I thought I’d take up the “challenge” of answering those 3 questions you phrased in one of the latest videos of ‘Absolute TV’. I do not regard myself as an atheist, though. (If I have to say something in this context, I define myself as an autotheist. I’ll elaborate that later.) But I think your questions address a much wider audience, i.e. simply all those who can still think and value thinking. So, first of all, thank you.
I appreciate the idea of short questions & replies, so I’ll stick to that.
Hopefully, all the future contributors of this topic will be up to the challenge and answer your questions, before they start to dismantle the whole conversation.
A1. Yes and/or no. Reality ‘is’ (cannot be other than) an ‘aspect’ of the Self. I can reach certainty but I can never provide evidence. One who is certain does not need examples or evidences.Q1. Do you hold that certainty regarding some aspects of existence or reality is possible? If so, what examples can you provide? If not, why?
A2. Self is a rather ambiguous and imprecise term in English. Strictly, it is Ātmā (in Sanskrit) or Selbst (German) or Auton (Greek) or Ipsum (Latin) – if I’m here to give more words. It is the Beginning or ‘the beginning with no beginning’ or ‘the beginning before the beginning’ or ‘the beginning with no beginning or end’ etc. Ultimately, it is (the) Infinite. Ultimately. The Self has countless stages, it is not ‘provided’. Self is no ego (‘I’ or ‘me’), no human being, no God, not a ‘thing’ etc.Q2. What, if anything, is the Self?
In this sense, I say that I am an autotheist or autonotheist. God, reality, existence, being etc. could have no certainty if I considered them things that were independent or they were merely in line with the Self. They would not even deserve the name “illusion” like that.
A3. I think I already answered these. I do not only question my feelings (or emotions), but first and foremost I also question my thoughts.Q3. Do you sceptically question all of your feelings in the way you expect of theists? For example, do you question the nature of your experience of the feeling of Love? Or do you accept its legitimacy purely on the basis of how it makes you feel?
I do not say I am a sceptic (or question sceptically), though. Scepticism turns out to be a double-edge sword when it comes to truth. What I do is: if I find that people say something is true, I propose a question (to myself) that it could be false – and vice versa. Yes, in a nut-shell, this is the same as the teaching of the Gospels: “But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.” (Mt, 5:37)*
Well, thank you again, and I’ll keep an eye on the forthcoming shows of our dedicated wisdom channel.
* Let me add a foot-note here (nothing against you, just to make it clear): most atheists are mere anti-theists. They fear nothing more than the concept of God, so they build up a world of illusion and put illustrious names on it (agnosticism etc.). The worst one is materialist atheism, which tries to eradicate Truth. The monstrous terror of communism is the most shameful example for that.