Hi to my TimesDaily Forum Friends,
Albert Camus, a French-Algerian author and philosopher who won the Nobel prize in 1957, wrote in one of his books, "I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist."
Yet, this same man also said, “I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't -- than live my life as if there isn't (a God) and die to find out there is.”
His first statement reminds me of one who would day, "I am not alive -- but, I am not dead!'
Your first reaction to this statement has to be, "There are only two states of being: alive and dead. How could a person be neither?"
This line of thought began today because a Friend sent me an e-mail which contained this quote, “I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't -- than live my life as if there isn't (a God) and die to find out there is” -- and she attributed it to Pastor T. D. Jakes. This made me curious, so I went looking for where the quote really originated. Not that I doubted that Jakes said it, but was he the first?
To my surprise, I found that this quote originated with Albert Camus, author, philosopher, Nobel prize winner, a man many often associated with existentialism. Wikipedia says of Existentialism: "A philosophical movement which posits that individuals create the meaning and essence of their lives, as opposed to deities or authorities creating it for them. It generally postulates that the absence of a transcendent force (such as God) means that the individual is entirely free, and, therefore, ultimately responsible. It is up to humans to create an ethos of personal responsibility outside any branded belief system."
Yet, existentialism, which correlates very well with atheism, is a belief system. So, basically, the existentialist/atheist is really saying, "I do not believe in your belief system; for I already have my own belief system."
So, Camus' first statement, "I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist" -- does not surprise me; for I see in this statement a very confused man, a man who does not really know what he believes; for he is saying: Neither God, nor atheism. Sorry, but the only middle ground between these two is the agnostic -- one who is sitting on a fence asking, "Which way should I fall? Maybe I will wait for the next big breeze and possibly that will show me."
For when you find a person who says, “I would rather live my life as if there is a God and die to find out there isn't -- than live my life as if there isn't (a God) and die to find out there is” -- and then have that same person say, "I do not believe in God. . ." -- that is the height of contradiction.
This is analogous to a person who will say, "I know, without a doubt, that this medicine will heal my child -- but, I don't believe it will help him." Hey, buddy, if it will heal him -- that will be a great help.
I just thought I would ask my Forum Friends, what would you think if you heard a person say, "I do not believe in God and I am not an atheist"?
God bless, have a wonderful, blessed day,
Bill Gray
billdory@pacbell.net
Alabama bred,
California fed,
Blessed by God to be a Christian American!
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