Religious folk tend to enjoy life more and worry less than do non-religious folk, according to most surveys. The atheist bus campaign is further proof of this fact. Atheist guru Richard Dawkins gleefully expected believers to respond with anger toward the signs on the British buses. But such was not the case, and it is easy to understand why. Persons secure in their faith will not be offended by such a display of atheistic absurdity. More likely, they will be amused, if not a little charitably concerned. The very statement, "There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," is laughable on its face. You might even venture to say that God himself is not offended by such tripe. Certainly, unbelief is offensive to him. But even he probably enjoys a good laugh when he sees the ways such unbelief is being expressed these days.
No one spends more time worrying about God than the one who wants desperately to believe he is, as Richard Dawkins claims, nothing but a delusion. But the worried atheist is a most absurd paradox. If there is no God, there is nothing about which he need worry. Yet, he worries about that which he believes, or at least wants to believe, does not exist. Indeed, if "there is probably no God," why doesn't the atheist simply "stop worrying and enjoy life?"
For believers, God is the Author of life and the Fountain of true joy. For atheists, God is the object of their scorn and the target of their rage. But for believers and atheists alike, life without God is utterly meaningless.
Hi James, you wrote,
ReplyDeleteAtheism, as a phenomenon of the post-Enlightenment West...
Actually, it's much older than that, pre-dating Christianity by around five to six hundred years.
Religious folk tend to enjoy life more and worry less than do non-religious folk, according to most surveys.
They also tend to be more violent...
Atheist guru Richard Dawkins gleefully expected believers to respond with anger toward the signs on the British buses. But such was not the case, and it is easy to understand why.
I had not heard this was Dawkins's "gleeful" expectation, but from my reading of Christian blogs and the news, anger was certainly the Christian response. The Christian Voice organization tried to get the ads banned in Britain, and a Catholic Bishop in Italy was described as "furious" at the prospect of the ads appearing there.
Indeed, if "there is probably no God," why doesn't the atheist simply "stop worrying and enjoy life?"
Because, unfortunately, theists create much damage and suffering by their beliefs, with consequences for all of humanity.
For atheists, God is the object of their scorn and the target of their rage.
Which god would that be? Your god? The Muslim god? The Mormon god?
No, "belief in god(s)" is the object of scorn. The rage comes in when theists attempt to impose their beliefs on non-believers (or other believers who don't share their views).
But for believers and atheists alike, life without God is utterly meaningless.
I can agree with that about believers, but it's a fantasy to assume the same about non-believers. Is your life "utterly meaningless" without Zeus?