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Gospel of AtheismAnd so London bus adverts will soon spread a new gospel: there is probably no God.Hurrah! The priest likes that. The good cause stands a chance, after all. When our atheists start getting bellicose about religion…that’s great. God isn’t dead yet.You might ask who needs that kind of proclamation. Most advertising already does a pretty good job at plugging practical atheism: Eros, Mammon and Mindlessness – that unholy trinity of our time – hold sway across the board. But the priest is no fanatic – once upon a time he was himself an atheist (folies de jeunesse) - so he feels strongly that the ‘no God’ brigade should be heard. Even if they take people for a ride.Atheism comes in umpteen shapes and sizes. First, there is political atheism. Of the State or party variety. One powered by violent ideologies. Exemplified by the Bolsheviks or the Spanish anarchists. That aggressive variety often burns or shuts down churches, murders priests and nuns, sends believers to concentration camps and sets up a bogus, collaborationist KGB-style church instead of the true one. In Russia that kind of atheism raged for more than 60 years but eventually ended up in the gutter. Al Hamdulillah!Of course, less virulent forms of political atheism exist. The British government and Parliament to all intents and purposes pursue a thinly veiled legislative atheism. As the priest sees it, only a military coup can save England. Maybe our Army generals will take the hint…Second, there is theoretical or logical atheism. It would put most bus passengers (and maybe you, o reader) to sleep yet it is intellectually important. Professor Anthony Flew, an academic philosopher, was a typical exponent. Basically, it consists in finding fault with the traditional proofs for God’s existence. For example, the argument from design looks at our world and sees evidence of design, of a plan in it. Like your watch naturally makes you infer the existence of the watchmaker. From design to designer: God. Flew and many others pointed out how the world at most exhibits evidence of order, not of design. Design implies a designer, yes, order does not. Hence the argument sucks.Surprisingly, Professor Flew recently changed his mind. He now says he believes in God. (Maybe he is getting old.) As to the argument from design, Professor Richard Swinburne has patched it up. Interesting arguments die hard.A subset is ‘science’ atheism. Of the type Professor Dawkins – a donor to the godless bus adverts - assiduously propounds. Actually, Dawkins’ approach is not really science but ‘scientism’. Still, his arguments must be met. Rowan Williams for example rejects creationism as the answer. Instead, he claims that science must take the existence of God as a necessary presupposition. Scientists assume the world is amenable to rational investigation. Only a Creator can guarantee that assumption, so to speak. Do you buy it? Hmmm…bit dodgy.Third is ethical atheism. The world contains evil. A good God would never have engendered such a world, hence either the creator of the world is evil or there is no God. Bleak. Some idiots, like Mrs Baker Eddy, the inventor of ‘Christian Science’, deny evil exists. Evidently, they never had toothache. But Leibniz, the German genius, logician and mathematician, one of my heroes, dealt seriously with the problem of evil. He even coined the word theodicy to counter it. I invite you to read him. There are good reasons why God allows evil to happen – that is the gist of Leibniz’s treatment. An admirable solution.One tiny problem. You might feel theodicy logically satisfies you, yet it still leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. The sufferings of the innocent, for example, are too awful for mere logic to explain away. Leibniz’s way is perhaps a fraction too pat, or even smug. In Brothers Karamazov Dostoyevsky has Ivan dramatically embody this objection. Ivan accepts, rationally, that there is a God. The torture of a single child, however, impels Ivan to want to have nothing to do with him. He returns God the ticket.Sigh…me, a puny, marginal priest – can I disagree with a giant like Dostoyevsky? Nonetheless, I don’t like emotional blackmail. Ivan Karamazov is too sentimental. Innocence is all very well but since Dr Freud we are perhaps a less starry-eyed about child psychology. Besides, innocence has nothing to do with age, it is a moral quality. All may share in it, from the very young to the very old. By the way, the sufferings of the young did not particularly exercise ancient ethics. Plotinus in the Enneads laughs at some kids who have been beaten up –he advises them to take up physical training, so they can learn to defend themselves. Callous? Discuss.The last type of atheism is not very profound. But it is lethal. It is the chilling unbelief of those vast multitudes in many sprawling Western cities which now live as if there were no God. They go from the cradle to the grave behaving as if God’s existence mattered to them less than what is on TV Channel 4 tonight. It is not that they don’t give a damn whether God exists or otherwise. In fact, they no longer even comprehend what the word ‘God’ means. That terrible old story – man walks into a jeweller’s, points out in the window to a crucifix he wants to buy it, so the shop-assistant asks: ‘Do you mean the one with the little man on?’ – is now all too plausible. ‘There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life’ the bus ads will run. That betrays our home atheists for what they are: a hopelessly out of date bunch of faddy-daddies. They are fighting yesterday’s battles. They assume people are still sufficiently concerned about God, judgment and the afterlife to feel liberated when told that there probably isn’t an old man with a beard up in the sky. But you cannot free someone from chains whose weight he does not feel. Telling hedonists to enjoy life is like advising Russian billionaires to make money. Both redundant as reminders.Yet, this latter kind of empty atheism frightens me. Because I don’t see how we can beat it. Not that I lose heart. Because I know that, in the end, God.Revd Frank Julian Gellinumapomp@talk21.comf.gelli.2008@btinternet.com
Hi, Bill, how are you? I am going to CEF Sunday for a week to volunteer. Have been enjoying embroidering on my machine. We are doing reasonably well. Pat
I must say that you quite an eclectic assortment of books: theology, cookbooks, etc. Fascinating. I like your newest picture, Bill. Keep in touch. Love, Pat
Hello, Jeremiah,I see by the groups you participate in we have a lot in common. Thanks for the invite to be your friend.
Hi Willard, Thanks for being kind to accept my request as a friend, lets stay in touch, be blessed.Jeremiah
Hi Willard,Thanks for the friendship invite. Have you visited the "5 pointer group"? It is not very active but I think you might be interested. http://www.shelfari.com/groups/25942/about
Thank you for accepting my friendship. You have some very challenging books.I have particularly been interested in the comments that you make in discussions, and thought it would be wonderful to be friends.
I am a teacher in Kent,Ohio. US and World History...7th and 8th grade. I attend the Akron Christian Reformed Church on the west side of Akron. I love Gatto's book. Very challenging. Are you a teacher?G-Hugs
Thanks so much for your review of "The Faith of the American Soldier." I sent your review to a young Christian friend of mine (he just finished his duty in the Marines). Best wishes, Scott
Willard, just saying hello, I see you have Watchman Nee, I read his books years ago, I looked through my bookcase and don't have any now, have given books away over the years, mainly due to moving, lived on a boat for 5 years back in early '90s.Enjoy your posts, take care and God Bless,Jan
Hi, Bill,See you read a book by Alistair MacLean. Ice Station Zebra was wonderful reading. I read it almost 38 years ago. Think that I finished it when I was in labor with Anne-Marie, or else it was another by him. I just read a lot of books by Wanda Brunstetter, fiction stories about the Amish. Very good. When I figure how to use Shelfari, I shall post them. Pat
You express yourself very, very well, thank you for your input in theology group!
Hi Willard,Thanks so much for your interest in CosimoClassics on Shelfari! We've got nearly 2,000 titles to choose from with more titles coming down the pike this year (another 500 or so). If you're interested, I invite you to visit our newly re-designed website: www.cosimobooks.com. Right now, we only do wholesale orders out of our offices here in New York, but we are able to sell to our retail customers on our website (using Amazon for order fulfillment).I hope you continue to find intriguing titles -- we do all we can to find unique titles for reprint.Thanks again & happy reading!Cheers,Karen Livecchia, Sr. ManagerCosimoBooks/New Yorkwww.cosimobooks.cominfo@cosimobooks.com