Is there a vengeful, box-ticking center supervisor within the sky with a cosmic wire on you?
In his Margaret River comp write-up, Longtom drew consideration to the outspoken religiosity of some of the surfers on tour.
“There actually is a God and Brazilian professional surfers are her Chosen People,” he wrote.
Professional athletes thanking the divine of their victorious interviews is nothing new.
But, does the religiosity on tour mirror the beliefs of common surfers?
According to a 2010 Surfer ballot (cited within the EOS entry on faith and browsing), 63% of the journal’s readers mentioned they believed in God, 15% didn’t, and 22% mentioned they weren’t certain.
Are these numbers nonetheless correct?
More particularly, do they characterize the views of BeachGrit’s readership? For a whereas now I’ve wished to do for BeachGrit what Chalmers and Bourget did for philosophers, fielding a massive ballot to determine their crew’s consensus on sure points.
This might simply be me, however I’ve at all times thought that browsing and different wilderness/outside actions (climbing and crusing, from my very own life) level in the direction of there not being any kind of caring, watching, intervening supreme being.
Sure there are these transient, transcendent moments of experiencing the chic — however aren’t they within the minority when in comparison with instances you gotta work onerous to flee and survive? There’s no god that’s ever helped me out after I’ve prayed to keep away from taking a set on the pinnacle. Even much less so after I’ve prayed for a good wave to face up in simply the proper spot, simply for me.
Always appeared just like the units, the storms, the ocean had been extra out to get me than they had been put there as my completely satisfied little playground.
To supply some context, I grew up within the American south because the little one of some hardline evangelical dad and mom. Taught the literal fact of the Bible, clever design in homeschool, hell as a actual place, quiverfull, all the remainder of it. So I do know my background is providing some colour to the way in which I understand “god.” And the “god” I used to be taught as a child might be approach totally different than what that phrase means for a lot of different individuals.
Still, browsing was truly what led me out of all that.
The cavalry by no means arrived to avoid wasting me after I was caught inside; I discovered to only get on with it and determine it out for myself. The ocean by no means appeared to present a snot for this human animal when it was bobbing round within the briny. And since abandoning all that supernatural stuff, my life’s been significantly better, the world a much less terrifying place. No extra vengeful, box-ticking center supervisor within the sky who’s bought a cosmic wire on me, listening for my thought-crimes.
Plus, having labored in promoting, it’s onerous to suppose up a higher, extra worthwhile enterprise mannequin than organized faith. As Breughel the Elder painted it out in a single of his vignettes from Netherlandish Proverbs, be skeptical of anybody knocking on the door with each a flamethrower and additionally a fireplace extinguisher.
But I do know that’s simply me!
I do know that faith brings a lot of consolation to a lot of individuals.
It’s on this observe that I’m curious to ballot the BeachGrit readers for the place you fall on the spectrum of perception.
So: (*15*) else discover or un-find god within the lineup? Cast your vote right here.
**
On a scale from 1 to 7, what do you suppose?
1: I do know that God exists.
2: I can’t know for sure, however I strongly imagine in God and dwell my life on the belief that He is there.
3: I’m unsure, however I’m inclined to imagine in God.
4: Who’s to say? Could be sure, could possibly be no. It’s 50-50.
5: I don’t know whether or not a god exists, however I’m fairly skeptical.
6: I can’t know for sure, nevertheless it’s inconceivable that a god or gods exist; I dwell below the belief that there isn’t something supernatural on the market.
7: I do know that there aren’t any gods or supernatural issues.
