Prophetic Atheism

Peacebang is hosting the UU Carnival this month. Here is my take on the quote below. Check out the other entries via links on her website.

A good deal of so-called atheism is itself, from my point of view, theologically significant. It is the working of God in history, and judgment upon the pious. An authentic prophet can be a radical critic of spurious piety, of sham spirituality.”

-James Luther Adams

To me, true spirituality is living in balance and harmony with the great force of the universe. The Taoists call it the Way or the Tao; others have called it God, the Goddess, the Great Spirit, Brahma, etc. The Tao Te Ching says,

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“The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.

The unnameable is the eternally real.”

Throughout history, humans have formed religions that attribute human characteristics to the divine mystery. Instead of trying to understand and live in harmony with the eternal mysterious force, we imagine gods that serve us and conform to our limited view of reality.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “A person will worship something-have no doubt about that. We may think our tribute is paid in secret in the dark recesses of our hearts-but it will out. That which dominates our imaginations and our thoughts will determine our lives, and our character. Therefore it behooves us to be careful what we worship, for what we worship, we are becoming.”

Jesus said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you dressed as sheep, but inside they are devouring wolves. You will fully recognize them by their fruits. You will fully know them by their fruits“ Matthew 7:15

The sad state of the society we are creating for ourselves and our posterity is certainly an indication of what dominates our collective imaginations and thoughts today. It is violent, disrespectful of our natural world, focused on material possessions, self-centered, self-indulgent and empty. Many religious leaders who claim to be modern prophets or speak for the prophets of old bring fruits of intolerance, war, poverty, disrespect of human rights and disease. They bring us a vision of Armageddon instead of a hopeful vision of humans living in harmony with each other and the creative force of the universe.

True prophets hold a mirror before us that challenges us to knock our false Gods from their pedestals and to search again for unity with the spirit of the universe that is far beyond our understanding and our naming. True prophets encourage us to listen for divine direction; false prophets and religious leaders tell us they alone know how god wants us to live. The rules they offer and the consequences in store for us when we fail to follow them have a distinctly human ring to them. They focus on our attachment to our existence as separate beings full of selfish desires. The god they describe can be named and humanized. This god can be bribed with sacrifices or rituals to do our bidding and brings vengeance upon enemies. The false god damns those who don’t accept a limited view of divinity, has favorites among humans and gives humans control over the rest of creation. The history of religion is plagued with false prophets who hijack humanity’s honest attempts to communicate with the divine spirit. True prophets are often branded as heretics because they do not bow down before the god of the false prophets of their day. Providing a vision that puts humans and human gods in their proper place in the universe has often cost prophets their lives. Many so-called atheists have been among them.