Religion
Related: About this forumAn Atheist’s Prayers
By Ripudaman Malhotra
JULY 20, 2016
I am an atheist, and I pray. To many, my praying contradicts my atheism: How can I pray when I do not believe in God? Whom do I pray to? What do I pray?
It’s not that I haven’t experienced religious traditions. I grew up in a Hindu family, attended a Catholic school, and married a Jewish woman, whose conservative synagogue I attend and whose rituals I observe. For years I practiced meditation and read widely on religion. But I am an atheist because I do not accept the notion of a super-natural God who, having created the universe, guides our destiny, which to me is essential to being a theist. Under this literal definition of theism, I suspect there are many more atheists than people willing to call themselves as such.
So why do I pray? Why do I recite the liturgy that refers to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Not because I ascribe any authority to the words of the Torah but because the ideas expressed in them-and in prayers from other traditions-resonate with me. Stripped of the reference to God, prayers are expressions of wonderment, of our aspirations and desires, and of contrition. This world is awesome and amazing, and I am thankful to experience it. I have aspirations. I wish I could be kinder, more loving, and less prone to anger. I wish the world were a more peaceful place. Occasionally when I find these ideas expressed in certain passages of liturgy, I get goose bumps. The feeling is real, and I want to experience it every time.
Friends have argued that this feeling is evidence of God’s presence. But that feeling cannot be a proof of God’s existence. It is just me wishing that God exists; and such an expression is a prayer.
With a Perspective, I am Ripudaman Malhotra.
Ripudaman Malhotra is a research scientist specializing in the chemistry of energy and fuels. He lives in San Carlos.
https://ww2.kqed.org/perspectives/2016/07/19/an-athiests-prayers/
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juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)But, since time is short, you needn't answer.
juxtaposed
(2,778 posts)
edhopper
(33,587 posts)sounds like listening to some religious music (Bach for example) which can be quite awe inspiring, doesn't mean you accept any of the ideas behind that music.
rug
(82,333 posts)The losses contained in death lead to many places but we all start with that same reality.
though i prefer Bach
Mozart used "to many notes".
Cartoonist
(7,317 posts)I grew up in a Hindu family, attended a Catholic school, and married a Jewish woman, whose conservative synagogue I attend and whose rituals I observe.
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He has my sympathy. I hope someday he recovers.
rug
(82,333 posts)What form of Hinduism did your family follow?
Cartoonist
(7,317 posts)He went from a religion with many Gods, to a religion with three, and finally to a religion of one. He claims he cast off that final one, bt he's still trapped in prayerland.
rug
(82,333 posts)Others hold that the Trinity of Brahma, the Creator, Vishnu, the Preserver, and Shiva, the Destroyer, are in turn simply manifestations of a single formless Godhead. In other words, that at its root Hinduism is monotheistic.
Whatever it is, it's a facsinating religion.
