Transparent Eye

A piece focusing on the growth of organized atheism in South Carolina.

In keeping with the new generation of atheist evangelists, the Pastafarian leaders say that their goal is not confrontation, or even winning converts, but changing the public’s stereotype of atheists. A favorite Pastafarian activity is to gather at a busy crossroads on campus with a sign offering “Free Hugs” from “Your Friendly Neighborhood Atheist.”

NYTimes Nicholas Kristof writes about a conference at Notre Dame that probably could not be held in a Muslim country.

My Evangelical Christian friend, Wintery Knight, has a post on a debate between Christopher Hitchens and Willian Lane Craig in which Craig says that one of the purposes of life is to glorify God.

Even when I was religious, I always found the glorification of God to be a lesser form of spirituality. As an Orthodox Jew, I disliked the text of the Yishtabach prayer (though I liked the tune)

May your Name be praised, our King, the God, the great and holy King, in heaven and on Earth. Because, our God and God of our forefathers, you deserve song and praise, lauding and hymns, power and dominion, triumph, greatness and strength, praise and splendor, holiness and kingship, blessing and thanksgivings now and forever.

It seemed to me that the Rabbis thought that God had a self-esteem problem, and His ego needed massaging. Even as a religious person, I thought these prayers were inferior to the Psalms, which often expressed delight and gratitude rather than the obsequious praise of the courtier.

In life, I can think of two reasons why you might flatter someone. First, the person might be insecure, and out of compassion you might say a little white lie that makes them feel better. Second, the person might have power over you, and you tell a lie in order to elevate them in the hopes of reciprocity, that they will elevate you, or at least not punish you.

This sucking up to God seems to me like the flattery of the poweful. The extravagent praise of the Yishtabach prayer strikes me as something done to propitiate a poweful and potentially dangerous Being that could destroy you.

Does God need our glorification? A mature person does not need constant praise (though a heartfelt thank-you every once in a while is appreciated).

I absolutely agree with Meg Barnhouse that UUs have a sense of sin, even without any directions from on high. Any social group develops some sense of what brings them together, and what is the complete opposite of that spirit.

I have read that Unitarian Universalists don’t have a strong sense of sin. I beg to differ. Following is a list of some UU sins. If you admitted these at coffee hour, there would be some throat-clearing, some uncomfortable fidgeting, maybe even a stern talking-to: driving a big old gas-guzzling SUV, tossing glass and plastic bottles in the trash, belonging to the National Rifle Association, watching reality TV, throwing a book away, using a word incorrectly, and feeding the kids sugary snacks, just to name a few.

I am surprised to see reality TV on the list. TV in general is problematic, but I don’t see reality TV as worse from a social viewpoint. It depends on the show, but I’m a big fan of The Amazing Race. One thing I enjoy about it is that it has exposed me to contemporary daily life in a number of countries, as opposed to the more glamorized version one may see in movies. I thought it was pretty cool to see a couple cities in Siberia this year, not places that normally get much exposure.

I knew about the doubts about certain types of surgery. But I am surprised about cough syrup. It seems to work on me. Perhaps I’ll cough more now that it’s placebo effect has been undone.