We now continue considering the article Atheism Groups Grow on College Campuses, from which we are gleaning certain issue of interest. Find this whole series here.
The article states:
Many stress that their lives are guided not by anti-religiousness, but belief in science, logic and reason.
There is nothing like zeal without knowledge and baseless proclamations of self-appointed superiority. Oh, it is they, the atheists, who have a belief in science, logic and reason. They will likely never learn this within the secular institutions of higher re-education wherein they learn the atheist catechism but not only are the science, logic and reason premised upon theism, specifically Judeo-Christian theology, but the greatest champions of science, logic and reason have held to the Judeo-Christian worldview. The fact that young and excitable atheists do not know this and are thus, erroneously, attempting to commandeer science, logic and reason as somehow pertaining to, or leading to, atheism is the stuff of which anti-historical elitism is made.
“The goal,” said Andrew Severin…”should be to obtain inner peace for yourself and do random acts of kindness for strangers.”
There it is again: taking moral stances without having a moral premise upon which to take the stance. Who made Severin the authoritative proclaimer of dogmatheism? Atheism has a goal, really? The goal “should be…”, really? Says who and according to whom? Personal preference and nothing more.
Moreover, why should the goal be the obtaining of inner peace for yourself and do random acts of kindness for strangers? As far as the atheist worldviews goes, this is merely an option based only on personal preference which are themselves based on personal preference. Conquering, oppressing and mass murdering the less fit is also an atheist option.
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Severin calls himself a “spiritual atheist.” He doesn’t believe in God or the supernatural but thinks experiences like meditation or brushes with nature can produce biochemical reactions that feel spiritual.
Thus, Severin is of the Harrisian school of atheism. Sam Harris is an atheist Buddhist mystic who does not like the terms atheist, Buddhist or mystic. Just as Sam Harris, Andrew Severin dogmatheistically declares that experiences like meditation or brushes with nature can produce biochemical reactions that feel spiritual—whatever spiritual may mean. Nonetheless, two points are noteworthy:
1) Indeed, meditation or brushes with nature can produce biochemical reactions that feel spiritual.
2) Meditation or brushes with nature can produce biochemical reactions that feel spiritual but are not.
Since spiritual can mean virtually anything then yes indeed, meditation or brushes with nature can produce biochemical reactions that feel spiritual. Yet, he is assuming that these biochemical reactions are merely brain stuff and have no connection to a spiritual reality beyond mere bio-chemical neural reactions.
Also, since meditation or brushes with nature can produce biochemical reactions that feel spiritual this would show that what appears to be spiritual is really not. What Sam Harris, Andrew Severin, et al, are proposing is circular illogic. Their argument is, essentially: 1) Biochemical reactions produce feels of spirituality. 2) Biochemical reactions are not transcendentally spiritual but are mere bio-chemical neural reactions.
3) Therefore, there is no such thing as a true transcendent spiritual but what is thought to be so is merely caused by brain stuff.
Now, if there is no such thing as a true transcendent spiritual experiences because what is thought to be so is merely caused by brain stuff then, there is no such thing as a true transcendent spiritual experiences. However, we can only know that there is no such thing as a true transcendent spiritual because what is thought to be so is merely caused by brain stuff if we presuppose that there is no such thing as a true transcendent spiritual but what is thought to be so is merely caused by brain stuff.
They have not investigated every claim of a truly transcendental spiritual experience and determine that they are all merely caused by brain stuff. Rather, they merely dogmatically proclaimed that they are brain stuff. On the other hand, if even one spiritual experience was a truly transcendental spiritual experience then their dogmatheism fails.
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