Some Dilemmas of Atheism

If you’ve ever been in a dialogue with an atheist, as I have many times, what they delight in is demanding proof on their terms of the existence of God. They also enjoy laughing at anything a believer says.

But this is not what this column is about (spoiler alert). We aren’t here to prove the existence of God but rather to point out consequences of holding an atheistic point of view that I believe many overlook.

Dilemma one: The best that an atheist can hope for in a dialog with a believer is a tie.

What do I mean by this? An atheist demands proof on their own terms that God exists. They don’t believe in God, but they can’t prove that He doesn’t exist. All they can offer is a set of “facts” that they believe points to there being no God. Lack of a belief in God is as much a leap of faith as a belief in God is. So if you are in a dialog with an atheist bear in mind you aren’t going to lose.

Dilemma two: Without a level of being higher than humanity, it is impossible to prove that all human beings are equal.

In fact, the opposite seems to be the case. Without God, one could argue, for example, that there really is no thing such as a common humanity. Men and women are different. Some are smarter, some are more attractive, some are stronger. Some are taller, some younger, some older. Some are healthy, some not. Some are born blind. What then makes human beings equal without a soul?

The idea of natural equality, then, absent a soul or the God who created it, is on shaky ground. And without a higher power to appeal to, there is absolutely no code of morality which one can be required to accept. What is wrong, then, with murder? War? Theft? If there is no higher power, if death is an eternal nothingness, then saints and vile criminals end up the same after death.

Further, there is no argument against racism, sexism, or any other kind of “ism”. One can put forward the idea of racial/national/sexual superiority in this kind of a vacuum. Whose is to say that each of the groups of humanity which exist came from an equal source? We have scientific “theories”, of course, but without God we can’t say all humans are created equal due to the unique and single Source which brings them into being as a distinct class of creature. God, then, is the great leveler. The Creator is He who creates ALL HUMANS equal.

Dilemma three: Atheists like to point to the wars that involve religion. There has even been a much bandied about quote that “Religion has caused more and bloodier wars”. Yet the leading killers and killing machines in the 20^th Century were atheists.

Stalin. Mao Tse Tung. Pol Pot. Ho Chi Minh. These men were responsible for millions upon millions of deaths. Smaller murderers like Castro and Guevara fit into this mold as well. All in the name of the revolution to liberate humanity, they turned on human beings and wiped them out.

All you have to do to prove the lie about religion causing more wars is to Google “List of Wars by Death Toll.” You’ll see.

Lest I be remiss in mentioning Adolph Hitler, it is with delight that atheists point to the fact that he was born into a Catholic family. Hitler as far as we know was not an “atheist” per se but was anything other than a practicing Catholic or Christian of any sort. He persecuted the Church with a vengeance. Thousands of priests and nuns were murdered by the Nazis. One should read the book by Father Gereon Goldmann, The Shadow of His Wings. Father Goldmann was a soldier for the German army in WWII. He details the persecution that Catholics underwent under the Nazis.

Dilemma four: Atheists want to reject religion and force it out of the society. But they don’t mind persons of faith serving in the armed forces and protecting their right to reject God.

If atheists are the intellectually and morally superior beings they claim to be, let them enter the military en masse and protect the country. Let them also create hospitals and schools and soup kitchens and other charitable outreaches. And atheists should never use religious-based institutions for anything. This includes hospitals and schools. If they are true to their “faith” or lack of it, this would only be correct.

In short, don’t take guff off non-believers. Take pride in your faith and what belief in God brings to society and the world at large.

Consider.