The Need To Be Heard

I read with great interest today of a newly evolving movement where atheists congregate in a disused church to sing to popular music and listen to scientific teachings principally aimed at the the origins of life.

This grabbed my attention on several levels. The irony of atheists congregating in a disused church speaks for itself but the suitability of a church as a place of congregation is once more confirmed but this time by those who profess no faith. Several people who attend speak of the need to be with other people and the enjoyment they derive from that. They sing the songs of more contemporary groups whose music is known to the masses and listen thoughtfully and respectfully to a speaker who stands where the altar would have once stood.

As our society becomes progressively more insular with the old God being replaced by TV, alcohol and home entertainment, the basic human need to seek the company of our fellow man remains intact albeit simmering quietly beneath the veneer of domestic bliss. People coming together to sing is as old as the hills and easily predates Christianity and probably all the other major faiths as well. Likewise, the idea of congregating to listen to one speaker is not exactly a new concept.

The one aspect of this concept which most intrigued me is why a disused church was used. It may have just been a coincidence but I'm not convinced. The pursuit of faith is a strange process. I believe many people are seeking a faith without actually knowing it. I also believe and respect that many people are atheist and have no faith in the present. This, however, does not inform their future. For my part, I have always been quite comfortable with science and faith existing side by side. They are both hugely relevant although in rather distinct ways.

The question is this: Do these people want to be heard outside the walls of the disused church or do they merely want to come together as people and be with each other. Time will tell but I suspect that like all of us, they want to be heard. I hope so because the need to be heard is extremely important and I feel that all too often society stifles rather than encourages this. Perhaps this is because it is easier not to listen because we then feel no obligation to respond.

Do governments need to be heard? Of course they would love to be heard but first they need to listen. The tendency now is to divert things away from ourselves. It is actually far easier to address issues raised in our direction than to deflect them and dodge them.

Doctors too are often accused of not listening. The patient wants to be heard and the doctor gravitates to the facts which he or she considers important. It is easy to see where dissatisfaction sets in when you think about it. Granted, doctors are regrettably constrained by time but this is of little to consolation to the person sitting in front of them with their own ideas, concerns and expectations. Hopefully the medical schools charged with the education of tomorrow's doctors are becoming more adept at listening to the students under their tutelage. I hope that like the starchy attitudes of the Christian faith of my youth, the unfeeling paternalism of the medical fraternity is beginning to melt. Of course, it may be that the paternalism of medicine was originally driven by atheists immersed in scientific theory. Whatever the reason, I would love to be part of a society where we listen more to the person in front of us because there are few feelings more soul destroying than not being listened to. Just as Oscar Wilde rather cleverly pointed out in The Importance of Being Earnest, "The is only one thing worse than being talked about - not being talked about!", there is only one thing worse than being listened to - not being listened to.