Penn Jillette - There Is No God
There Is No God
I believe that there is no God. I’m beyond atheism. Atheism is not believing in God. Not believing in God is easy — you can’t prove a negative, so there’s no work to do. You can’t prove that there isn’t an elephant inside the trunk of my car. You sure? How about now? Maybe he was just hiding before. Check again. Did I mention that my personal heartfelt definition of the word “elephant” includes mystery, order, goodness, love and a spare tire?
So, anyone with a love for truth outside of herself has to start with no belief in God and then look for evidence of God. She needs to search for some objective evidence of a supernatural power. All the people I write e-mails to often are still stuck at this searching stage. The atheism part is easy.
But, this “This I Believe” thing seems to demand something more personal, some leap of faith that helps one see life’s big picture, some rules to live by. So, I’m saying, “This I believe: I believe there is no God.”
Having taken that step, it informs every moment of my life. I’m not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it’s everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I’m raising now is enough that I don’t need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.
Believing there’s no God means I can’t really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That’s good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around.
Believing there’s no God stops me from being solipsistic. I can read ideas from all different people from all different cultures. Without God, we can agree on reality, and I can keep learning where I’m wrong. We can all keep adjusting, so we can really communicate. I don’t travel in circles where people say, “I have faith, I believe this in my heart and nothing you can say or do can shake my faith.” That’s just a long-winded religious way to say, “shut up,” or another two words that the FCC likes less. But all obscenity is less insulting than, “How I was brought up and my imaginary friend means more to me than anything you can ever say or do.” So, believing there is no God lets me be proven wrong and that’s always fun. It means I’m learning something.
Believing there is no God means the suffering I’ve seen in my family, and indeed all the suffering in the world, isn’t caused by an omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent force that isn’t bothered to help or is just testing us, but rather something we all may be able to help others with in the future. No God means the possibility of less suffering in the future.
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January 2, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Brilliant. That Penn is a genius. He put it far better than I ever could. I really couldn’t have put it any better my self.
March 23, 2008 at 11:31 pm
When someone shows me a god who looks and acts at least a little godlike, I’ll reconsider. Til then, I can’t imagine me believing in any god who would care whether I believe in him, or not. And, a god who can speak universes into existance with a word, yet demands to be worshipped by the inhabitants of one small planet has serious self-image problems.
God? Nah!
April 26, 2008 at 1:48 am
Ed, love it: any god who can speak universes into existence with a word, yet demands to be worshipped. . . has serious self-image problems. If I ever use those words, or words expressing the same thought, I’ll give you the credit.
May 7, 2008 at 7:43 pm
What is hilarious to me, a Christian, is that atheists like Penn Teller repeatedly have to beat people over the head with their beliefs. Great, but I thought I was watching a comedy show?
“Hey, I’m Joseph, I’m a comedian. If you don’t believe in God, you are an idiot!” Okay…and what point did I just make? Absolutely none. I didn’t change your mind. It’s beating a dead horse. You call us “Bible thumpers,” but what exactly is Penn doing? 80% of his conversation and rhetoric is based on his not believing in a God. Why are you all so obsessed with this? Why do you have to make yourself feel better by surrounding yourself with those who don’t believe, and then spend your time patting one another on the back and saying “Yeah, you’re right, there isn’t a god!” *high-five* “Yeah exactly dude! No god!” *high-five*
People who constantly make fun of homosexuals and fear being around them are called “homophobes” and are told that they are not comfortable with their own sexuality and that is what causes their “homophobia” (see: hatred). So, should I also assume that those who constantly make fun of a Christian’s beliefs and fear Christians as people are also not comfortable with their own faith (or lack there-of)?
Just curious.
Regards,
joey
May 9, 2008 at 12:16 am
There actually is a reason, Joey. It’s not about spreading their opinion. It’s trying to actually open people’s eyes that if you give respect to anyone with any imaginary friend, and there is no proof or criteria for that, then of course you must give respect to those who flew planes into the buildings. THeir god told them to do it. You can’t say, “but OUR god would never do that” because YOUR god has no more proof than THEIR god. So any support or respect of supernatural beings is very dangerous and evil.
May 14, 2008 at 10:48 am
Joey,
You are confused as to why we non believers waste our time discussing our belief that there is no god? I don’t think it is a waste of time or ridiculous or trivial for one to seek to understand how or why another believes the way they do. If a follower of David Koresh were to have taken a step back in order to question the validity of their self proclaimed leaders assertions would you have called their questions ridiculous, a waste of time and trivial? What about a member of the People’s Temple (Jim Jones)? What about a member of Heaven’s Gate? What about a Hindu? A Mormon? A Scientologist? Who should be encouraged to question that which they are taught to accept on faith alone? Everyone except those belonging to your particular sect of Christianity? Joey, if one of your loved ones had been a follower of David Koresh are you telling me you would have bit your tongue, tucked your bible away and sat on your hands? Believe me, Joey, if you would have felt obliged to step up and make an attempt to reveal what you believed to be a lie to your confused loved one, I would have understood. If only someone had been so clear headed and brave as to step up to the god believers who decided to turn our planes into bombs on 9/11. If only.
Take Care,
DoubtingThomas