ATHEISM

Atheism is defined generally as: the belief that there is no God, or denial
that God or gods exist. This seems simple enough but it really means
nothing until one defines what is meant by God.

In the world society, there are two distinct concepts of God. In the West,
which I roughly delineate as the area from the Middle East west to and
including North and South America, there is a concept of God as an
anthropomorphic (human like) super being who is involved in the goings
on of the world society. This Western God is called Allah in Islam,
Jehovah in Christianity, and Yahweh in Judaism. These Gods are referred
to as being masculine.

In the East, which I roughly delineate as China, India and Japan, there is a
concept of God as an indescribable, incomprehensible, inconceivable force
that is all inclusive of every thing and every nothing. Any definition of this
concept of God is limiting and therefore nothing more than a partial
description. In Hinduism, this essence is referred to as Brahma, In Taoism,
it is referred to as The Tao (The Way) and in Buddhism, as the
Dharmakaya. You really cannot equate these words to God because the
Western concept of God describes a super being and these Eastern words
for God really refer to All That Is and Is not.

I personally equate the words Infinite Potential with these Eastern names
for the all inclusive God. The Infinite Potential is a non-emotional set of
words that for me comes closest to stating what this all inclusive essence
comprises.

Now it is also important to understand that the world society is about
evenly split between the Eastern and Western concepts of God. It is also
important to understand that these concepts so completely permeate their
particular parts of the world, and these concepts are so different, that it is
very difficult for a person from the East to find common ground with one
from the West in regards to God. There are few bridges between these
two views of God; except to say that the Western Gods are a subset within
the Eastern concept of God.

Returning to atheism, we have to understand that it is essentially a mindset
that is a reaction to the Western concept of God. It is a denial that an
anthropomorphic super being is guiding the affairs of humanity. This
seems logical to some individuals in a Western society which is based on
logic and the belief in the conventional knowledge that every cause has an
effect; which seems to be true of the physical world. And when one is
focused in a scientific way on the physical realities of this Universe, what
cannot be proven or be shown to exist, simply does not exist. It is simply a
limited concept of reality, or a concept which limits reality, in which any
completely intangible force is denied because it cannot be produced much
less measured. It is an exclusive philosophy that denies the existence of
everything that cannot be scientifically measured.

So in general, we have the at the core of atheist belief., a mindset that since
the masculine anthropomorphic Gods of the West cannot be scientifically
measured or scientifically proven, He?, God, does not exist.

Since almost all atheist live in Western society, and since this
anthropomorphic concept of God dominates Western thought, the atheist
after making his or her proclamation that God does not exist, dusts off his
or her hands and smilingly goes off down the road with the thought that he
or she has vanquished God and proven all believers to be foolish or
child-like in their nonsensical belief in God.

It is at this point that most atheist are confronted with the outer realms of
their philosophy. They have been speaking to a Western audience. Now
something new enters the debate: What about the concept of God being
defined as every thing and every nothing? If God is defined as all inclusive,
as in the East, how can there be a denial of God?

There are no atheist reacting to the Hindu, Taoist or Buddhist concepts of
God, because to deny this God, or all encompassing essence, would be to
deny what each one of us experiences and are conscious of at every
moment: that we exist.

Here are the questions that the atheist cannot answer:

If there is no God, per the Eastern definition of God, then how can one
contemplate anything, much less the non-existence of God?

If the all inclusive Eastern God does not exist, how is it that we are
conscious of our existence?

If there is no all encompassing non-physical, impossible to measure,
energy, then how is it that inert chemicals come together to manifest
consciousness? Or does consciousness not exist because it cannot be
proven or measured?

In the final analysis, atheism is just a reaction to the Western concept of
God. It cannot be a denial of God, if God is defined as the all inclusive
Infinite Potential. Such a denial would be a denial that anything exists.

Atheists conflicting with Christians, Jews and Muslims are like children
playing in the school yard thinking that the school yard is the entire
universe.

A SHORT STORY

Once there was a frog who was the self proclaimed king of his little puddle
of water amid the tall prairie grass. One day he was looking at himself in
his little puddle and praising his all knowing greatness when a dog
happened by and overheard him. He asked the frog if he would go with
him a little way so that he could show him something. The frog feeling
most excellently agreed.

The frog followed the dog until the dog jumped over a particular log and as
the frog jumped and landed on the other side of the log, saw a rather large
pond. The frog's eyes popped out to see such a large body of water. The
dog just stood by smiling.

After the frog regained his composure, the dog asked him if he would like
to go a bit further with him. The frog, still stunned, agreed.

Shortly, the frog rounded a bend on the little path that he and the dog were
on and saw an immense lake. It was so large that he could not

see the
other side. The frog lost his breath and fainted.

When he awakened the dog was standing over him smiling. The frog was
speechless and dazed. The dog told him that everything was OK and he
would like to show him just one more thing. The frog, still in shock,
agreed.

Shortly, the dog disappeared over a sand dune. The frog mindlessly
hopped to the top of the dune and as he raised his eyes, saw the vast ocean.
When he saw the ocean, his head exploded.