I came across a Toronto Star letter to the editor, authored by Laura Leavens, entitled “Atheism A Religion, Too”. It reiterated an argument that I have heard a lot from theists:
“The average atheist, I dare say, believes in the power of intellect, often his/her own. So that’s his god.”
Normally I ignore statements as stupid as this, but I am locked out of my apartment at the moment and really need to vent. So here we go:
Ms. Leavens, yes I do believe in the power of my intellect. I believe in my freedom and ability to question and reason. I believe in my ability to think for myself. I know that I can develop premises and surmise conclusions. I have proven that I can test those conclusions, realize I am wrong, and draw more insights. Unlike your religious mind, which does not question. Nor does your mind think. It is trapped by the belief of an imaginary being, and your mind must fight to contort reality into a fantasy. You believe in something unreal, and therefore it appears to be mystical and miraculous. Your mind kneels down to this fantasy and you worship it. It follows that to worship something is to not question it, and that is something my mind cannot do.
I believe in the existence of toilet paper. I guess we all have our gods.
Dear Skeptic:
Once upon a time I was a skeptic like you. I railed and I doubted, and lived for many years as an atheist. I considered Christian believers less thoughtful, less capable of reasoning, and weak. My letter the editor was brief. You have no way of knowing the journey I’ve been on in my life, the questioning I’ve done and experiences I’ve had. I will simply say that all of your assumptions about me are wrong.
I assure you that God is real. I know it with every fibre of my being. If you open your heart and mind to the possibility that God does indeed exist, and ask Jesus to come into your heart, perhaps one day you will know of what I write.
Christ has risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia. Amen.
Laura, thank-you very much for the comment.
I am sure that you strongly believe in the existence of a god. Perhaps there were even personal events that led you to this belief. However, I am also sure that there is no proof or rational reasoning that you can provide for it. I am in the position to “just trust you” that it’s true, and that is no way to form a belief.
Hey Alpha:
Thank you for your reply.
Interesting name. Our church is hosting an Alpha group for the next eight weeks. It’s a place to ask all your questions. You seem to be a country and a few time zones away so our group might be inconvenient, but I’ll paste a link to the American web site at the bottom.
Meanwhile, just to clarify … I don’t believe in a god … well I do believe that there are a lot of gods we put our faith in daily, but my faith is in the one true God, Creator of Heaven and Earth, whose son Jesus Christ is seated at God’s right hand, but who we know here on earth in the person of the Holy Spirit, living in the hearts of believers.
Also, I didn’t just have events in my life; I had experiences.
I don’t expect you to just trust me. Many skeptics have gone before you. A journalist, Lee Strobel, who didn’t believe, started writing a book intending to disprove Christ’s claims and ended up titling it “The Case for Christ”.
If you’ll allow me, I’ll pray for you to experience God. Meanwhile, check and see if there are any groups that mesh with your schedule. Have a great day! – Laura http://alphausa.org/Group/Group.aspx?ID=1000061028