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'Nontheism' consists narrowly of the nonacceptance of the theistic belief in a personal god, and broadly of the nonacceptance of any belief in a personal or impersonal god. It can be applied to atheism (both weak and strong), agnosticism, ignosticism, and skepticism, as well as to certain religions including Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Buddhism. Nontheism differs from agnosticism in that agnosticism holds that the existence or non-existence of god is unknown or, depending on the form of agnosticism, inherently unknowable, nontheism holds that the existence or non-existence of god might well be knowable but is simply irrelevant either way.
Originally coined as synonymous with ''secularism'', it is now used as an umbrella term for all belief systems that are devoid of the notion of a god.
| Contents |
| Origin and definition |
| Christianity |
| Buddhism |
| Belief and practice |
| Relative and ultimate truth |
| See also |
| References |
| External links |
Origin and definition
The word ''non-theism'' is not in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as of 2007, which has however ''non-theist'' and ''non-theistic'', "Not having or involving a belief in God, especially as a being who reveals himself to humanity." It should be noted that the term is macaronic, combining Latin ''non-'' with Greek ''.
First recorded usage of ''Non-theism'' is by G. J. Holyoake in 1852[1], who introduces it because
:"Mr. [Charles] Southwell has taken an objection to the term Atheism. We are glad he has. We have disused it a long time [...]. We disuse it, because Atheist is a worn-out word. Both the ancients and the moderns have understood by it ''one without God, and also without morality''. Thus the term connotes more than any well-informed and earnest person accepting it ever included in it; that is, the word carries with it associations of immorality, which have been repudiated by the Atheist as seriously as by the Christian. Non-theism is a term less open to the same misunderstanding, as it implies the simple non-acceptance of the Theist's explanation of the origin and government of the world."
This passage is cited by J. Buchanan in his 1857 ''Modern Atheism under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws'', who however goes on to state that
:"Non-theism" was afterwards exchanged [by Holyoake] for "Secularism," as a term less liable to misconstruction, and more correctly descriptive of the real import of the theory.
Spelling without hyphen sees scattered use in the later 20th century, following Harvey Cox's 1966 ''Secular City'':
:"Thus the hidden God or deus absconditus of biblical theology may be mistaken for the no-god-at-all of nontheism." (p.225)
but reaches currency only from the 1990s, in contexts where possible association of the term ''atheism'' with active, ideological anti-theism are unwanted. The 1998 ''Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics'' has
:"in the strict sense, all forms of nontheisms are naturalistic, including atheism, pantheism, deism, and agnosticism." (p. 252, s.v. ''Naturalism'')
Pema Chodron in ''When Things Fall Apart'' (2000) uses the term in the context of Buddhism:
:"The difference between theism and nontheism is not whether one does or does not believe in God.[...] Theism is a deep-seated conviction that there's some hand to hold [...] Non-theism is relaxing with the ambiguity and uncertainty of the present moment without reaching for anything to protect ourselves [...] Nontheism is finally realizing there is no babysitter you can count on." (p. 39f.)
Christianity
Main articles: secular theology, Christian existentialism
Certain liberal Christian theologians, including Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong (who seeks to build on the ideas of the late Anglican bishop John A.T. Robinson) define a "nontheistic God" as "the ground of all being" rather than as a personal divine being. Spong refers to a theistic God as "a personal being with expanded supernatural, human, and parental qualities, which has shaped every religious idea of the Western world."[2]
Both Robinson and Spong owe much of their theology to the work of Christian existentialist philosopher Paul Tillich, including the phrase "the ground of all being". Another quotation from Tillich is, "God does not exist. He is being itself beyond essence and existence. Therefore to argue that God exists is to deny him." This Tillich quotation summarizes his conception of God. He does not think of God as a being which exists in time and space, because that constrains God, and makes God finite. But all beings are finite, and if God is the Creator of all beings, God cannot logically be finite since a finite being cannot be the sustainer of an infinite variety of finite things. Thus God is considered beyond being, above finitude and limitation, the power or essence of being itself.[3]
Secular humanist Sidney Hook wrote in an essay called ''"The Atheism of Paul Tillich"'':
With amazing courage Tillich boldly says that the God of the multitudes does not exist, and further, that to believe in His existence is to believe in an idol and ultimately to embrace superstition. God cannot be an entity among entities, even the highest. He is being-in-itself. In this sense Tillich's God is like the God of Spinoza and the God of Hegel. Both Spinoza and Hegel were denounced for their atheism by the theologians of the past because their God was not a Being or an Entity. Tillich, however, is one of the foremost theologians of our time.
John Dominic Crossan and Robert Funk cofounded the Jesus Seminar, a group of academic scholars who seek, following Rudolf Bultmann, to "demythologize" Jesus. Some also consider this work to be a nontheistic examination of the life and work of Jesus.
Buddhism
Main articles: God in Buddhism
Gautama Buddha was a notable non-theist: although he did teach that gods (Pali: devas) exist, he did not center his teaching around these gods, but around the explanation of suffering and attaining freedom from suffering. Buddha described the view of the existence of a Creator God as an example of a semi-eternalistic belief, and like the 61 other views, this belief causes suffering when one is attached to it and relates to these views with desire, hatred and delusion. At the end of the Sutta the Buddha says he knows these 62 views and he also knows the truth that surpasses them.
Although Buddhism has a vast number of scriptures and practices, the fundamental core of Buddhism, the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, are distinguished in the world of religion as being absent any mention of God(s) or any notion of worship of any deity. They are purely ethical and meditative guidelines based on the truths of psychological suffering due to impermanence.
The fourteen unanswerable questions are different, since Buddha refused to answer these 14 questions. The question of a Creator God, however, was answered by Buddha in the Brahmajala Sutta.
Belief and practice
On one occasion, when presented with a problem of metaphysics by the monk Malunkyaputta, Buddha responded with a story of a man shot with a poisoned arrow. The man's family summons the doctor to have the poison removed, and the man gives an antidote:
"But the man refuses to let the doctor do anything before certain questions can be answered. The wounded man demands to know who shot the arrow, what his caste and job is, and why he shot him. He wants to know what kind of bow the man used and how he acquired the ingredients used in preparing the poison. Malunkyaputta, such a man will die before getting the answers to his questions. It is no different for one who follows the Way. I teach only those things necessary to realize the Way. Things which are not helpful or necessary, I do not teach." Old Path White Clouds: walking in the footsteps of the Buddha, , Thich, Nhat Hanh, Parallax Press, 1991, ISBN 0-938077-26-0
Relative and ultimate truth
Some revolutionary Buddhist teachers teach that mention of divine beings in the scriptures does not refer to actual existing gods, but was a language employed by Buddha to bring about a meaning, which was subsequently misunderstood. An example of this is Ajahn Buddhadasa of Thailand. The majority of teachers, however, disagree with this revolutionary interpretation, and teach the orthodox teaching (from the Pali Canon and Mahayana Sutras) that conventional gods do exist and can influence our lives. These gods, however, cannot give people enlightenment, and they are themselves unenlightened and unaware of the true Dhamma.
Zen Master Bassui (1327-1387) had strong words for those applying notions of divinity to any separate beings, such as bodhisattvas:
"... so you should realize that all the names of the bodhisattvas
are just different names for the nature of mind. As an expedient
in the World-Honored-One's sermons, he defined things using
certain names, and with these names he pointed to the truth.
Ordinary people, unaware of this truth, become attached to the
names and, in the hopes of attaining Buddhahood, seek the Buddha
and Dharma outside their minds. It's like cooking sand in the
hopes of producing rice." Mud and Water: The Teachings of Zen Master Bassui, , Arthur, Braverman, Wisdom Publications, 2002, ISBN 0-86171-320-6
See also
References
1. "The Reasoner," New Series, No. VIII. 115
2. ''A New Christianity for a New World: Why Traditional Faith Is Dying and How a New Faith Is Being Born'', ISBN 0-06-067063-0
3. Sidney Hook, "The Atheism of Paul Tillich," in ''Religious Experience and Truth: A Symposium'' ed. Sidney Hook. (New York University Press, 1961).
External links
★ nontheism.org
★ The End of Pascal's Wager: Only Nontheists Go to Heaven (2002)
★ nontheistfriends.org - Nontheism among Friends (Quakers)
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