Muslim Christian Dialogue on Answering Atheism

A Christian Response to Atheism

for Muslim Christian Dialogue.

Islamic Center

Fridley, MN

February 2, 2013

There are three references to atheism in the Bible that define what an atheist believes and does as follows:

1. Psalm 10:4

The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, “There is no God.”

This verse could be read to mean: A person who does not believe in God is wicked, but in light of the other two references it more likely means, a wicked person is one who behaves as though God did not exist.

2. Psalm 14:1

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.  The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.

3. Psalm 53:1[1]

For the choir director; according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

[2] The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God,”
They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice;
There is no one who does good.
² God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men
To see if there is anyone who understands, who seeks after God.
³ Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴ Have the workers of wickedness no knowledge,
Who eat up My people as though they ate bread
And have not called upon God?

According to this text, an atheist may theoretically believe or not believe in God’s existence.  This person doesn’t care. He simply takes no notice of God as he goes about his business. Those who “eat up my people as though they ate bread” have no reference point in God. If they did, they would surely behave differently. Granted, this conclusion is open to challenge, but that is what this essay deals with.

A FEW THOUGHTS ON THE RISE OF MODERN, ENLIGHTENMENT ATHEISM

In western history, the 17^th and 18^th century enlightenment saw the rise of modern, scientific atheism. A century after the wars of the Reformation in the 16^th century many philosophers looked back said: Well, if that is religion, who needs it? It only creates hatred and war. There may or may not be a god, but we now have science. Science will help us solve all our problems if just given a chance. There is really no need to take God into account. A question we can ask is this: Just how well is science doing by now to end the violence and oppression religion has supposedly created?

Religion can unite people, and religion can divide people.  Every year people who otherwise may be enemies come together at Mecca for the Haj as one people under God. This shows the power of religion to unite people as well as divide them. Religious holidays can be a unifying factor in bringing people together.

On Christmas Eve of 1914 an event happened that could have ended World War I just as it was beginning. Soldiers in one of the trenches began singing Christmas carols. Although sung in different languages, all of Europe sang many of the same carols. Soon enemies were singing together. The spirit of the holiday brought them out of the trenches leaving their weapons behind as they embraced their enemies, singing and celebrating together. We’ll return to this story later.

A SCIENTIFIC APPROACH

        Scientific discovery and invention did not create scientific atheism. The religious people of the church did. Science was only the vehicle by which the atheist could find a way out of the religious/political system during the enlightenment. Similarly I have a friend who became an atheist after fighting in the Vietnam war. He saw an irreconcilable disconnect between the religion of God’s love he was taught and the behavior of his church and country towards others. One wonders what the third and fourth generation of Muslims alive today will conclude when they look back on the Middle Eastern conflicts of today between Muslims. If one’s enemy is completely destroyed, one can claim the victory of God and justify one’s position, but the world we live in today will hardly allow that possibility, and that’s a positive development.

Experimental scientific method can neither prove or disprove the existence of God.  Using the logic of reason on this topic inevitably ends up with a conclusion that matches the assumptions with which one began. Still logic is essential for discussion, which gives me license to say something more.

In the early 20^th century Sigmund Freud wrote a small treatise called The Future of an Illusion. According to Dr. Freud’s analysis religion should have surely died out by end of the 20^th century and been replaced by science as the ultimate authority in the universe. That actually has happened in many people’s minds, but is by no means the reality.

Dr. Freud speculated that God is a psychological projection of people who feel vulnerable and weak and who wish for an imaginary father authority to look out for them and make them feel good. Not long ago a governor of Minnesota expressed the same sentiment by saying religion was for weak-minded people. Dr. Freud started with the assumption “there is no God” and ended with an conclusion that satisfied his need to explain.

If we use Dr. Freud’s approach and begin with the opposite assumption, that God exists, we can say that Dr. Freud is afraid of God and projects his fear on to the universe to deny what people otherwise generally have affirmed since humanity began—that God or the gods exist. The idea appears to be written into the “collective subconscious.”[3]

This idea squares quite well with Biblical data. Paul wrote that God’s law is written into all human hearts, and that all humans have broken it. When confronted by this internal law that we all have broken, we either excuse or accuse ourselves (and others)[4], having then to deal with either guilt or shame and fear of exposure,[5] depending upon how our own culture is oriented. Dr. Freud, apparently couldn’t come to terms with his sense of own guilt and convinced himself there really is no final Divine authority to whom he might be held accountable. This, of course, made him feel better.

From a Biblical standpoint, Freud’s fears are well founded. God really can be quite scary and demanding. At one point in history God spoke directly from heaven to the Israelites and listed his Ten Commandments for them. His venerable and awesome presence appeared to them as fire and lighting. They were terrified and begged Moses to climb the mountain, speak with God in their behalf, and then report back to them. They didn’t want to be so close to this God who frightened them.[6] Moses went back up the mountain, received the commandments, and when he returned his face was radiant. Just having been near to God’s presence made him so terrifying that he had to cover his face before anyone would dare approach him. [7]

If God does not appear to us today, it is likely he doesn’t want to frighten us to death. Freud had good instincts about his own lack of qualifications for an encounter with the God of undiluted truth. In truth, Freud, the atheist, was probably more aware of God that many religious people are who just do the rituals and preach the rhetoric.

So what will qualify us to meet God when our life is over? Jesus Christ is like the utility transformer that brings the high voltage of the high-powered line down to a level that the appliances in our house can handle. God is the awesome power that blasted the universe into existence, and if we touch the power line with one impurity of sin attached to us, the sin will ignite and we will fry. (That’s call hell, by the way.) Again and again the theophanies of the Bible portray God as a living fire. This is the witness of many prophets and saints who have been close to his awesome presence.

A CHRISTIAN SOLUTION

All Christian thinking begins with the cross or it is not Christian. Paul wrote, “I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ crucified.” According to John’s gospel, Jesus died for the sin of the world. What does the cross really mean?   

No person alive on earth is exempt from injustice, and injustice makes us angry. The anger we feel in the face of injustice is a reflection of God’s anger at injustice, because God has written justice into our hearts. It is a consequence of being created in God’s image (think of how a mirror reflects our image), and that is why I can say our anger is a reflection of the greater and more perfect anger God feels towards human injustice. The problem is that sin distorts our perceptions so that our judgments are selfish and misdirected. The human race has an anger problem. God does not.

In the cross Jesus absorbs all the anger of all humanity for all time. This is the miracle of the cross. If we accept the cross as God’s sufficient justice, our legitimate but misdirected anger will evaporate. The anger God put in us towards evil and injustice is anger that only God can take away. I bear witness to that fact in my own life in a certain concrete moment that I experienced when God responded to my need.

It was religion that created the darkness of today’s atheism, and for the average atheist, science is god. But science doesn’t solve our real problems, fear, anger, and a debilitating lack of trust in each other. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world.”[8]  I can take your fear and anger and give you peace.[9] “When you love one another, people will see that you belong to me (paraphrase).”[10] Atheists are as capable of observing and receiving love as anyone else.

On Christmas Eve, 1914, men in wait, preparing to kill their enemies, heard their enemies singing praise to God in celebration of the  Incarnation of Jesus Christ, and were so inspired they could not help but join. Jesus brought them together in memory of his Incarnation, God entering human flesh. In the ensuing worship service of praise to God, they danced and sang with each other in the joy of reconciliation. But the agents of darkness with their spiritual eyes blinded by military duty and unable to see the light from heaven upon them at that moment pushed their men back into the trenches and forced them to fight again with the result that Europe stumbled on in darkness to Versailles, The Great Depression, World War II, Holocaust, Cold War, and so-called clash of civilizations by the end of the century, all these crisis driven by fear and anger.

Reconciliation is through the cross. That is the Christian message. Jesus said, “If anyone will follow me, let him pick up his cross, die to self, and follow me, and I will give him life (Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:26, John 10:10 & 11:26).”

God’s infinitely great glory was revealed at Mt. Sinai when Moses received law. God’s equally infinite humility is revealed in Jesus Christ, and it is through this tiny window of God in human weakness that we get a glimpse of the expanse of God’s true greatness—the greatness of his shameless mercy and love.

The event on Christmas Eve 1914 revealed the power of a religious tradition rooted directly in the Incarnation. Being “in Christ” reconciles us to God and to each other and is the insulation we need to be ready for the fire of God’s awesome appearance at the end of the age. Jesus said, “Come to me all you who struggle and carry heavy loads and I will give you rest (Matthew 11:28). You don’t need to carry fear and anger with you in life or in death.

To convince atheists of God we do not knock them down, but invite them in. Ultimately that’s the only way to convince anyone of anything. Some will accept the invitation and some won’t.