New Coldplay

It was Fathers day here last weekend; Along with a new shirt, I received a copy of the new Coldplay CD titled "Viva La Vida"; I've been listening to it a lot this week on repeat in iTunes and I reckon for all the slightly odd press this group tends to get it's not a bad album.

I particularly like the tracks Lost, Life in Technicolor, Cemetries of London and Viva La Vida. My only hesitation is the alarming number of religious references in almost every track, perhaps Chris Martin is going all God squad on us, or maybe it's a protest kind of thing, who knows, good tunes in any case.

Atheist Ideology

People often ask "what do Atheists stand for", this is a meaningless question of course because being an Atheist says nothing about what you believe, only that you don't believe in god. I could be a communist and an Atheist or a conservative and an Atheist. On the other hand being a Theist of some kind means that by definition you follow a particular set of dogmas and more often than not an ideological, political and ethical position on many if not all issues.

Just for fun I thought I'd capture what I feel represents the essence of the two positions, i.e. Theist and Atheist, and just for completeness also point out where the two groups overlap. Draw whatever conclusions you like from it.

Atheists value understanding and evidence, Theists value hope and faith
Atheists admit they don't know, Theists know their God explains everything
Atheists grieve the death of loved ones, so do Theists
Atheists experience love, hate, awe, wonder and lust, so do Theists
Atheists can be altruistic but don't expect a reward in heaven, so can Theists but do.
Atheists can be murderers, liars, criminals, racists and bigots, so can Theists.
Atheists make the most of this world, Theists covert the "next" world.
Atheists thank the surgeon, the fireman, the scientist and the engineer, Theists thank God
Atheists know they are cousins of all living things, Theists feel they are unique and special
Atheists thrive on human solidarity, Theists thrive on the notion of an elite, chosen few
Atheists stand in awe of the universe, Theists believe it was all made just for them
Atheists value scepticism, Theists value obedience
Atheists believe in evolving human morals, Theists believe in static unalterable morals
Atheists see nature, Theists see magic

The conclusion I draw is that its is liberating to be an atheist.