Skip to Main Content (access key 1)
Skip to Search (access key 2)
Skip to Search GO (access key 3)
Skip to comments (access key 4)
Skip to navigation (access key 5)
Skip to top of page (access key 6)
Monday, December 15, 2008 | Reason : Interviews | print version Print | Comments |

Document Mac Geek Mike Lee is a committed atheist living a deeply spiritual life

by SF Gate

Thanks to Dawn for the link.

Reposted from:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/12/15/findrelig.DTL

One big thing I've learned over the past four years of writing this column is that a person's spirituality will often surprise you.

The way we connect with the divine is profoundly personal, whether we're members of an organized faith or prefer to blaze our own paths to God and Goddess. I've discovered that evangelist preachers aren't always prim and proper, scientists can wholeheartedly embrace ideas they can't prove, Buddhists aren't always tranquil and polytheists may happily believe in one God. Even atheists can have what I would describe as deeply spiritual lives.

The latter realization came by way of my interview this week with Mike Lee, a name familiar to Mac geeks around the world. Lee and his team developed the wildly popular iPhone app, "Tap Tap Revenge" (over one million downloads within four weeks of its release) and recently released Puzzllotto for the iPhone, an app that combines real-world charity with a digital adventure through a dark jungle populated by big-eyed critters and strange spirits.

Lee, 32, describes himself on his blog as the "world's toughest programmer." That toughness was born out of surviving an abusive childhood, which was followed by a mostly unsuccessful search for meaning in the Christian, Buddhist and Shinto faiths. Lee, who grew up in Hawaii and now lives in Cupertino, eventually became a committed atheist. Still, he continues to cultivate the values that were important to his samurai ancestors, believing that "a life lived according to the virtues of rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor and loyalty should please any reasonable deity."

I discussed discovering the divine in programming code and electronic connections, saving the Madagascar Lemur and altruistic capitalism with Lee via e-mail.

Click here to read the interview:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2008/12/15/findrelig.DTL

Comments 1 - 5 of 5 |

Reload Comments | Back to Top | Page Numbers

1. Comment #301755 by splink on December 15, 2008 at 6:05 pm

Polytheists can't happily believe in one God. My brain can't even make that make sense.

Other Comments by splink

2. Comment #301763 by Caudimordax on December 15, 2008 at 6:35 pm

 avatarI can't believe I made myself read that whole article.

Spluh!

Other Comments by Caudimordax

3. Comment #301812 by Alternative Carpark on December 15, 2008 at 9:21 pm

 avatarHe searched for meaning in Shinto?

Other Comments by Alternative Carpark

4. Comment #301820 by DavidSJA on December 15, 2008 at 10:00 pm

The polytheist:monotheist paradox is no more difficult to "believe" than the monotheist:polytheist paradox which is at the core of christianity.

In short, christians believe that there is one god, but there are three of him, father, son and holy spirit. 1 but 3. M:P

Other religions believe there is one supergod, but he never reveals himself directly, so you should worship one or more of his revealed forms.

In short: mental contortions will allow anyone to believe anything unless they inject some rational thinking...

Other Comments by DavidSJA

5. Comment #302789 by nonsuch on December 17, 2008 at 5:45 pm

"He became a committed atheist"

WTF ??

As if not believing in something requires a "commitment".


It implies that atheism is "another religion" closed-mindedly "committing" oneself to certain precepts. The word frames atheists as closed-minded "like those religious people" - "committed' to "not believing".

I'm not implying that the person who uses that phrase even knows that they are implying that, it is just embeded in the discourse, thanks to a meme spread by religionists.
Idiotic.

Other Comments by nonsuch
Reload Comments | Back to Top

Comment Entry: Please Login

Register a new account

Username:

Password:

This article is reposted from a website that accepts comments.
Why not share your comment on the article there as well? CLICK HERE