FAQ
We already have reason, so why incorporate it into a religion?
The true power of religion is its ability to unite people behind a core narrative, a story that explains how things are and what things matter. These stories were created to explain the unexplainable and provide comforting answers to questions like “what happens after we die?” and “what is life’s purpose?” The tension with reason arises when we learn things that contradict those narratives. The true power of reason is how it allows humans to access the vast cannon of human knowledge with their own miniscule portion of it. It is possible to harness the community building power of religion with the leveraged knowledge-building power of reason. New Atenism is a religion which can unite us behind the story the reason tells is most likely to be true.
Why is the word “reality” sometimes capitalized and sometimes not?
Reality with a capital “R” is synonymous with God. New Atenism believes that “reality” is a better modern word than “nature” to describe what Spinoza meant when he wrote “God or Nature.” Spinoza meant everything that ever did, does, or ever will exist, everything we are able to perceive and understand as well as everything that lies beyond our powers of perception and/or comprehension. The word reality fits this bill nicely but as we often use reality in other concepts—“the reality is, the Warriors dynasty is over”—it is necessary to distinguish when we’re talking about this all-encompassing reality and some narrower form of it.
Is New Atenism sun worship? Is Aten God?
No, while Aten is a known, finite piece of Reality and not God or a god. New Atenism adopted Spinoza’s definition of God as being all of reality, everything that ever has or ever will exist. The sun, Aten, is only one part of that total reality. Aten is extremely important piece to us as it is the energy source for all known life. New Atenism venerates Aten for its life-giving rays as well as its resonance with, and impact on, our emotional wellbeing, but it cannot hear or answer prayers. Reason has revealed how Aten was created and how will be ultimately be destroyed but–don’t sell the farm as its got at least another 5 billion years left on the odometer.
What is the “new” in New Atenism?
The “new” in New Atenism is what reason has and will reveal. This includes a lot of what “old” Atenism believed. While reason has revealed that the pharaoh Akhenaten’s claim “life-giving rays” from that sphere in the sky really did, and really do, power all life on Earth, it has also revealed that his claim that Aten was an active agent creator god who spoke to him was almost certainly made up or imagined. The “new” in New Atenism is in a constant state of renewal as reason reveals more and more about God, about Reality, every day.
Is New Atenism the religion of Spinoza?
No. While Spinoza’s writings are a huge influence on New Atenism, his entire metaphysical model is not incorporated and there are additional concepts which are either built upon or totally outside of his philosophy. Spinoza’s definition of God as being Reality, that reason is our only path to knowing God and the key to an individual having a purposeful, moral and prosperous life have all been incorporated into the New Atenist belief system. New Atenism’s, concept of the spirit of reason including how the filtration and regulation of the Sun’s energy immense power is outside of Spinoza’s belief system and requires knowledge which was not available in his time.
How can reason be a spirit when belief is spirits requires one to abandon reason?
Belief in a supernatural force, a spirit you cannot see, that brings blessings to your life (and/or keeps an eye on you to make sure you behave yourself) is a staple of religious belief. While individual reason is tangible to us in that we can be consciously aware we are doing it (although typically, we’re not aware we’re doing it), collective reason is more amorphous. Every second of every day, all over the world millions of people are working in ever-narrowing areas of expertise, and having other experts test their findings, to build and verify knowledge that extends and improves our lives. No matter how deep your knowledge in a particular domain, you are dependent upon others the verify that knowledge and you are completely dependent on others to create and verify knowledge in every other domain. The incredible power of reason is mysterious in that it cannot be touched, tasted or seen and it produces knowledge far beyond any individual’s ability to comprehend but it is the engine of human progress.
What are the Four Tenets of New Atenism?
- The God of Spinoza. God is Reality with a capital R, meaning everything that ever has or ever will exits. All matter, energy, thoughts and concepts.
- Aten is the life-giving manifestation of God. Radiant solar energy, filtered and regulated by near-Earth space powers all life and has a profound impact on human culture and emotional states.
- The Spirit of Reason is embracing what is helpful and rejecting what is harmful.
- The Gospel of Prosperity is a virtuous circle of reason, progress and belief in reason.
Can someone be a Christian, Muslim, Jew or Buddhist and be a New Atenist?
While there’s no exam or litmus test required to identify as a New Atenist, it would be somewhat pointless to do so if you don’t believe in its four tenants (see above). It would also be a conflict to accept dogma or doctrine over what reason has revealed and claim one is a New Atenist. For example, believing the Torah, Bible or Quran is literally true is incompatible with reason. Viewing these texts as literature containing helpful moral stories one could still compatible with the New Atenist core narrative. It should be pointed out, however, that most religious adherents and authorities consider the “literature crowd” to be outside of the faith.
