysteries of life, and since life seems meaningless without religion, religion is necessary:

But this sort of thinking is exactly what most agnostics find ridiculous about religion and religious people, who seem incapable of looking at the world unless it’s through the prism of some kind of belief system. They seem to think that if one doesn’t believe in God, one must believe in something else, because to live without answers would be intolerable…. They seem determined to prove that the quality of not believing in heaven and hell and burning bushes and saints is a rigid dogma all unto itself….

I don’t have much to add. Taibbi is absolutely right; this is evidenced by the “it takes more faith not to believe” rhetoric spewed by many religious folks. I’ve encountered the idea many times before: people want to think that atheism and agnosticism require a whole separate faith that’s based in worshiping science or something. However, it’s been my experience that once you confront the fear of simply not knowing (especially not knowing what happens when we die), embracing the mystery is more comforting and awe-inspiring than religion ever could be.