Judaism, Atheism, Anti-Semitism, Religion, and Meaning of Life
"… But Roberto, life is a race against oblivion. Time is precious. Please, darling, don't squander your resources on assholes and scumbags. Start living. You don't have much time left. "
That was what a woman from way up north in the frigid Fairbanks told me after I had narrated to her a recent ugly "episode" about an ugly asshole who loved dishing out gratuitous insults but could not take any in return. She is an old--- yes, old and ancient, but crusty and combative like hell---friend of Jewish descent, and an atheist to boot. Yes, Judaism is not monolithic. It has many branches, one of which embraces atheism warm-heartedly. In some ways, Judaism marked a real development in human intellectual endeavors. Of course, I don't agree with some of its self-serving claims, but I understand a people had to make up bullshit stories and create myths about themselves to give them strength and pride so they could survive. One thing that endears Judaism to me is that it has an intellectual tradition and a respect for learning. Its metaphysical claims are not too stupid, nonsensical, and downright ridiculous like those of Christianity and, to a lesser extent, Islam. In this regard, the parent was stronger and more intellectual than his two children. Judaism is more concerned with the here and now, with things on this planet, with survival. It embraces life fiercely.
Atheism is concerned with the same things as Judaism minus the mumbo jumbo bullshit about "God" that has been forced down the throat of young or undeveloped minds. I am so glad that American Atheists Association (the AAA with an attitude) just launched a channel, accessible via Roku, so atheists have something to watch. Its president, a David Silverman (a Jew, no less) asserted that "Atheist TV is live, and it’s going to stay live, 24/7, until the sun burns out."
One cannot talk about Judaism and Atheism without mentioning anti-Semitism. In a recent brief dispatch from the western front of intellectual inquiry, I mentioned the three reasons (my own and not necessarily politically correct reasons. Almost everything coming out of me is not politically correct or socially acceptable) that accounted for the phenomenon of anti-Semitism: complicity in the death of Jesus of Nazareth, treachery and attempt on the life of Muhammad, everyday conduct of most Jews. Now I am "happy" to report that the current brutal Zionist genocidal campaign against the hapless and helpless Palestinians in the Gaza Strip has rekindled and inflamed sentiments and displays of anti-Semitism in Europe, even in Germany. Apparently, feelings of remorse about the Holocaust are receding in Deutschland. Good, that's the price the Zionists have to pay for persecuting the Palestinians after robbing the land from them. Like the Nazis who viewed the Jews as subhumans, the Zionists now regard the Palestinians the same way. This has been well documented in news reports, but if you want clear references, read "War" by Ian Morris.
Religion has been used as an excuse for so many evils in this world. I definitely think in this day and age, if you must rely on the crutches of religion to find meaning of life, you are not much of a thinker. Philosophy, yes. Religion, no. Philosophy is an open-ended inquiry. Religion is a close-ended, hermetic, self-deluded enterprise.
Thus Spoke Wissai
August 2, 2014
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