Reading Tom Frame has got me thinking again about the idea of atheism. When someone says they are an atheist, what are they saying about themselves? What do the words "I am an atheist" tell you about a person's world view? If you were to ask me my worldview, I would say I am a Christian. I might qualify that - I am a progressive Christian who has been strongly influenced by liberation theology. From this, you would be able to deduce a lot about my worldview. You would know that I believe there is a god, although I don't claim full knowledge by any means. You would know I place a high value on the teachings of Jesus and try to follow them, that I am particularly driven by concern for social justice and for the elimination of poverty. You would know that I value compassion and empathy, that I have a more or less traditional Chrisitan view about what is right or wrong. The same would be true of someone who said they were a Buddhist, or a follower of Islam.
'Contemplating the teeming life of the shore, we have an uneasy sense of the communication of some universal truth that lies just beyond our grasp.' - Rachel Carson