Atheism vs. God……Part II

According to many intellectuals of the day, atheism is the only intelligent answer to what’s really wrong in our world. Didn’t Christianity foster many of the most horrible atrocities ever committed against mankind?  Humanists recall the terrible wrongs of the Christian Church: the great persecutions of the Spanish Inquisition; the atrocities of the Crusades; the suffering of the Jewish people through the centuries, most of which were committed by so-called Christians.  Of course, these cannot be denied.  However, atheists  fail to mention or ignore the exterminations of millions under the atheistic Communists ……the massive murders under the Stalin regime; the Killing Fields  of the Khmer Rouge; The Chinese Cultural Revolution (millions of Chinese tortured and murdered).

Among the new atheists like Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchings and Sam Harris there has arisen a new polemic. Along with the nefarious deeds wrought by the theistic ideology, they also include the promotion of Creationism as an origins myth; the very intolerant view of one’s sexual behavior; plus the various groups who protest against (sometimes with violence) organizations such as Planned Parenthood.  They hold that the theists (aka Judeo/Christian community) are ignorant and promote intolerance.  They actually view faith based groups as wicked!

Consider Dawkins’s book “The God Delusion.”   Thousands of copies of this book have sold on Amazon. Here is the crux of his ideas.  In the course of the book Dawkins selects choice passages from some of the world’s major religious texts and he argues that these passages have driven large numbers of religious persons down through the centuries to do oppressive deeds to their fellow humans.   For Dawkins, the moral zeal that he thinks is typical of religious believers has in fact been a dangerous force because it has led to malice, intolerance and violence (as mentioned above).  In his view the secularists (atheists) are extremely tolerant of opposing views and instead of oppression they persuade others via education….thus avoiding the coercion of the morally intolerant believers.  In other words secularists have better skills for navigating their political surroundings than do their religious counter parts.

Does he speak the truth? As mentioned above both theists and atheists alike do dastardly deeds!  That being said humans do bad things, regardless of whether they are God fearing people or atheists. However, it is my contention and probably yours also, that mainstream Christian traditions promote the virtues and values in our world which help to better the human condition.

We believe that God exists. That he is sovereign and guides human affairs in a providential way. In fact, God’s interest in human affairs is deeply gracious. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to His purpose.” (Rom 8:28)

God allows humans a sphere of decision-making autonomy, but God also orchestrates our circumstances in constructive ways.   Anyone reading the Bible knows that God has established rules for the benefit of mankind before the likes of Dawkins decided that social justice came along with experimentation and evolutionary forces.  So Christians view their quest for social justice here on earth as being part of God’s larger plan.  We are to cooperate with God in His efforts to make this earth a better place for all humankind.

As Christians’ we can engage in cooperative efforts to rid this world of the evils that corrupt society. We are taught that God has given us guidelines to structure our social and political interactions.  The purpose of these guidelines is for the betterment of society, to give a sense of self worth, and promote a sense of stability in a changing world.  We know that there is a God who loves and cares for his creation…..deeply and passionately.

No, Dawkins……Social justice is not changeable. Truth is not relative.  The values given to us by a loving God are permanent and immutable.   The Christian belief system offers a hope for a future and that each and every human is regarded as valuable and was made in a divine image.

                There lies the hope for all humankind!