Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion Alain De Botton
Pantheon (March 6, 2012)
320 pages
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307379108What if religions are neither all true nor all nonsense? The long-running and often boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved forward by Alain de Botton's inspiring new book, which boldly argues that the supernatural claims of religion are entirely false—but that it still has some very important things to teach the secular world.
Religion for Atheists suggests that rather than mocking religion, agnostics and atheists should instead
steal from it—because the world's religions are packed with good ideas on how we might live and arrange our societies. Blending deep respect with total impiety, de Botton (a non-believer himself) proposes that we look to religion for insights into how to, among other concerns, build a sense of
community, make our
relationships last, overcome feelings of
envy and
inadequacy, inspire
travel and
reconnect with the natural world. ...
Q&A with Author Alain De Botton
Q: Is it possible to be a good person without religion?
A: The problem of the man without religion is that he
forgets. We all know in theory what we should do to be good. The problem is that in practice, we forget. And we forget because the modern secular world always thinks that it is enough to tell someone something once (be good, remember the poor etc.) But all religions disagree here: they insist that if anyone is to stand a chance of remembering anything, they need reminders on a daily, perhaps even hourly basis.
Q: What do you think of the aggressive atheism we have seen in the past few years?
A: I am an atheist, but a
gentle one. I don't feel the need to mock anyone who believes. I really disagree with the hard tone of some atheists who approach religion like a silly fairy tale. I am deeply respectful of religion, but I believe none of its supernatural aspects. So my position is perhaps unusual: I am at once very respectful and completely impious.
Alex's comment: What a refreshingly new direction of Atheism.
作者在訪問中提出一要點：宗教承認人善忘，人知道做好，卻容易忘掉。
人文主義者/無神論者可效法宗教以修習形式提醒人做好。
建議一日四次，起床、午餐前、晚餐前、睡前，背頌以下
金句：
「作為人文主義者，
我誠諾：
以人為本、
推己及人、
尊重人權，
並以此為人生之本。」
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