Max Jackson
Email: MaxJackson@theedger.org
I would not be the person I am today without my father; when I was just 12, he took my sister and I out of a church service because the children's sermon was a sanguine call to conquer or convert the Iraqis before they kill us all. Can you tell that I was raised in semi-rural Florida? With this stand, my father sent me on a quest for truth that would lead me to reject all dogma and authority when constructing my worldview. As I fell away from Christianity, I initially swung deep into dogmatic atheism, thoroughly convinced that I had it right and that everyone else was a complete idiot. It didn't take long for reason to break through, however; a trip to Boston and endless hours of introspection led me to realize that anti-dogmatism and freethought are not about the result, (atheism, scientific naturalism etc.), but about the process. Rational thinking, critical inquiry and anti-authoritarianism are the values that I uphold, rather than abject atheism. Yes, I am an atheist, but not a closed-minded one. I will always greet any sincere attempt to justify or demonstrate that any claim is true, religious or not. That said, I have yet to be convinced, and I do my best to stir things up by challenging religion and dogma where I see them, not out of a puerile desire to see my views reign supreme, but out of a true desire for us to discover the truth, whatever it may be. I am currently a Sophomore at the University of Central Florida, studying Psychology, Political Science and minoring in Anthropology. I am president of Campus Freethought Alliance at UCF, and work as a Campus Regional Director for Center For Inquiry.
Loading ...
