Here’s something I posted on my personal site that I figured some Documentary Blog readers might enjoy. I’m an atheist. In fact, a large majority of the people around me, including my family, are also atheists…or at least agnostic. Recently i’ve been spending alot of my time editing a documentary for John Campea over at The Movie Blog. The film is called ‘Prince of Peace – God of War’, and basically asks the question “Should Christians kill people?”. Needless to say, it’s been an interesting experience exposing myself to ideas that i’d previously been unaware of. Sifting through 17 or so interviews with theoligists and religious philosophers has given me a little insight into a small aspect of religion. I’ve always wondered if I had grown up in a religious family, or if I exposed myself to religous teachings, whether or not i’d start leaning towards the belief of a god, or an acceptance of certain religious ideas. At this point, I can say that the more I learn about religion and its many contradictions, the more my initial thoughts are re-inforced. Christianity, among ALL other world religions, is nothing but great storytelling.
While on this subject, I recently discovered a great two part documentary on Google Video, hosted by well known atheist Richard Dawkins. After some discussion about him with some friends and a recent post on Doug Nagy’s personal blog, I did some searching and discovered this film that finds Dawkins visiting religious sites and expelling some practical logic that would even make Sarek, Vulcan Ambassador and Father of Spock, jealous.
Currently, I’m working on a college paper on religious dogma. I have yet to determine whether I am an atheist or agnostic, but I do know that this documentary is extremely enlightening and has reinforced my idea of the absurdity of religion. Not to say that I don’t think that religion has its advantages and meaningful purposes, but I truly feel that the world would be a much more peaceful and cohesive living environment without it.