Pendulum swinging in our direction: but faith equilibrium a major challenge

It's been quite an active last few months for me as an atheist and secularist. Haven't had the chance to put out all the various thoughts and reflections, but there has been no shortage of material coming in.

Starting back in August, I had the pleasure of attending the first atheist conference held in Puerto Rico. That filled me with optimism as I heard stories of secularism and activities to make sure that the separation of church and state that is clear in the US constitution, extends to this Caribbean island territory. However, at that conference there was also a measure of despair as I heard of the hold that faith thinking has in that country. A kind of addiction to dogma that I have seen at play in many other Caribbean islands. The news that they had a police road stop to force drivers to have a pray was certainly an eye opener. Definitely won't be forgetting that one soon. 

In the USA itself,  the excitement of marriage equality was tempered by the obstinance of Kim Davis and her continued refusal to issue marriage licenses to same sex couples. A lot has been written and said about that issue, but it shows plainly that the defiance of those in the religious right who always think they are right, knows no bounds. Then news of Pew studies showing declining interest in faith and religion in the youth was counter balanced by the Popemania that surrounded the tour Francis took to the US. 

On a personal note, the feature of some of my work in Greta Christina's blog was a boost to me to continue to work to promote secularism in the Caribbean. I still feel humbled to be considered an 'atheist leader', but I received quite a few new contacts and messages of interest in our efforts in the Caribbean stemming from that article. I can only believe that this will augur well for our future growth. So thanks again to Greta for all of that.

Meanwhile, in Calgary a torn banner at our counter protest against Jesse Rau,  the driver claiming persecution for having to drive an LGBT bus, reinforced in my mind the vitriol coming from the small but very vocal and influential fundamentalist wing here in this city. A few weeks later, the first Alberta secular conference was cause for some optimism once again, even as we learnt of creationism and other anti science attitudes pervading the schools throughout the province. 

In Barbados, my island of birth, a tragic vehicular accident that left four dead, has been met with calls to pray and look towards God for assistance rather than exploring ways to fix the condition of a road that has seen many serious accidents at that spot over the years. My brave colleagues in the Agnostics, Atheists and Freethinkers group in Barbados still have their work cut out in convincing those around them that leaning on the Lord is not worth it all in the end.

The latest flicker of hope has come here in Canada where the new prime minister Justin Trudeau has brought what looks like a sweeping change to how critical thinking will be valued. Ministries dedicated to issues such as science advancement and climate change are definitely steps in the right direction. Meanwhile south of the border, Donald Trump and Ben Carson battle for first place as the Republican nominee for the 2016 US election. Enough said. 

As I write this, reports are coming in of a deadly terrorist attack in Paris at the hands of ISIS. Yet another grave reminder of what can happen when religion holds sway over reason.

I could speak of many more ups and downs to my secular morale over recent times. Over and over again, you think the pendulum is swinging in a progressive secular direction, but just as you are about to celebrate, there is a sharp and vicious swing back to faith positions and a trust in dogma and the divine.

  

In looking back at how the pendulum has been swinging recently,  I couldn't help but think that the same movements that happen towards and away from secularism in our societies, happen in the minds of individuals who are exposed to the paradigms of both religion and realism on a daily basis. Of course we in the atheist community would just like to grab hold of these ever swinging pendulums and hold them in the rational position. We as persons that consider reason to be the best road to reality, don't go back and forth on the faith issue like so many of our believer friends do. As atheists, we see no reason to return to faith positions even for a fleeting moment. 

However, if we don't understand the nature of the faith/ reason swing in the minds of different believers, we'll never figure out what we need to do to get people to get off this continuing, repeating cycle and dwell in the region of reason, that promises a future ripe with exciting possibilities for all.

Analysing the swing  

So, let's look at this pendulum in more detail. Where does this oscillation come from? It comes from that conflict that leads to the much discussed cognitive dissonance. The dissonance we experience from living in a world where we are regularly fed the message that faith and reason are both important. Every believer that I have engaged in discussion over the god question, has assigned some value to both faith based and evidence based beliefs.

Some believers see the two as equally important, for some faith should always trump reason and for others of them reason takes precedent over the dogma. But whatever they have faith in and however strongly they believe it, they argue that these unsubstantiated beliefs have some value to individual and/ or society and that is why they hold on to them.

That being said, believers cannot deny that they live essentially in a world where rationality rules. A world where we have proven over and over again that looking at the evidence, developing hypotheses, testing those hypotheses in light of observations, drawing inferences and then further testing these inferences through making predictions, is by far the best way to learn what is true about the universe we live in. 

Invariably these truths that reason tells them comes into conflict with what faith and religion tell them, but because ultimately survival in reality is first and foremost on the mind of most people, believers are just as quick as atheists to put all their  trust in science  when it comes to those critical decisions that could mean the difference between life and death.

They will go to doctors when sick, take out insurance, consume medicines that have been FDA approved and wear helmets or seatbelts that have been tested to the required safety standards. When believers engage in these actions, they are behaving like a pendulum swinging away from its faith centre. The swing away is not permanent however, because latent faith inherent in them remains strong even while  they do their reasoning. We know from observation that a swing back to faith is never far away for these believers. That pull of attraction from the extremes of reason back to the centre of faith, comes from the emotional factors in their lives and the widespread idea that is perpetuated in many societies that I have been exposed to. The idea that everybody needs to have faith and that we all 'have to believe in something'.

We are told that we need to have faith even to make sense of anything. In one of life's greatest oxymorons we are told that reason means nothing unless there is faith to ground it in. We are told we need it to have purpose, to be assured of a life after death, to experience love, to be moral beings, to be true supporters of our families traditions or the countries in which we live. The combination of all these forces is what continually ensures that the pendulum swings back towards the faith centre after each journey towards the extremities of reason.

To explain this more clearly, I hope you indulge me in a short physics lesson.

Faith is represented by the middle position (A) which is equilibrium. This is where the believer feels most comfortable. It's a natural, familiar position and any deviation from this point feels like a displacement.

Education, exposure to the scientific method, problem solving and critical thinking pushes the believer away from his midpoint of faith comfort, just like a physical push of a hand on a pendulum 'bob' causes it to move it away from equilibrium. 

Just as with the pendulum in the diagram above, the greater the force of reason the greater the push from the equilibrium and the greater the amplitude of the swing towards (B) or (C) which are the points of maximum 'reason'. These points of maximum reason are where the potential (energy)  of the believer is at its highest. As the distance the pendulums swings increases,  the height which it can reach also increases. It can be thrilling and exciting for even the most  devout believer to push towards those reason 'maximums'  where you can figure things out by thoroughly thinking through a problem. Exploring topics such as the evolution of our species or the expansion of our universe after the Big Bang can be truly exhilarating, like being thrust into the air on your favourite ride at a theme park.

But of course with that excitement comes a level of fear as well. The further the believer gets away from that initial ground level, the greater the worry of being separated from 'home territory'. They can see their faith slipping away in the distance, even as they revel in the height of discovery in science and reason. Eventually the forces that act as a constraint to reason become too strong, and the believer slows down as 'reason maximum' is approached. 

If you look back at the pendulum above, you will recognise that the greater the distance from the initial equilibrium point (A) the greater the force pulling the 'bob' back to that equilibrium point.  In my experience, this is how faith works with a lot of believers. The greater  the extent to which their faith is tested, the stronger the urge within them is to get back to their faith. The more they start to doubt, the more scared they become and the more desperately they try to cling back on to the faith centre that keeps their life in balance.

This not only comes when they are pushed into reason by intellectual pursuits, it happens when they have those emotional jolts in the pendulum of life  that make the god they believe in seem distant. The times like four families in Barbados are facing right at this moment, as they come to terms with the fact that four of their most beloved have had their lives snatched away in their prime. Those kind of tragedies that push the believer's pendulum into planes of uncertainty and doubt are followed up by extremely strong dependencies on faith present at their core to get through it. In essence, the more experiences in life push these people away from belief, the greater their desire to hold on to that same belief. That's how it tends to work for believers and that's why they keep swinging like a pendulum and most never get to the point of  grounding themselves in reason's territory.

Sadly, this swing back to faith centre happens also when we atheists engage believers in extended, discussions and debates. For many, the more you bring arguments against their belief the more they dig into hold their belief.  They'll acknowledge the points we make but still say that the belief in the god they believe in is locked at 100%. I can't tell you how many believers that I have had discussions with, claim that their faith in God has been STRENGTHENED as a result of our discussion. It's frustrating as hell, but now I am realising that it is nothing more than the simple harmonic motion of their pendulum of faith.

The strength of the centripetal force in the faith pendulum is immense, but remarkably still often underestimated. Faith congregations, faith communities and faith countries all play a large part in this force to bring back those swaying from the faith. They do this by telling the believer who deviates from faith that they just have to pray more, ask Jesus for help, or just go to the pastor for a counselling session. The more the believer questions the more measures the faithful around the believer will put in place to stop them from drifting completely away.

With these types of messages circling around, the believer will then actively try to erase the doubts. The desire to have faith will at that point come to the fore. The believer will while acknowledging doubt, continue to tell themselves that they 'just got to have faith'. It's the old 'fake it til you make it' rule. If you believe enough, suppress your reason enough, you will be able to force yourself back to the centre with the help of those 'pulling for faith' around you.

But what happens when the believers get back to centre? Let's look at the pendulum again. The believer starts moving away from faith once more. That is because as much as faith is a comfort, it's easy to be pushed away again to reality through reason. Indeed in a pendulum the velocity (speed) is maximum as it moves through that equilibrium point. The 'bob' of the believer just can't stop there in the middle as the challenges to faith and belief are always around. They feel the urge to keep moving, because in that position they have a large amount of kinetic energy. As much as a believer just tries to remain at that faith centre, it very seldom happens. Many Christians will claim that this failure to remain at the centre is the fault of sin or the devil. But I don't think so, it's just nature and reality. You just can't live in that fantasy world all the time. That's why so many faith activities, are done at certain times with a definite start and finish and then it's back to 'reality'.Church on Sunday morning, bible study on Wednesday night, or praying facing mecca at five specific times of the day. Faith is a little 'check in' with god to make sure you are OK. Then you can move back out in to your world of reality and reason, until you have the realization of too much drift and then come surging back to centre for one more go around.

This is the reason why believers, however questioning and skeptical they may be in everyday life, never quite get away from oscillating back and forth around their faith equilibrium. They may swing miles and miles away from their faith home, but there is always something in their centre that brings them back. The swing back may be after one week from Sunday to Sunday, a year between Easter and Easter, or even decades between when the children came along and when the sceptre of death begins to threaten.

I know many believers that are on the pendulum. They swing a lot, they swing widely and sometimes wildly, but they keep hanging on.  I was on it myself for more than 35 years. So I know more than most, that it can be extremely hard to remove yourself from it.  As it is with the pendulums we come across in physics, so it is with believers. Not all of them swing to the same extent or with the same frequency. Below are three types of pendulum believers I have come across. Maybe you know them too!

Wrecking ball believers

These are by far the hardest believers to deal with. The ball on their pendulum is heavy, really, really heavy. You try to push it and it just doesn't move an inch. Yon can try every instrument you have in your reason toolbox, but they just won't budge.  They are rigid in their beliefs,  the entire bible is inerrant, everything written there is absolutely and undeniably true. 

You bring your skeptic friends around, yell at everybody around to push simultaneously, and still no movement. Feels like this type of believer's  stubbornness weighs over a tonne and it probably does. They deny evolution, climate change and any other part of science that even appears to be a distant threat to their cherished dogma.

You may have to bring a crane to get movement, but you must be careful, because balls of that mass at the end of a pendulum can be really unstable. And because they are heavy if they move and hit something they can do a lot of damage to everything around them. People, buildings, towns, vehicles, nothing is safe. These are wrecking ball believers.

Their beliefs in absurdities can easily turn to atrocities. These are the raging fundamentalists. The Fred Phelps, the ISIS, the Westboro Baptists. No controlling these kind of believers, just best to try to contain them and make sure they are never close to anything that can be destroyed.

Metronomic believers

These type of believers are not usually dangerous but they can be infuriating as hell. I know quite a few of these and there were common in the Anglican church that I was once a part of.

For these believers its all about routine. Everything has to be done in an exact and completely predictable way when it comes to worship. They are like clockwork. Like a metronome keeping exact time to the music.

Prayers must start at a certain time. Incense must be swung when it has to be, not a moment too early or late and the swing must be consistent.  Hymns must be played as written, no slowing down or quickening up, no pretty improvisations. These guys will go crazy if anything changes in the church. Ask them what their faith means to them they can't tell you. Ask them what they believe is true and they give some vague wishy washy answer.

But change one thing in the liturgy and it's hell to pay.

Free swinging pendulum believers.

These are the type of believers I like to engage with and I daresay most atheists too, even as we wonder why they don't just jump off the swing and join us. These believers swing in reason's pendulum with childlike glee. Not that they have childlike faith, far from that, they have great maturity. However, they have a child like curiosity, that spurs them on higher and higher. They are like the kid playing in the park that just wants you to push the swing harder and harder, so that they can feel their body going up, up into orbit. They don't settle for the regular or ordinary, they seek to push the envelope of discovery.

At their best these free flowing pendulum believers can be among the greatest of scientists and skeptics. They can blow your mind with ideas, levels of creativity and understanding of complex concepts. 

These tend to be the liberal believers, the 'spiritual but not religious', those that insist there are agnostics or even ignostics. Yep they'll carry any label that sticks just to avoid 'atheist'. Let me clarify that  I respect people's right to self identify in their faith or non faith in any way that they see fit. But when I see people who essentially agree with my philosophical position, desperate to avoid the label that quite clearly fits, I tend to ask why.  I think it has a large part to do with there desire to keep that faith equilibrium, be seen to have it or at least not be seen to have lost it. Perhaps the strongest emotional force that keeps people wanting to have a faith centre of some kind is the idea that faith is a virtue. It may be irrational, it may sometimes be laughable and ridiculous, it  may even in some people lead violence, but it's still all in all seen as a trait to be desired.  And nobody wants to identify with a trait that is undesirable. People generally don't want to go around saying they have thrown away that faith equilibrium that is valued by so many.

We as atheists often don't see this when we are dealing with these free flowing pendulum believers. When they swing up in to reason's territory we get excited. They reason with a critical eye, see through biblical contradictions, smell the bullshit like it really is and we sit there waiting, thinking that it's just a matter of time. We'll just keep the challenges up, show them more and more about how faith isn't worth it and they'll come around to reality, happily throwing faith away completely, just like we did. But they don't, they keep holding on to that faith centre no matter how much their rational mind tells them it's not needed. And what do we do? We keep adding more reason pushing them harder, forcing them more but like the pendulum 'bob' they just keep swinging back.

We have to understand that giving then the push of reason is not effective on its own, the only way to truly make the difference is to break the chain of the pendulum and set the 'bob' free completely. We need to break the pendulum not just push it harder in the hope that magically sometime in the future the system will collapse under its own weight. Breaking the oscillatory cycle means chipping away at that centripetal forces that draw believers to the centre. That force is mainly about desire stemming from an assumed need, so essentially what we have to do from an individual and community perspective is to work at removing that desire to embrace faith. As long as people continue to hold the position that faith is a virtue, they will seek it out and we'll keep going through the same cycle over and over again.

We atheists often actively encourage believers to cling to their faith equilibrium.  We tell them if faith works for them they should cherish it and  keep it. Sometimes we even apologize for not having faith ourselves. I used to do that a lot. We tell believers that we wish we could believe but we just can't. It gives people in the faith the idea that atheists are people with an emotional handicap, a kind of 'god blindness'. So those liberal pendulum believers begin to feel they are better than we are. Having the best of both worlds, reasoning with the best and still able to hold on to a steadfast faith.

We have to stop speaking about losing faith as if it we have lost something of value.  We have to emphasise  that faith is NOT a virtue. This is where I agree a lot with Peter Boghossian's approach of showing faith as a flawed epistemology, a bad process for making decisions, doesn't matter if it's a decision about what to eat for dinner, which elementary school to send your children to or what god to believe in. It is more the method of faith belief rather than the content of faith belief that we should be attacking.

If people start to realize the dangers of making decisions without evidence, eventually they will abandon it. It will be a long eventually, because of all the other emotional forces that keep the believer swinging back to faith centres.  But in time as we build the secular institutions and show how much wonder there is in the world and the satisfaction associated with really figuring out an answer rather than guessing at an answer, faith will become less attractive. I look forward to the day that the masses look for centres for inquiry rather than centres for faith, to keep them moving froward. When faith is seen universally as an unattractive way to live,  believers will cut away from the pendulum themselves. I did it and more and more people are doing it. As I said, I was swinging on that pendulum for years before I got my scissors  and had the courage to cut the cord.

In the end, my decision to cut that faith out was done not because I no longer needed it. It was done, believe it or not, because I no longer wanted it.

Irrational response to irrational behaviour: The problem with turning to faith in times of tragedy

There are times when as a blogger in the atheist community you feel you just have to speak out.  In the aftermath of the slaughter of 26 in Connecticut last Friday, now is one of those times. My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who died in the face of such unimaginable horror.

Not surprisingly, the response to the massacre particularly on the internet, was to call for prayers for the families of the victims as people tried to grapple with the enormity of the tragedy and how to make sense out of the senseless. We atheists, when faced with these sudden rush of 'prayer warriors' in these awful moments find ourselves in an awkward position. Two years ago I reflected on this when I wrote about a similar type of tragedy in Barbados when six young ladies were killed as a result of the throwing of a Molotov cocktail into a clothing store. I titled that blog "When is the right time to criticize?" and I find myself asking that same question once again today.

The thing that bothers me after these tragedies is that there is an attempt by many in the faith world to shut down any view that runs counter to the idea that we all need to pray to God for comfort to the grieving. Quick dismissals of anybody who suggests that this afterlife is simply a product of wishful thinking. Just a suggestion that it might be a better approach to try to deal with the reality on reality's own terms leads to us being lambasted as being insensitive, uncaring, disrespectful and not allowing people to grieve in peace. We are often made to feel that we are not much better than the murderer ourselves, stripping mourning family members of their spiritual well being after they have already survived such a severe physical loss. We then get accused of having a personal agenda and for using this completely inappropriate time to get up on our 'soapboxes.'

In a way, I can understand these criticisms. When you are leaning on God for all you are worth, the last thing you want is to hear someone kicking over your support by saying that there is nothing other than a concept in your mind holding you up. But that is just the nature of life. Truth is truth and sometimes it is hard and cold and cruel. Trying to spruce it up in a fancy dress and coat may give you a warm feeling for a while but it doesn't change reality at its core. Ultimately you don't end up avoiding pain, you merely delay it and the deep scars can remain as open wounds for years and even decades to come.

But generally theists don't see the God belief that way, they will often tell you when it comes to things like God and the afterlife, they just NEED to believe it. It's the only way to face the darkest hours of their lives. People have admitted to me from time to time that they know that the beliefs they have are in all likelihood not true, but they just must believe them in order to get through life happy, healthy and content.

I have heard it in the media that the time to deal with the reality of having better gun control is now; the  time to deal with the reality of a mental health system that is not working is now; but the time to address the widespread irrational belief in a supernatural entity that makes people prone to embracing a delusion seems to be never.

What happened last week Friday was that an entirely irrational act was committed which led tragically to the death of 27. We can speculate as to what was behind the irrational act. In all likelihood a mental disorder of some sort or another. Whatever the cause, an irrational act is what it was and irrational acts come as a result of irrational thoughts and irrational thoughts can be traced back to irrational beliefs. No matter how we try to spin this one, it is the irrational that lies at the heart of this massacre. Somewhere along the line, something got in the way of human reasoning and lives were lost as a result. Logic suggests that the only way to deal with a problem of irrationality is to bring rationality.

Piling on the irrationality

But what do we do in times like this?  Well, we do exactly the opposite. We run headlong into the arms of anti- reason, anti-logic and anti-evidence. Meanwhile we jettison any ideas of using a method that is reality based. It's all about talk of children running about in heavenly puddles that we know are as real as the caramel rivers in Willy Wonka's chocolate factory. What we are doing is piling on the irrational on top of the irrational. Somehow we believe that if we replace deadly irrational beliefs by irrational beliefs of the warm and fuzzy kind, one set will cancel out the other and we will be left with a saner and safer world. It's not going to work.

The reality is that when we keep piling up the irrational beliefs we end up digging ourselves into a deeper and deeper hole. Irrational beliefs whether in fairies, pixies, goblins, gods, angels or demons often lead to flawed reasoning and bad thinking habits. Once you get into the routine of holding something as true even if you have no evidence to support it, that behaviour can become an integral part of your life. You become sloppy in checking out facts and poor at second guessing yourself in all areas if what you believe 'feels right.' Once you make desirability of a belief one of the criteria you use for determining its truth you put yourself in trouble, if as a community or a country you actively encourage that attitude it can become thousands of times worse. You end up with a society who can be controlled and manipulated so long as you can push the right emotional buttons or sweeten the belief pot enough. This at the end of the day, is not going to give you a society that will learn to be progressive or deal with the real problems it faces head on.

Reason can be a great ally even in the most dire circumstance.  It's true that people speak of faith in the midst of stressful situations regularly, but when you listen to their stories carefully, it  becomes clear that it was their ability to put training into action and think through the steps they needed to take rationally that was often the key to survival or saving a life. These accounts tells me that rational behaviour in all situations is what we should be promoting, rather than the need to believe in the supernatural.

So, that is what scares me when I see the sprint into the arms of Jesus that I see now. I am puzzled by the notion of trying to find comfort in a God who either directly caused or passively allowed the action from which the afflicted now seek relief. If God's primary interest was the happiness of the families, the thing to do was to stop the massacre from happening in the first place, not just sit on the sidelines watching and then run out at the end with a heavenly tissue to wipe away a tear. It's a case of too little too late for God. Like having your star striker in a football (soccer) match scoring a wonder goal in the 89th minute that takes the team from being 6-0 down to 6-1. In those occasions celebrations of the losing team are muted. I don't see why God's supporters should be upset when I am not cheering about what he is desperately trying to do now, deep into injury time.

What I see in times like this is irrationality being advertised like the latest brand of iPhone. Everyone in or around the tragedy feels obliged to do the godvertising and get in on the magical thinking marketing. Grieving relatives, fortunate survivors, brave first responders, counsellors, news reporters and presidents all feel obliged to speak about faith in some form. Thoughts and prayers being offered up, spirits of dead ones looking down, snowflakes as signs from them that everything is alright 'up there.' I know that many of these people are probably nominally religious if religious at all. For them it's just like taking part in a ritual. Saying the things that you say in tragedies, just because that's the custom and culturally we are perhaps primed to find comfort in such empty platitudes.

Faith becomes part of thinking routine

For some people the harm may be minimal. When they go back to 'normal' life they'll forget about these heavenly sentiments and embrace the rational life fully once more. The same President Obama that mentioned last week that he knows that Jesus 'called the children home' and that they are safe in a heaven for which no evidence exists, will be asking in the months ahead for strong empirical evidence to support the assertion of those that are arguing that fire arms in the hands of teachers would make kindergarten schools safe. Politicians like Obama may be able to turn on and off their faith switch to suit differing situations, but the masses in the country don't have regulators in their minds that work quite as well. Many will remember these faith messages long after Adam Lanza is a forgotten name.

The message that will stick with them is that faith is something we all need and should all strive to have, particularly in times of tragedy. They will become convinced that there are many times in life when faith in the unseen should be valued above evidence and logic. Once they buy into this way of thinking can we really blame them if they choose to follow their faith which says that the world is 6000 years old and give it greater weight than the evidence that is readily available and tells us that the correct number is in the billions? It's easy to slip faith in at these opportune times, but once it gets out their in the water you can't just filter it out.

People who are better at keeping scientific thought separate from faith ideas may fare better, but a lot of them will reach back for faith when they have a personal 'Sandy Hook' to deal with in life. They'll remember all the heroes in that tragedy that held on to their bibles and beliefs and consider that they'll need to do the same thing if they are to get through as well. When the next national or global disaster  comes a calling, memories will be evoked of sacred memorials and make shift crosses from last time and everyone will turn back to God. This is the cycle. The house of logic and reason becomes like a sand castle on a Caribbean beach, beautifully made, constructed painstakingly with intricate detail when the tide is out and things are calm,  but the whole edifice gets swept away in seconds as soon as an emotional wave crashes ashore.

People are turning away from deities in their numbers, churches are becoming emptier and more and more people are declaring openly that they are atheists or have no religious affiliation.The last bastion of the religious is the 'mass tragedy.' It is the one time that priests and pastors hold the limelight. The time when they are given liberty to say almost whatever they want, because in the eyes of the influential people in society, there is no such thing as too much faith in the wake of a disaster.

Still, there are glimpses of  little changes.  At least it was refreshing to see religious leaders being called out for making the ludicrous argument that God didn't save six year olds because we had the gall to expel him from the classroom.  So, maybe things are looking up.

I am encouraged to see the  progress we are making in getting people to discover the new dawn that can come in the light of reason, but our advance will continue to be stifled if those same people don't have enough faith in the ability of reason to give guidance through the dark and desperate nights as well.

The atheist's fight for survival: Can't let them define us out of existence

I can't believe that 'A' week has come back around so quickly. It seems like just the other day that I was tentatively putting my little 'A' on my facebook profile to tell the world that I no longer believe. There were many other events that went along with that which you can read about here. One year later and things have changed quite a bit. Definitely, I am more settled in my own skin but there are still times where there are remnants of guilt that I feel for speaking up against a worldview I once readily embraced. However, with every passing day things get easier.

I have to say that as much as I had anxiety when I made the decision to 'out' myself last year, I have never for one moment regretted it. I had put myself out in the open having heard many different stories of difficulties, particularly with close friends and family members. I braced myself for what I imagined would have been an onslaught of emails, messages and phone calls from friends, families and acquaintances of people expressing shock, horror, disappointment or dismay. I had practiced in front of the mirror, how I would react to the different types of responses, what I would say and how I would say it. Incredibly, no such responses ever came. No one telling me the friendship is over, no one even telling me I am going to hell. The most widespread response has been 'no response.'

It's strange, I wasn't really prepared for the silence. It's eerie, rather unsettling, because you are not quite sure what it means. Maybe, they don't care. Perhaps they are too shocked to talk. They might even agree but are too afraid to be seen doing that. Who knows? I sometimes wish they would just come right out and say something. It is interesting to me that those theists who have been engaging with me are in the main, people who I have met recently. Those for whom, I  have always been an atheist. They disagree of course but are happy to challenge and that is what I want. That is one of the big differences between living based on faith and living based on evidence. When you post something for God, you don't do it with any intention of starting a debate or discussion. You are quite happy if people just read and move on without comment. A 'click' of the 'like' button or an 'Amen' along the way and you are happy. As an evidence based person you put things up hoping that it will spark interest and you want comments, particularly dissenting comments. You want  people to disagree with you. That is how you know whether your views and arguments are sound and you help others who are on the opposite side see flaws in their argument (at least that's what's supposed to happen). However, I think our culture in the Caribbean takes over and people feel they don't want to 'rock the boat.' It's a pity.

When I look back at it, I feel as if I should have known this would happen. I blame my lack of foresight  on  spending too much time listening to religious discussions. When you immerse yourself in these, it's easy to think that everybody out there is keen to represent their beliefs and show why they think as they do. However, in reality the type of theist who will call in to 'Atheist Experience' or go out and study William Lane Craig style apologetics is rare. It's a bit of a shame. I had done all my background research, listened to online debates  with all types of theists; from the raging fundamentalists, to the mildest of agnostics. I was ready for the cosmological, ontological, teleological and other 'logical' arguments that I was sure I would have to be handling. It was like I completely over prepared for my exam. Staying up all night to study for something and then getting a super basic 15 minute multiple choice quiz in the morning. If I could understand not having a 'big deal' response here in Canada, the Caribbean was supposed to be so different, but not really. Perhaps I wasn't in Barbados long enough but the people I talked to about it, apart from this big exception here, haven't had much to say. When you think about it, it is somewhat strange. You have people strong in their convictions about their Lord and saviour, adamant that following him is crucial to the salvation of every individual on the planet. You tell them that you think they are fundamentally mistaken in this belief and that none of this stuff is true and their reply is the equivalent of, "Whatever."

When considering my  family, I have to pay special tribute to my parents. My mother in particular has come around remarkably since I first told her I was an atheist and I wrote this. While I was in Barbados I got a lot of time to explain to her how my beliefs had changed and why I made the switch. She was happy to engage in discussions and has actually now become one of my biggest fans on this blog. Dad has also enjoyed the writing  and thinks my approach to religion is healthy and is happy that I don't come across as too angry. I am glad to hear that, I want that theists can read what I write here without fear. Dad and I  share a lot in terms of our skepticism of religion, even though he remains very involved in the church. We had some very long into the night debates while I was in Barbados which I wish I had taped and could share to a wider audience. Dad tries to keep me to high standards, never afraid to point out the occasional grammatical error that may crop up in my writing here and their. I suppose dads will always be dads. I always promise him I will aim to do better with every effort and as he always tells me, when I write he is more in my corner than against me.

An atheist to us is not an atheist to them

Perhaps more than anything during the last year, I have learnt that there is quite a difference between how people define the word 'atheist.' Those who identify as agnostics I find especially interesting. Often when I get down to the nitty gritty of what they and I believe or disbelieve there is little difference if any at all. It has become quite clear to me that there is a major difference between what an atheist thinks an atheist is and what people who are not atheists think an atheist is. Essentially, it seems we atheists are defining our word in a way that nobody else in the world does.

"How can you be so sure?"
" I don't see how you can know that there isn't a God, so I call myself an agnostic."
" I can't become an atheist like you, the universe is too vast for me not to hold on to the slight possibility that there might be a God."

The first few times I got these types of  responses, I just treated them as one of those textbook atheist 'strawman' fallacies. I simply explained the usual; atheism is not a position of certainty it is just a lack of belief due to insufficient evidence, I am an agnostic as well, bla-bla-bla. I never thought it was anything major pointing this out. After all, any definition in a dictionary would tell you this. Not only that, but it is trivial to point out that  everyday in life we say that we 'know' something when in fact we don't have absolute certainty. I say that my car is parked in my garage now, because I left it there. But I really don't know that, it could have been towed, stolen or moved without my knowledge. Still, in spite of all this I don't think that people draw the parallel from this analogy  to how we define  'atheist.' They will nod and give us an " Oh I see what you mean," then go on their merry way.

You see, I don't think it matters what we say and how we explain it and how many dictionaries we show them. Theists have determined their own definition of what an atheist is and they will go with that. I have found people who have told me they are not atheists because they have no problem with religion and think that we all should be able to believe what we like and no one should be forcing belief on others. Again this is a curious response, atheism has nothing to do with attitude to religion.  I have said on numerous occasions, I still have a great fondness for many of the cultural artefacts relating to religion. The music, the art, the poetry and architecture, I still have an appreciation for those things. I find people still sometimes don't get this. They will go to great lengths to point out churches to me, hoping to rile me up. It's as if  they expect steam will start coming out of  my ears from the sight of a spire on a  tower or a cross on top off a roof. They are so disappointed when I say, " Yes, I see it and it's very beautiful."

It is clear that we have a long way to go to make atheism palatable and there are many things that need to be addressed. The first one is  this definition issue. I have heard lots of people in the secular/atheist movement claim that too much time is spent quibbling over names and what people choose to call themselves. Why do we have to make such a big deal about calling ourselves atheists? I think it is very important that we do, we have to claim the term and  more than that, define it on our own terms. It strikes me that we as atheists can become complacent in this definition game. Once the official dictionary term is in agreement with how we look at it, we feel that the battle is won, the evidence is on our side and we are on intellectually solid ground. No! Usage is what ultimately determines what words mean. Psychiatrists cringe, when people talk about schizophrenics in terms of people with a split personality. The medical books will say something quite different. It doesn't matter, meanings of words depend on  how people use them. That's why the ' just a theory' argument works so well against evolution when creationists are speaking to lay audiences. Doesn't matter what textbooks might say, it's the definition in the mind that matters. Definitions of the word 'atheist' are no different. In the minds of much of  the general public, an atheist is someone who is certain that no Gods exist.

Sometimes it is fine to let words, meanings and usages evolve naturally, but we have to be careful. In the case of atheism, I see a clear strategy at play in defining atheists as persons who are certain about the non existence of God. That categorisation virtually makes every atheist not REALLY an atheist. And that's the whole point, to wipe atheists off the map, not by some kind of coup or military operation but on a technicality, simply by defining  us out of existence. It is a subtle ploy but very effective. So successful, that even many in the secular world play into it. Non believers will regularly reject the atheist title because they are accepting the theist's definition of the word. This confusion of definitions even within our ranks creates a wedge between us, and theists often pick up our fragments that break off. It's the old adage of divide and conquer.We need to push against this, explain not only what the word means to us and what the dictionary meaning us but why the definition that they commonly use marginalises us and therefore why our definition is better. Their belief is that if they find a way to make the group called  'Atheists' an empty set, they can create the illusion that there really is no one that  believes there is no God. It creates the impression that we are all just different shades of theists with some more agnostic than others. We have to show them that to ask for certainty in order to justify the statement ' I don't believe' in a God context is an unfair double standard.  The bar is miles lower than that  for all other non beliefs in the universe. There is a song popular in Caribbean churches called " Cast your burden onto Jesus, for he cares for you." Jesus apparently cares so much that he performed a miracle on the rules of logic on behalf of his followers. He has made it permissible for believers to cast their burdens of proof unto atheists. We can't let them do it.

Not surprisingly, the faithful smile when we talk about putting away the demonic 'atheist' label and identify ourselves as humanists, freethinkers, secularists, brights, rationalists, skeptics or some other nebulous title. This is great, they would always support that.Their message is that you are free to not believe in God just as long as you don't tell us that. This allows the people in the faith world to continue living in their bubbles, convincing themselves that there is no opposing worldview. Once they can keep atheism as a fringe movement,  with the perception that we are a few angry voices yelling on the church step spitting on little old ladies as they walk in the door, their job is done.

Of course, what we hear also is that it is the word 'atheist' that is the problem. It's a harsh word that grates on the ear. It brings thoughts of communism, socialism and massacres by Hitler and Stalin. Even if we have the best intentions in our use of the word, better  for the sake of strategy to avoid it. This is an argument that I take seriously. From a personal perspective I like the word and find it empowering, however I recognise the importance of employing strategies that work and if atheist is a boulder in the road towards a secular world, I am all for tossing the 'A' word aside. This week in the US a bus ad was rejected as 'too controversial' for simply having the word " Atheists"on it. Still, I am not convinced that it is the word  itself that is the problem.

The problem I believe is the " I don't believe in God." Any word that means that is going to be rejected by the religious. So, it doesn't matter if we drop 'atheist' tomorrow and start calling ourselves 'pineapples' to show we don't believe in God. In a few years time, it would be almost impossible to get a picture of the tropical fruit on to the side of  a bus without  the vehicle being vandalised. The truth is that when people want us to change the word they mean they want a new word with a different definition. They want that there be no word in the english language that means ' a person who doesn't believe in gods.'   If  that happens, the God opposition  movement will disappear from the public square, there will be nothing left to hold the Almighty at bay. With no weapon of resistance against faith, we will be rendered impotent in the theistic battle and the Holy train will continue to steam-roll us.

If we want to have any chance of achieving the utopia of a world where people need to justify their beliefs, attitudes and decisions with evidence, logic and reasoning we have to keep fighting. Fighting for the survival of our group and OUR word.  People have told me that this is not necessary. God and evidence based living can coexist and reason can flow from faith. Some even argue that reason could not exist unless a God made it. Sorry, I can't see it. How can a foundational unchangeable belief in an entity which has no evidence to justify it give rise to a society where the need for evidence to justify ones position is at the core of all decision making? The house that results is bound to collapse on itself sooner or later.

So,  that's why I will continue to support efforts like 'A' Week. For me this year it's not an individual desire to 'come out'  to society, it's a desire to get a specific societal outcome. One where religion gets to be challenged rationally  like everything else. It seems fitting this year that 'A' Week will morph right into the Reason Rally in Washington DC on March 24th. It's almost like belonging to a church, going through Advent waiting for the big Christmas morning or reflecting during Lent in anticipation of that glorious Easter morn.

It makes me chuckle, I am right in the thick of it again. It's so great to know that this time reason is the reason for the season.

Will the Caribbean ever find its Darwin?

It's Darwin Day! It gives me great pleasure to say that. When you become an atheist so many  holidays get dropped or become  reduced in their meaning. It is therefore a great thing when you are able to embrace a new "day of significance" which directly relates to the values which you hold dear. The fact that most of the population is blissfully unaware, making their way through stores to buy cards, red and white flowers and heart-shaped chocolates in preparation for a more recognised celebration is not a problem for me. I have the opportunity to sit here and reflect on this day of reason and the impact of this most influential thinker on our species.

In looking at Charles Darwin's legacy, the journey appears to be as significant as the discovery. The way that the many pieces of evidence came together to form  a fundamental theory governing all living organisms is truly fascinating. What caught my imagination today was Darwin's journey through the Galapagos Islands where he made his famous observation of the finches. We are told that Darwin was amazed at the diversity in the population of species that was present in such a small area, wondered how all these living creatures arrived where they were and  how they adapted so well to their conditions. The year 1831 was a bit before my time but I can fully understand Darwin's awe. Islands are indeed intriguing places to visit and we can learn an incredible amount  from studying them. In today's world so many people see islands as places to go to enjoy sun, sea and sand but I am sure it never dawns on any of them that it was in such an environment that the one of the greatest scientific insights ever was formulated.

I think that we that come from the Caribbean need to remember that. If you look at our islands you can see all the diversity in the people just as much as Darwin saw in the species of his day. Each island has something a bit different that can teach us something  about ourselves. The Caribbean islands  are indeed an ideal laboratory for learning much about our world. Over the years there are many "species" that have come and made these islands home. English, French, Spanish and Dutch influences are all there. Along with the African presence from the slave trade, there is significant Indian and Chinese influence as well as a small indigenous Carib population. The mixing across the cultures has produced much that is unique.  It is not only the people that have made the difference, the diversity in the natural endowments of the islands is equally captivating. The flat terrain and famous beaches of Barbados and Antigua contrast with the mountainous rugged landscape of nearby St.Lucia,Dominica and Grenada. Resources of oil and gas predominate in Trinidad, whereas Jamaica is rich in bauxite and Guyana in gold and other minerals. The history of the region  unfortunately also shows differences in living  conditions with some of our countries being  among the highest in terms of  standards of living in the world but others such as Haiti languishing as one of the poorest.

For every  territory in the Caribbean there is a country in the world that is analogous to it in some way, I am convinced that a detailed study of our islands and the people could help us a lot in understanding the dynamics of culture, immigration, governance,economics and impact of natural resources in the same way that Darwin's discovery in 1831 taught us ultimately the basic mechanism of how humans came to be. Today one of the most pressing issues the world is facing is that of climate change. Islands being the territories likely to be most affected. Here is where a modern day  Darwin could be studying the  impacts on all of  our species and  the way that changes in climate are going to effect the social evolution of our community and the world.

The tragedy is that given the culture in the region  today I am not sure that we are going to find our Darwin. In order to make discoveries that can be world altering one needs to employ a systematic scientific approach. Observing the world, forming hypotheses based on the insights and trying to tie the different threads of ideas together to form coherent theories. Most importantly, there must be a willingness to follow evidence wherever it leads even if it means letting go of  beliefs that have traditionally been seen as the bedrock of our existence. This is where we keep falling down as a people in the region, because the cornerstone of faith is one rock you can never pick up to look underneath. 

We West Indians have undoubtedly had our successes in numerous fields. In the area of music and culture we have made our mark. Bob Marley stands out in the world today as an icon that has given reggae music world wide recognition. The ingenuity of the Trinidadian people has given us the steel-pan which was the only instrument invented in the 20th century.  Our Barbadian sensation Rihanna continues to astound us all by reeling off hit after hit on the Billboard charts.We have distinguished ourselves with authors such as  V.S Naipaul and   Derek Walcott both of  whom have been rewarded with Nobel Prizes. Our cricket may be struggling at the moment, but we can recall great names like Sir Garfield Sobers, Sir Vivian Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Brian Lara, the 3Ws, Clive Lloyd, Malcolm Marshall, Michael Holding and many many more.  Jamaican World Champion sprinter Usain Bolt is the latest in along line of great runners from that island which includes the likes of Merlene Ottey.We have doctors, lawyers, engineers and politicians that can rub shoulders with anybody else in the world. So lack of talent, education or creativity is not a problem for our people. You may therefore wonder  why I am so pessimistic about the region producing a scientist that can change the world.

The problem is that when it comes to critical thinking ,we fall down because we just can't disturb that rock of religion. We must  accept that God is the guiding hand in everything.  Once your worldview is governed by an individual who has ultimate authority; creativity and curiosity can only go back so far. I am not sure there is empirical evidence but I strongly believe that our resolute belief in God affects our approach in other areas of life. In my childhood the word that sticks out most in my mind is "obey." This started off with obedience to God illustrated by the attitudes of Abraham and Noah taught to us in Sunday School lessons before the age of  five. They both did exactly what God told them to do even though it went against common sense. Both were rewarded richly. For the disobedient ones like Adam and Eve or Ananias and Sapphira the outcome was  not so good. Once we had those concepts emphasised to us and the fear that went  along with it, we were told we needed to obey parents, priests and teachers in the same way. Often we felt the full consequences when we were deviant. It is not a coincidence that many Caribbean parents' favourite quote from the bible is, " Spare the rod, spoil the child."

When we grew older we were taught  we should always obey rules and the word " discipline" became another critical word in our vocabulary. We so often were told that the young people don't have discipline and that we should all be sent to boot camp to straighten us out. Of course the word discipline comes from "disciple" and that's what we were taught to be; faithful followers, just like one of the twelve.
In short it was as if the God in heaven came down  and manifested himself in these earthly authorities.

Up to today, whenever we have problems in the Caribbean we think the answer is to make laws more stringent. Last year  in Barbados students behavior at interschool sports began to deteriorate as they danced a bit too exuberantly for some. The answer from the government was to ban all musical instruments from the stadium. In the same year the prime minister himself stepped in to ban two artistes from coming to sing in the country because it was deemed that the message in their songs was not wholesome. "It was not exactly Sunday School material," was a comment I heard. An ironic statement if I ever heard one.This is typical of the type of responses we get to issues of bad  behaviour.  Banning things, more rules,  insisting that longer skirts or pants less baggy be worn, sending students home for incorrect footwear..At the end of everything,  all the ills in the country are blamed  on society turning away from God and children not going to Sunday School anymore. So it's more prayer, getting down on knees, pleading the blood, whatever. Anything other than actually teaching our young people how to reason.

People may think that  when we become adults we break out of this cycle. No,  it is similar when we start in the world of work. Many employees I have worked with in the Caribbean are at a complete loss unless the boss tells them exactly what he or she wants them to do and how to do it. There is often an expressed need for written rules . In fact it is quite regular to hear people speaking about some book that contains the main principles governing their work  as the "bible" of  the particular field they are in. There is generally a fear of ambiguity in situations and I have seen people almost paralysed  when they have been left to make a decision on their own. So, in most of the  islands we have policy document after policy document. A lady working in government on one of the islands told me once that you could  complete a construction project purely using  the card and paper the policies are written on. Yet, so often activities that are suppose to emerge from these guiding documents never get close to seeing the light of day.

Admittedly, in some areas of work the desire to operate from a  blueprint is not a bad thing. Many professionals work from blueprints. Builders work from the architects' drawings, engineers  rely on equations and formulae learnt at university, doctors similarly lean on what they have been taught in their anatomy classes or their own experience of how medicines work. However, few of the people in the Caribbean are actually involved in or even interested in working in an area where the goal is to generate new knowledge. We are the "downstream" professionals, very good at taking the crude product and refining it for the market but comparatively poor at searching for the new sources of oil. This is why it is so difficult for us to find a Darwin.  The skills of questioning, pulling back the curtain and digging  beyond the text book are just not there. They have been stunted from way back in Sunday School days. It is like a muscle that was never developed and now atrophy has set in.

This in my opinion, is the greatest harm of  living in a society steeped in religion. It's not the potential harm to   civilisation  through the slaughter of a witch, a parent opting for prayer instead of medicine, or the flying of a plane into a building. It is the lost opportunities for development that come directly from a paradigm that teaches us from very early not to question authority. Who knows how many great geneticists, evolutionary biologists or anthropologists in the Caribbean we could have had if not for the glass ceiling of religious belief. As a result,  I fear that we will have to wait for our Darwin to come from outside just as the first one came from England to make the discovery in those islands off Ecuador. I sincerely  hope that I am wrong.

Many Christians are, as we speak, looking for a second coming of Jesus in a few months time. I look forward to the second coming of  Darwin, one from among us that will bring an evolution in our way of thinking, enlightenment to the Caribbean and lead the region in showing the world the way.  I am sad to say that sometimes I wonder whether what I long for is any more plausible than what the rapture ready Christians expect to see in May.

Shine the Light on Reason Medley: Reworking the words of one of my favourites

So many of us have been asked the big question. Why are there so few black atheists? Many hypotheses have been put forward each of them with its own weight of merit. Tonight I decided to listen to some of the old gospel tunes and remain convinced that one of the big factors is the music. There are some songs from the church that have come out of our people in America, Africa and the Caribbean that are just sweet, sweet, sweet. Listening to some tonight it was like discovering a lost love. I tell you these songs are infectious and the sound of the Aretha Franklynesque belters or the "in the spirit" choruses of the mass choirs is enough to give you goose pimples. The keyboard riffs and the running bass lines all add to the overall effect.

It is a shame to become an atheist and turn your back on these works of art, but in my new life I have to admit that the lyrics just don't measure up no matter how many times they say "the blessings come down" or "nobody but Jesus."

Well, I think I have found a way out. I have taken a medley produced by a group from the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean known as "Shine the Light." This medley with an infectious calypso beat is a favourite of mine and is popular throughout the Caribbean. I have, shall we say, put a bit of an atheistic spin on it. Singing it with these new words has given the song a whole new meaning and made it more powerful to me than the original ever was. I call it the " Shine the Light on Reason Medley."

Below are my amended lyrics. I have capitalised my additions and put the original words in brackets next to them. Why don't you listen to the medley in the video at the top of the page and sing along with the words below? I hope you have as much fun as I did, because you have to admit that this tune is "sweet for days."

By the way, don't feel guilty taking their tune and using it against Christ. They have done the same thing to songs "of the world" for years. It's why Danny Boy is now "You Raise Me up" and Greensleeves is " What Child is This?"

So go ahead, knock yourself out and remember don't sing the words in brackets.



Shine The Light on Reason Medley- by Caribatheist

1
Goodbye LORD (world)
I'll stay no longer with you
Goodbye JESUS AND (pleasures of) sin
I'll stay no longer with you
I've made up my mind to go MY (God's) way
The rest of my life
I've made up my mind to go MY (God's) way
The rest of my life

Repeat twice

2
OH REASON (My Jesus)
Look where you brought me from
Look where you brought me from
I was down in the CHURCH (world)
TRYING TO BELIEVE (doing what I pleased)
Look where you brought me from

Repeat

3
SOME CHRISTIANS ARE ( The devil is) mad
but I am glad
Glory Hallelujah

THEY (He) lost that soul THEY (He) thought THEY (He) had
Glory Hallelujah

SOME CHRISTIANS HAVE ON (The devil has on)
the hypocrite's shoes
Glory Hallelujah

And if you don't mind THEY'LL (he'll) put it on you
Glory Hallelujah

I don't know why CHRISTIANS (Satan) hate me so
Glory Hallelujah

ONLY EVIDENCE I TRY TO SHOW (He had me once and he let me go)
Glory Hallelujah

BELIEVERS ARE ( The devil is) mad
but I am glad
Glory Hallelujah

THEY (He) lost that soul THEY (He) thought THEY (He) had
Glory Hallelujah

BELIEVERS ARE ( The devil is) mad
but I am glad
Glory Hallelujah

THEY (He) lost that soul THEY (He) thought THEY (He) had
Glory Hallelujah

4
This BRAIN IS MY ONLY BRAIN (train is a holy train)
This BRAIN (train)

This BRAIN IS MY ONLY BRAIN (train is a holy train)
This BRAIN (train)

This BRAIN IS MY ONLY BRAIN (train is a holy train)
NOT GOING TO LEAVE IT TO WASTE AGAIN (Everybody ride it in Jesus' name)
This BRAIN (train ) This BRAIN (train)

This BRAIN (train) is bound for glory
This BRAIN (train)

This BRAIN (train) is bound for glory
This BRAIN (train)

This BRAIN (train) is bound for glory
Ain't GOT SPACE FOR FAIRY TALE STORY (carrying nothing but the pure and the holy)

This BRAIN(train) This BRAIN(train)

5
I can see I can see THE FALL OF  RELIGION (downfall of satan)
I can see I can see THE FALL OF RELIGION (downfall of satan)
I can see I can see THE FALL OF  RELIGION (downfall of satan)
I can see I can see THE FALL OF RELIGION (downfall of satan)

When I look to my right I see GODS JUST (satan) falling falling
When I look to my left  THE PROPHETS THEY (satan) crawling crawling
When I look to my back THE DEITIES (I see satan) jumping jumping
When I look to my front  THE SAVIOUR HE  (I see satan) running running

Repeat

6
REASON OH (Jesus name) so sweet
AND EVIDENCE OH (Emmanuel name) so sweet
REASON OH (Jesus name) so sweet
AND EVIDENCE OH (Emmanuel name) so sweet

Everybody walk and talk about REASON (Jesus)
REASON OH (Jesus name) so sweet
Everybody walk and talk about REASON (Jesus)
REASON OH(Jesus name) so sweet

REASON OH (Jesus name) so sweet
AND EVIDENCE OH (Emmanuel name) so sweet
REASON OH(Jesus name) so sweet
AND EVIDENCE OH (Emmanuel name) so sweet

Everybody walk and talk about REASON (Jesus)
REASON OH(Jesus name) so sweet
Oh walk and talk about REASON (Jesus)
REASON OH(Jesus name) so sweet

Oh walk and talk about REASON (Jesus)
REASON OH (Jesus name) so sweet
REASON, REASON, REASON, REASON (Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus)
REASON OH (Jesus name) so sweet

7
LIFE'S EVOLVING (It is raining) all around me
I can SEE (feel) it
IF I USE MY BRAIN (in the latter rain)
Ride on REASON (Jesus)
IT'S MUCH MORE PLAIN (Give us more rain)
DON"T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE(Til we are wet and we are soaked)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (with the latter rain)

I GOT A BRAIN (Send down the rain)
YOU GOT A BRAIN (Send down the rain)
WE GOT TO USE OUR BRAINS (Send down the gospel rain)
I GOT A BRAIN ( Send down the rain)
YOU GOT A BRAIN (Send down the rain)
WE GOT TO USE OUR BRAINS (Send down the gospel rain)

We need the BRAIN (rain)
WE need the BRAIN (rain)
WE need TO USE OUR BRAIN (the gospel rain)
We need the BRAIN (rain)
WE need the BRAIN (rain)
WE need TO USE OUR BRAIN (the gospel rain)

LIFE'S EVOLVING (It is raining) all around me
I can SEE (feel) it
IF I USE MY BRAIN (in the latter rain)
Ride on REASON (Jesus)
IT'S MUCH MORE PLAIN (Give us more rain)
DON'T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE (Til we are wet and we are soaked)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (in the latter rain)

LIFE'S EVOLVING (It is raining) all around me
I can SEE (feel) it
IF I USE MY BRAIN (in the latter rain)
Ride on REASON (Jesus)
IT'S MUCH MORE PLAIN (Give us more rain)

DON'T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE (Til we are wet and we are soaked)

DON'T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE (Til we are wet and we are soaked)
DON'T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE (Til we are wet and we are soaked)

DON'T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE (Til we are wet and we are soaked)

DON'T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE (Til we are wet and we are soaked)

DON'T YOU FORGET FAITH IS A JOKE (Til we are wet and we are soaked)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (In the latter rain)

LET THE LOGIC REIGN (In the latter rain)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (In the latter rain)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (In the latter rain)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (In the latter rain)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (In the latter rain)
LET THE LOGIC REIGN (In the latter rain)