I'm an atheist myself but share the same values of universalism. Growing up my grandmother got me to attend and participate in many events in her Congregational church. But the preaching and Bible never grabbed me. But I did see in that church values of helping your fellow man, elevating and aspiring to art (choirs and other music) and found that inspiring. I also still like how it brought much of my small hometown together to chat and gossip over coffee after service.
My father immigrated from Ireland and hated the Catholic Church. To him, they were a repressive force that collaborated to oppress the Irish people. But he has universal values as well, maybe that come from a long struggle against a bigger power?
This is all to say that our parents and immediate family and experiences do a lot to shape our values, regardless of religion.
I come from a working class's family and had a pretty crap education I didn't start reading a lot till about 20, I found this article fascinating because I did a access to education course in 1980s the lecturer was a euro communist and he was not impressed with my essay on the spainish civil war where I talked of the religious nature of anarchism. The only education in these poor countries happened in church schools or seminarys, people had a thousand years of being told how great heaven was so not hard to say why not now? I too am a idealist, Pragmatism leads to the ends justifying the means and that way leads to hierarchy and power, idealism is believing in people and their natural goodness and that the end doesn't justify the means, though if properly understood which it hasn't been up to now, I would support a dialectical approach to ends and means in a revolution but it needs to be put back in the box? Though now I think we have a better chance of removing this elite by taking control of our communities and slowly strangling it.
"Why am I so drawn to universalism and idealism? Why am I so against authority? Why do these things seem “natural” to me? Why is this my core moral rootedness that does not require explanation? I’m not sure."
Isn't it simply because universalism represents the success of healthy and flourishing societies and authoritarianism is the evidence of failure? The best of religions like Christianity, Judiasm and Marxism, as well as other institutions of law and order, work to save people from the arbitrary and unnecessary chaos, suffering and death that will prevail in their absence. Egoistic and fear-driven authoritarianism is what happens when good societies fail and people (and other living things) struggle to survive at the edge of oblivion.
As people and the social world become too complex, and too powerful, beyond our existing capabilities, our ideal institutions will inevitably fail and the ugly brutal mechanisms of survival kick in.
Humanity must learn to carefully limit its growth and technological development if it is to survive much longer.
I'm an atheist myself but share the same values of universalism. Growing up my grandmother got me to attend and participate in many events in her Congregational church. But the preaching and Bible never grabbed me. But I did see in that church values of helping your fellow man, elevating and aspiring to art (choirs and other music) and found that inspiring. I also still like how it brought much of my small hometown together to chat and gossip over coffee after service.
My father immigrated from Ireland and hated the Catholic Church. To him, they were a repressive force that collaborated to oppress the Irish people. But he has universal values as well, maybe that come from a long struggle against a bigger power?
This is all to say that our parents and immediate family and experiences do a lot to shape our values, regardless of religion.
I've been baptized twice in a Christian way when young. I know almost nothing about it. In front of so many people.
I come from a working class's family and had a pretty crap education I didn't start reading a lot till about 20, I found this article fascinating because I did a access to education course in 1980s the lecturer was a euro communist and he was not impressed with my essay on the spainish civil war where I talked of the religious nature of anarchism. The only education in these poor countries happened in church schools or seminarys, people had a thousand years of being told how great heaven was so not hard to say why not now? I too am a idealist, Pragmatism leads to the ends justifying the means and that way leads to hierarchy and power, idealism is believing in people and their natural goodness and that the end doesn't justify the means, though if properly understood which it hasn't been up to now, I would support a dialectical approach to ends and means in a revolution but it needs to be put back in the box? Though now I think we have a better chance of removing this elite by taking control of our communities and slowly strangling it.
Talking about nihilism gets us nowhere
What is the alternative? Denial of it?
"Why am I so drawn to universalism and idealism? Why am I so against authority? Why do these things seem “natural” to me? Why is this my core moral rootedness that does not require explanation? I’m not sure."
Isn't it simply because universalism represents the success of healthy and flourishing societies and authoritarianism is the evidence of failure? The best of religions like Christianity, Judiasm and Marxism, as well as other institutions of law and order, work to save people from the arbitrary and unnecessary chaos, suffering and death that will prevail in their absence. Egoistic and fear-driven authoritarianism is what happens when good societies fail and people (and other living things) struggle to survive at the edge of oblivion.
As people and the social world become too complex, and too powerful, beyond our existing capabilities, our ideal institutions will inevitably fail and the ugly brutal mechanisms of survival kick in.
Humanity must learn to carefully limit its growth and technological development if it is to survive much longer.