In Dog we trust (1)…
I am an atheist. I suppose I’m a bit of a radical atheist inasmuch as a whisper of metaphysical reverence starts my eyes rolling and I fight to suppress an imaginary gag reflex. It is not that I believe the world does not contain an incredible amount of wonder, or that it does not manifest evidence of coincidence, which is often taken to be deity inspired. Neither is it that I would attempt to relieve people of faith from their self inflicted burdens, whatever they might be. Mostly it is because, I have witnessed no evidence, either in my own pysche or in the public domain, that has convinced me that there is even one iota of substance to the notion that there is a benevolent god above us who has one shred of interest in the goings on here on earth. And yet there are manifold reasons why people would elect to put their faith in a god of some sort, many sorts I suppose, if we are telling truthes here. Some of those reasons surely come down to cases of food poisoning inspired visions, or even a particularly odd case of indigestion. And if these are the wacky reasons they are but at the outside edge of reasoning with tremendous room for other creative validations. Many just simply want to believe, because they’re scared, or lonely, or tired, or broken and to have the thought that at least someone cares is sustenance for their days. Shame on us that they feel that way.
