Is it just me or does anyone else feel like there’s an atheist craze? Despite the fact that we’re living in a postmodern era, the ardent unbelievers seem to be making their voices heard louder than ever. Perhaps the absolutists–be they atheists, Christians, or Muslims–stand out because their black and white beliefs are set against the murky backdrop of grey relativism. Or maybe this is just an internet phenomenon since the web is dominated both by the most expressive, opinionated people and by scientifically minded technologists and futurists. I see the web as a microcosm of our world and a powerful, influential form of media, so even if the reports of these ideological extremes are greatly exaggerated, it may not be long before they are an accurate reflection of the so-called real world.
I have always had a greater respect for atheists than for agnostics or spiritual seekers. I identify more with people who know where they stand and have deeply held conviction. Perhaps because I have been a person of faith my entire life and have grappled with my beliefs since young adulthood, grappling which made my faith stronger and which intensified my convictions. Truth does not sit in the middle. It takes a side. I’d rather engage someone on the opposite team than someone who isn’t even playing the game.
In light of this atheist craze (is it a passing fad or are we on the brink of a monumental shift in civilization?), here is something I wrote in a previous blogging incarnation and which I hope to expound upon in future posts. I’m starting with death, because really, that is the most profound part of human existence:
Everyone will die at some point. Not one of us is immortal, so to say that God doesn’t exist because he lets people die makes no sense. Ah, but it’s not just death, but an early death, i.e. any time before old age sets in, that seems cruel on the part of God or points to his absence. These “untimely deaths” shake or break our faith. Because we can’t comprehend the actions of an immortal God who transcends time and calls some of our loved ones home sooner than we would like.
Loss is painful for all people, regardless of their beliefs, but there is one crucial difference for the believer and the unbeliever. The unbeliever regards death, and the resulting loss, as meaningless. Atheists view death as the end, but Christians see it as the beginning. So the argument that a “good God” wouldn’t let this happen only works on the atheist’s side who can see nothing good in death.
Nor do atheists believe in a higher being who has a higher purpose for our existence, so the idea that something like loss or pain could actually be used to draw a person closer to God, to cause him to grow and do great things, and to be a crucial component of an overarching plan for the greater good seems foolishness to them.
Life on this earth is short and I’d rather err on the side of love and faith (which enhances the quality of life) than err on the side of disbelief and bitterness, which not only shortens one’s days but diminishes their fullness.
Faith doesn’t have to be without a factual basis. “Christian intellectual” is not an oxymoron: Augustine, Pascal, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Francis Schaeffer and Billy Graham are just a few prominent examples. Christians were/are scientists, lawyers, and in other professions requiring logic. They do not shut off their brains to believe in God. Numerous skeptics have read the Bible and come to faith. Faith is a gift, but the the path to receiving it is filled with evidence of a creator and a savior.
