Inside PBS Blog

In 1969, I received a B.A. in Analytic Philosophy from professors staunchly proud of their atheism and "proofs" of the non-existence of God. I had wanted to study Theology, but at the time, my parents believed it would have been a waste of time, so I went into Nursing, and little by little slid to Microbiology, then History, then Philosophy, in which I majored AND minored, thus taking quite a few grad. courses. On my own, I studied many Existential philosophers e.g. the theologian Kierkegaard, and although most Existentialists and Analytic Philosophers believe their Philosophies clash, I find a great help in Existentialism from the practice34 of logic from Analytic Philosophy, and a great help in reviewing Analytic Philosophy with human needs addressed, rather than ignored.

I personally found at least as many holes in all the "proofs" for tne non-existence of God as there were "proofs"e.g, the ontological arrument, Descartes's "proofs" all resting on the spurious argument, "I think, therefore I am." etc. etc.

Belief or non-belief , or agnosticism, in God is a matter of faith, pure and simple.

Faith in God would not exist if there were truly a human "proof" in His, Her, or It's existence. Faith is belief without proof. An atheist has faith that there is no God. An agnostic says that she just doesn't know whether God exists or not. The agnostic and even atheist existentialists believe a moral life must be lived "as if" there were proofs for their leanings...Kierkegaard was a Lutheran existentialist theologian warning against a simple faith that took no effort. Nietzsche an existentialist who said "God is dead" contiually quoted out of context, meant that belief in God was not the moral driver of humankind anymore...well, some are still driven as such, but for the most part, we would have to say that along with established religious beliefs, private religious beliefs, or the lack of them, a religious belief guiding the entire planet is consumerism, with greed representing a great virtue, and wealth tantamount to a state of grace.

It seems to me that, although religions are still worth studying for scholarship and moral guidance, it is even more important to uncover the consumerism and greed that govern all of us much more than we would like to admit. In many underdeveloped countries, only the poorest of the poor manage to escape greed and consumerism, simply because they are living at a survival level, day after day after day. The smallest bit of discretionary income can tempt us into greed, and we need to avoid consumerism for its own sake and spend any discretionary income as wisely as possible. As big as the question of God's existence may be, how we act, AS IF there were moral imperatives, coming from some deep human well in our hearts, avoiding the worse and worst aspects of consumerism, and certainly greed, is yet a more important question, a question also addressed by PBS shows every single day.

Bill Moyers has already engaged in two series of shows on Myth with Joseph Campbell, in different religions (myth not meaning a negative idea, but the ideas and stories by which we shape our faith, and many non-believers still find helpful insight in the Myths. The second series is called _Faith and Reason_, where Bill Moyers, with many distinguished scholars, writers, and other women and men of significant insight, looks at both faith and reason as if they were each a helix of the double helix of DNA, a good metaphor which I believe applies to existential and analytic philosophy as well.

So in answer to the question, PBS has already addressed the belief in the existence of God at great breadth and depth, and I have been enjoying catching up on the shows on the internet, as I did not have a television for most of my life (to prevent my children from becoming brain-dead...we finally gave in when certain PBS shows, e.g., a _NOVA_ show was required for a biology class at the Catholic high school my kids attended.

A suggestion: Why don't you try watching those shows to see if they address your question, if not, I would be interested, and I'm sure PBS would too, in knowing what would distinguish your questions from those presented on PBS?

Kierkegaard Kid

In 1969, I received a B.A. in Analytic Philosophy from professors staunchly proud of their atheism and "proofs" of the non-existence of God. I had wanted to study Theology, but at the time, my parents believed it would have been a waste of time, so I went into Nursing, and little by little slid to Microbiology, then History, then Philosophy, in which I majored AND minored, thus taking quite a few grad. courses. On my own, I studied many Existential philosophers e.g. the theologian Kierkegaard, and although most Existentialists and Analytic Philosophers believe their Philosophies clash, I find a great help in Existentialism from the practice34 of logic from Analytic Philosophy, and a great help in reviewing Analytic Philosophy with human needs addressed, rather than ignored.

I personally found at least as many holes in all the "proofs" for tne non-existence of God as there were "proofs"e.g, the ontological arrument, Descartes's "proofs" all resting on the spurious argument, "I think, therefore I am." etc. etc.

Belief or non-belief , or agnosticism, in God is a matter of faith, pure and simple.

Faith in God would not exist if there were truly a human "proof" in His, Her, or It's existence. Faith is belief without proof. An atheist has faith that there is no God. An agnostic says that she just doesn't know whether God exists or not. The agnostic and even atheist existentialists believe a moral life must be lived "as if" there were proofs for their leanings...Kierkegaard was a Lutheran existentialist theologian warning against a simple faith that took no effort. Nietzsche an existentialist who said "God is dead" contiually quoted out of context, meant that belief in God was not the moral driver of humankind anymore...well, some are still driven as such, but for the most part, we would have to say that along with established religious beliefs, private religious beliefs, or the lack of them, a religious belief guiding the entire planet is consumerism, with greed representing a great virtue, and wealth tantamount to a state of grace.

It seems to me that, although religions are still worth studying for scholarship and moral guidance, it is even more important to uncover the consumerism and greed that govern all of us much more than we would like to admit. In many underdeveloped countries, only the poorest of the poor manage to escape greed and consumerism, simply because they are living at a survival level, day after day after day. The smallest bit of discretionary income can tempt us into greed, and we need to avoid consumerism for its own sake and spend any discretionary income as wisely as possible. As big as the question of God's existence may be, how we act, AS IF there were moral imperatives, coming from some deep human well in our hearts, avoiding the worse and worst aspects of consumerism, and certainly greed, is yet a more important question, a question also addressed by PBS shows every single day.

Bill Moyers has already engaged in two series of shows on Myth with Joseph Campbell, in different religions (myth not meaning a negative idea, but the ideas and stories by which we shape our faith, and many non-believers still find helpful insight in the Myths. The second series is called _Faith and Reason_, where Bill Moyers, with many distinguished scholars, writers, and other women and men of significant insight, looks at both faith and reason as if they were each a helix of the double helix of DNA, a good metaphor which I believe applies to existential and analytic philosophy as well.

So in answer to the question, PBS has already addressed the belief in the existence of God at great breadth and depth, and I have been enjoying catching up on the shows on the internet, as I did not have a television for most of my life (to prevent my children from becoming brain-dead...we finally gave in when certain PBS shows, e.g., a _NOVA_ show was required for a biology class at the Catholic high school my kids attended.

A suggestion: Why don't you try watching those shows to see if they address your question, if not, I would be interested, and I'm sure PBS would too, in knowing what would distinguish your questions from those presented on PBS?

Kierkegaard Kid