How does
atheism respond to pain? Does atheism offer meaningful comfort to those in
pain? This is a critical aspect to consider so to validate the truth claim of atheism.
Atheists claim
that their worldview is factual. Christians and other theists, by positing God’s
existence and value, passionately deny this truth claim.
A mere
propositioning of a truth claim does not confirm the proposition as truth.
Hence a statement that atheism is true does not necessarily confirm it to be as
true. A truth claim ought NOT to be systemically contradictory i.e. atheism as
a worldview should not contradict itself.
If atheism cannot
console atheists, it contradicts itself. Learning how atheists console or
encourage those in pain will crucially determine atheism’s constructive relevance in painful situations and meaningful value to those in pain. If atheism is not
of value to those in pain, then it would considerably weaken and negate atheism’s
truth claim.
At the
other side of the coin is theism and most especially, Christianity, which asserts that the chief end of man
is to enjoy and glorify God. When a Christian enjoys God’s presence, he, most
certainly, will not voluntarily be in a permanent state of depression1
or sadness. (Depression or sadness may be a temporary phenomenon in a Christian
life.) Therefore, Christians would predominantly be peaceful and joyous for they
are constantly experiencing and enjoying God’s presence in their life.
Suffering
challenges God’s intent for a man to be joyous. But it is the sovereign God who
allows suffering upon the vulnerable
man (cf. Job 1: 10; Isaiah 5: 5). Hence, it is incumbent upon God to offer
peace and comfort to those believers who are in pain, yet call upon HIM
(Philippians 4: 4-7).
If atheism is
factual, it should ensure that its adherents are peaceful and joyful in all
situations of life; even the suffering atheists should be peaceful. But peace
is not the default attribute of a person in suffering – be it a theist or an
atheist.
Since peace
is not innate in man, peace that leads to joy should be offered by an external
source greater than man. But atheism ignores or chooses to be blind to the most
powerful external source that can ever be – God. Therefore, learning how
atheists console and encourage each other would be a valuable means to discern either
the truthfulness or the deceit of atheism.
Atheism
operates within the paradigm of rejecting God and enabling man. So instead of
asking how atheists console each other, we could ask what atheism offers to its
adherents that would be valuable and meaningful for encouragement and consolation
of the atheist in pain.
For the
sake of this discussion, I have considered an article from Huff Post written by
an atheist striving to write comforting and meaningful words of consolation to
a suffering theist.2
YOU ARE LIVING
THROUGH YOUR OFFSPRING
When the
theist lost her father, the atheist strived to console her by saying that she
is the epitome of her father and that she should be encouraged about it, “…we're
alive through our offspring. You are physically an embodiment of your father's
biological and genetic essence. This includes everything from how you look to
many of the behavioral and personality traits you have. In other words -- and
this is not an exaggeration -- your father is literally alive through you, as
mine is through me. For me, knowing that is incredibly powerful and comforting.”3
If the
departed person was a parent, spouse or a friend who loved us deeply and unconditionally,
then how does the knowledge of he/she living in me comfort me? I know I live,
but then I loved the departed person because he/she loved me unconditionally.
When that person is dead and gone, I would miss his love for me.
(A Christian,
on the other hand, knows that God lives in him and that he/she is the image of
the living and loving God. God’s love for us far exceeds that of any other person’s
love. Hence Christians go to God during times of bereavement, for only God satisfies
the yearning of our souls.)
WE BECOME A PART OF
THE EARTH THAT GIVES RISE TO NEW LIFE
The comforting
atheist continues to console the suffering theist, “I know that we continue to
exist through the earth…As part of this huge reservoir of terrestrial carbon,
we die and become part of the earth, which gives rise to new life, as it once
gave rise to us. That is also very powerful to me in a more collective, worldly
sense.”4
When we
die, our physical bodies decay; this is what this atheist refers to as becoming
a part of the earth. But earth does not produce new life! Humans are born of humans. The earth, other than
the fact that it provides a habitat for our existence, does not play any role
in the birth of a baby. So this consolation is meaningless.
(A
Christian believes that upon death his body would decay but his soul would exist
in the presence of God. The knowledge and the reminder that I and my loved ones
would be living in God’s presence after death will be greatly encouraging and satisfying.)
AFTER DEATH, WE GO
BACK INTO THE PRE-BIRTH PHASE5
In other
words, atheism believes that we cease to exist after death. If that were to be
factual, this life is all that we have to make sense. But this life does not make
any sense. I see evil thriving and evildoers prospering; justice seems to aid
only the rich and the powerful. The evil in this world is depressing.
There is no
consolation in ceasing to exist, especially when atheism offers neither a
solution nor justice for the prosperity of evil and the suffering of the good.
Hence, the knowledge that evil would be unpunished and justice would never be
rendered to the suffering people of this world, which is the entailment of atheism, greatly intensifies the depression.
Non-existence
is more painful to consider than existence. If you are offered an option
between life and death would you not choose life over death? Anyone would
choose life over death, if at all that option is offered to them. In other
words, existence is exceedingly superior and greatly desirable than non-existence.
If this be the case, how would non-existence console an atheist?
Atheism has
no proof that we cease to exist after death – let’s not even go near the validity
of the “Near Death Experiences!” Atheism’s primary proof is that there is no
news from the other side of life; hence atheism considers an impossibility of life
after death. Silence from the other side of life does not necessarily mean a
lack of proof. Hence the belief that we do not exist after death is based on conjecture
predicated on pure flights of atheistic fantasy.
(Christianity
relies on the objective truth of the Bible and believes that God would
annihilate the Satan and punish the evildoers thereby serving justice.
Moreover, the knowledge of the fact that a perfect heaven (sans evil) awaits a
Christian is good enough to forget the perils of evil in this world.)
WE'RE PART OF A
MULTIVERSE AND MAY EXIST IN SEVERAL UNIVERSES SIMULTANEOUSLY
The comforting atheist says that we could continue to exist in other universes, since we are a part of multiverse. Atheism
rejects Christianity for the lack of satisfactory evidence. But atheism does
not offer satisfactory evidence of a multiverse or humans’ existence in the
multiverse to anyone, let alone an atheist, while asserting that we are a part
of a multiverse and may exist in several universes.
Cosmologist
George F. R. Ellis, virtually known as an eminent cosmologist who knows more
about cosmology than any single living person, strongly debunks the idea of
multiverse.6
Speaking at
the conference to debate whether string theory is science, theoretical
physicist David Gross asserted that multiverse is not even a potentially testable
theory, “…Much more troubling, he says, are concepts such as the multiverse
because the other universes that it postulates probably cannot be observed from
our own, even in principle.”7
On one
hand, atheism demands satisfactory evidence for the presence of God, but on the
other hand, atheism believes in a concept that is bankrupt of evidence.
Therefore, atheism contradicts itself, for any consolation predicated on our
existence in the multiverse is meaningless.
(Christianity
offers greater evidence for its veracity than atheism or even the multiverse
theory. Death to a Christian is the gateway to heaven or an eternal life with
God. The belief that we would live when we die is a stunning consolation to
anyone in death bed or in pain, “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and
the life; he who believes in Me will
live even if he dies…” (John 11: 25, NASB, Emphasis Mine).)
ATHEISTS LOOK TO
PEOPLE FOR COMFORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT
Both the
atheist and the theist have people to comfort them. But people cannot satisfy
the longings of our soul. Our intangible soul longs for enduring comfort and answers
when we are in pain.
While in
pain, loneliness adds greater pain if there is no proper comforting mechanism.
When I am lonely, only a perpetual source of comfort would save me.
There are
moments of acute loneliness in our lives. I could be alone while in company of
people or when am in my vehicle or when am in my bed (there may be a spouse or
a child by my side, but I still am alone when I am in bed and pondering over my
pain and problem at hand.) But by
rejecting God, the atheist deprives himself of the source of perennial comfort
and encouragement.
(The Holy
Spirit is the perennial comforter of Christians (John 14:16). A Christian, when
he prays to God, is comforted mightily by the presence and the power of the Holy
Spirit. Therefore the soul of a Christian who remains in Christ will be at
peace and will yearn for God more than people.)
CONCLUSION
Meaning to
life ought to be discovered and not invented. The sovereign and transcendent
God, who creates and sustains, can alone offer credible meaning to life.
When atheists
reject God, they bankrupt themselves of the overarching meaning to life and
begin a series of fictitious inventions of comfort that are utterly hopeless.
When one loses sense of the real meaning of life and death, there remains only
emptiness harshly revealed through vain and empty words of apparent consolation
that is devoid of any sense or true meaning to console a person in pain.
Can the
atheist comfort those in pain? They surely can utter words that they think
would bring comfort to the others. But do those words offer comfort? No, not by
any chance!
Does
Christianity offer true comfort? Yes!
Those who
go to God would be comforted. True comfort is found in God alone, for the Lord
Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you
rest.” (Matthew 11: 28, NASB)
Endnotes:
Websites cited were last accessed on 3rd November
2016.
1We are not considering depression linked to
medical problems.
2http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/atheists-death_b_4134439
3Ibid.
4http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/atheists-death_b_4134439
5http://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/atheists-death_b_4134439
6https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-the-multiverse-really-exist1/
&
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-the-multiverse-may-be-the-most-dangerous-idea-in-physics/
7https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-string-theory-science/
4 comments:
I'm not sure how you got the idea that atheism needs to be consoling or comforting in order to be true. Where is the alleged contradiction you think you see? And, why do you think that in order to be factual, atheism must require its adherents to be peaceful and joyful? Sorry to say, but that's a nonsequitur.
It seems to me that you are laboring under the false impression that reality has to be nice and rosy. But reality is often a harsh mistress. You aren't justified in concluding that atheism is false just because you find it undesirable. That's just wishful thinking.
Atheism is false because God exists. Consolation is not a primary premise to debunk atheism. The contradiction is here...
1. Atheism (or any other religious worldview) should innately enable its adherents to be joyous.
2. Atheism fails to offer happiness to its adherents.
3. Atheism contradicts itself.
4. A worldview that is systemically contradictory cannot be a valid worldview.
5. Atheism is invalid.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Raj,
Thanks for the response. However, I do not understand what you are trying to say. I still don't know what contradiction you think you see in atheism.
Even if you are correct that atheism somehow leads to unhappiness, that doesn't mean atheism is false. Just because a certain philosophical view is bleak doesn't make it incorrect. A bleak view can still be 100% true.
Of course, I don't think it's true that atheism is bleak or unhappy. It is completely neutral on the subject (much like bare theism is neutral), and leaves plenty of room either way. There are many atheists---such as myself, for instance---who lead very happy and fulfilled lives. Even terminally ill atheists like the late Christopher Hitchens found plenty of room for happiness.
Ben, it's a pleasure exchanging thoughts and convictions with you. Thank you for engaging me on this theme.
As I said before, atheism need not be falsified via the attainment of peace and joy. Atheism can be falsified primarily because there are more than reasonable evidences for God's existence.
Let me try to explain the contradiction in another way...any religious worldview ought to offer peace and joy to its adherents. That peace and joy is an entailment to the truthfulness of that worldview.
Think about this....Even now, you are trying to assert the truthfulness of your convictions and debunk the truth claim that I am positing. Why do you strive to affirm the truthfulness of your worldview? One reason is because the notion that you are on the side of the truth offers you happiness - happiness that you are sailing in the right boat. Am I not right?
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