the Dao of Atheism :jeffers' petroglyph, pre-dakota, minnesota : the Shaman Atheist 61/81

61

Religion should be like low land
everything flowing towards it
all ideas converging on it.

By receiving it absorbs
by absorbing it becomes more basic.
When religion becomes more basic
it will be followed by others.
Large religions absorb small ones
by conquering and converting with force and argument
small ones absorb large ones
by being underneath.

Large ideas, small followings;
small ideas, large followings
one serves the other.

The way, the Dao, has no hidden meaning and is itself meaningless. We project meaning onto it.
There is no deeper meaning to get from it than to follow the way ... no heaven if you follow it well, no hell if you don't, no enlightenment either way. So it is with atheism.
Atheism has no meaning to promote, and thus none to defend. There is nothing to gain by being atheist, and nothing to lose. Atheism is not to be taken seriously, but lightly. Serious atheism is like a hammer made of ice -- it smashes hard, but breaks itself in the process. Atheism should be like a bath in just-right hot water, soaking through the skin to the muscles, relaxing.
Atheism that is used as a tool to smash religion has a self-destructive end.



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