Am I an Atheist?

 I recently posted the video of Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood singing John Lennon's Imagine at Jimmy Carter's funeral. In one of the comments the song was referred to as the "atheist anthem" (I'd never heard that before) and it got me thinking. Am I really an atheist?

First of all I find the song Imagine to be deeply meaningful and even spiritual. And yes, I am "a-religious", if not entirely "anti-religious" although I can find plenty of reasons to be anti-religion. I probably have a deeper understanding and appreciation of religion, particularly Catholicism, than most who profess to be anti-religion and that, I think, gives my opinion some authority.

As for the "theos" or the "theoí" - there is little I can add to the millennia of preponderance on the topic. I've said before that I don't necessarily not believe in the same god that many who call themselves atheist don't believe in or for the same reasons. My disbelief or non-belief is more sophisticated than not believing in the god that a six-year old believes is watching them while they steal a piece of candy at the 7-11.

But with that said, what I will offer is a re-post of something that appeared on this blog back in December, 2011. It was my Christmas entry (I did not do one this 2024 holiday season as I have less and less to say on this platform and fewer to say it to.) Anyhow, for what it's worth:

Saturday, December 24, 2011

I Can Say Nothing Of God Except...

Last year my sister, who is a Sister of Mercy, sent me a prayer she had written about the things and people in her life that gave meaning to the celebration of Christmas.

Each line began with the words, "I can say nothing of God except..."

This prayer reminds us, whether theist, atheist or agnostic, that we can really say little meaningful about God.  That perhaps our belief in God's existence is about as meaningful as another's belief in God's Non-existence. The fact that so many people today claim to know "God", the "will of God" or who or what or which country has "God's favor", is, if nothing else, awfully self-righteous and arrogant.

Perhaps we can say nothing of god except ... what is available to us in our own unique, concrete, quotidian experience. This year I offer my version of my sister's prayer:

I Can Say Nothing of God Except... (c 2019, edited 2025)

I can say nothing of God except the serenity of a walk in the woods on a clear December morning

I can say nothing of God except the surprise that the Bird of Paradise gave me when, after fifteen years, it bloomed in the sun room one February

I can say nothing of God except skiing down a mountain on a sunny winter day

I can say nothing of God except the good food we have to eat and share with whoever enters our home

I can say nothing of God except the seniors who think it is a miracle to make digital photos appear on the computer screen

I can say nothing of God except the shared company of long-time friends

I can say nothing of God except airplanes have taken me to fascinating places

I can say nothing of God except the memory of my mom and grandma and aunts makes me happy when I make manicotti or escarole with beans or cookies

I can say nothing of God except the paintings on the wall that my dad made when he was seventeen

I can say nothing of God except walking up to the rim of the Grand Canyon very early one morning and being speechless for fifteen minutes while my tears flowed spontaneously

I can say nothing of God except sleeping on the beach while listening to Sergio Mendes

I can say nothing of God except an old Valentine from my honey I came across while cleaning drawers

I can say nothing of God except the vastness of the sea and a sailboat against blue sky

I can say nothing of God except the touch of, and touching another man 

I can say nothing of God except I am sitting in the living room with the man I love while the dog sleeps on the couch and Christmas music plays softly