Penn Jillette: "I believe there is no god."

[sarahmichigan]

NPR is running a weekly series called "This I Believe." The current incarnation of This I Believe is based on a 1950s radio program of the same name, hosted by Edward R. Murrow. I was listening to NPR in the car this morning and caught this week's guest opinion from Penn Jillette (of Penn & Teller). I LOVED how succinctly he summed up the atheist, rationalist viewpoint on belief and why life isn't hopeless and dreary if you don't believe in a higher power.

excerpt:

"Having taken that step [of rejecting a belief in god], it informs every moment of my life. I'm not greedy. I have love, blue skies, rainbows and Hallmark cards, and that has to be enough. It has to be enough, but it's everything in the world and everything in the world is plenty for me. It seems just rude to beg the invisible for more. Just the love of my family that raised me and the family I'm raising now is enough that I don't need heaven. I won the huge genetic lottery and I get joy every day.

Believing there's no God means I can't really be forgiven except by kindness and faulty memories. That's good; it makes me want to be more thoughtful. I have to try to treat people right the first time around."

Read the full text here:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557

Comments

[timmytm.livejournal.com]

...Oh. Thank you.

*nods solemnly*

[sarahmichigan.livejournal.com]

d'oh! I typed that wrong. It won't let you enter a state without a city, so I entered "Trenton" because I didn't know where in NJ you are. Anyway, I'm sure there are several in your area, if'n you were interested. But you're probably not since you said you don't expose yourself to much media.

I'm enjoying typing "expose yourself/myself".

Damn, I got enough sleep, so I'm not sure why I'm feeling so loopy today...

[timmytm.livejournal.com]

Well, there's two things at work. One, I don't really listen to radio because I prefer peace and quiet. (And I like controlling what song pops up next.) Two, I don't feel like I'm "good enough" to listen to National Public Radio.

I'm a shy intellectual?