World Religions: Atheism

Opening Discussion: While traveling through a forest, two hikers came upon an open field filled with many beautiful flowers arranged in neat rows. Yet, there were also many weeds. Some of the flowers were shriveled up, and many were dead. One hiker turned to his partner and said, “A gardener must tend this field.” The other responded, “Nonsense.” SO they decided to wait, hiding in the shadows of the surrounding tree line, to see if a gardener ever showed up. They waited for weeks but never saw anyone arrive to tend to the flowers in the field. Yet, the hiker who believed a gardener existed persisted in his belief. The other hiker mocked him, saying, “Fine! Believe that a gardener exists! But you have to admit that we’ve never seen him and the evidence that he does exist is slim.”

• Parables like this are used by atheists or those who do not believe God exists to point out the futility of believing in God.
• On the basis of what evidence do you believe God exists?

Heavenly Father, all of creation testifies to Your bountiful goodness! The heavens declare Your glory; the skies proclaim Your handiwork! But You have especially made Yourself known when you sent Your Son to die for our sins and rise for our salvation. Keep us ever mindful of this, especially when we are challenged with our own doubts and the doubts of others. Amen.

What is Atheism? According to American Atheists, “Atheism is a doctrine that states that nothing exists but natural phenomena (matter), that thought is a property or function of matter, and that death irreversibly and totally terminates individual organic units. This definition means that there are no forces, phenomena, or entities which exist outside of or apart from physical nature, or which transcend nature, or are “super” natural, nor can there be. Human kind is on its own.”

Atheists have been around for quite some time, in fact, King David mentions them in Psalm 14. However, contemporary atheism traces its roots back to a contemporary philosophical movement known as logical positivism. A.J. Ayer (1910-1989) said when it came to the claim “God exists,” he was convinced there were no facts to support this. Thus, he concluded all talk about God is essentially meaningless gibberish. Contemporary atheism has inherited this philosophical bias. But in addition to being convinced that there is no evidence for God’s existence, it also believes that in order for human civilization to progress, it must give up its religious beliefs.

A large portion of our conversation Wednesday night revolved around the semantics of the word “good.” How it started was by someone reminding us that just because someone is an atheist doesn’t mean that they can’t do good. This brought our attention to Mark 10:17-18, “And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, ‘Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone.’” In this passage, Jesus changes the focus from man’s work to God’s as to what is good. But Jesus tells us that no one is good except God alone, so this brought up the question can an atheist [or for argument's sake a Buddhist, Muslim, etc] do “good”? In terms of civic, civil, moral, or ethical righteousness: yes. This righteousness is only valid among men though, not God. God judges on a different basis.

This then brings up the word “judge,” which is another word that brought up a lot of discussion. When we hear the word judge as Christians, we commonly jump to Matthew 7:1, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” We want to say that we don’t have the right to judge our neighbors. In the context of the passage however, Jesus explains that it is important to practice self-examination and realize your own sins and faults before offering admonition (cautionary advice) to others. One thing that was pointed out for us that is important to remember is that in the end, God will judge us all. And people cannot earn their own salvation. Christ payed the price for us. Without faith in Christ, people are facing an eternity in hell apart from God. And out of love for our neighbor, we don’t want to see them on that path, so we “judge” by God’s standards. The important thing to remember here is that judging is done out of love, in a loving manner.

Today, 16% of Americans fall into the “none” group for religious affiliation (which is made up of atheists, agnostics, and don’t affiliate). How does the number of atheists compare globally? Some percentages of other countries of atheists, agnostics, or otherwise non-believers in gods (according to about.com “Where are the Atheists?”)

• Sweden: 46-85%
• Denmark: 43-80%
• Norway: 31-72%
• Japan: 64-65%
• Czech Republic: 54-61%
• Finland: 28-60%
• France: 43-54%
• South Korea: 30-52%
• Germany: 41-49%
• Hungary: 32-46%
• Netherlands: 39-44%
• Britain: 31-44%

One closing thought, it is important for us to look back to the opening parable and remember that Christianity claims that the proverbial gardener did in fact make an appearance in the garden, in the person and work of Christ. This is Christianity’s greatest response to the challenge of atheism: that God was in Christ (a historical person) reconciling the world unto Himself (2 Corinthians 5:19).

Heavenly Father, You loved us so much that You sent Your Son to die for us. Help us to reflect Your love to others and give us the courage to always be prepared to make a defense for the hope that is within us so that those who have rejected You may come to trust in You for their eternal salvation. Amen.