The Temptation Of Atheism

While I love research and statistics, most of my blogs are based more on my perceptions of the world. I read books that have done the statistical legwork and it usually just affirms what I suspected anyway. Once again, this blog is simply my perception of the world around me — how I see things. In a sense, it's truth to me. You may or may not find it truthful to you. That's the reality of life. All I have is my perception of truth. That's all any of us have, really.

My latest read has been, Letter To A Christian Nation, by Sam Harris. Harris, like Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens, is in a class that's been called The New Atheists. These gentlemen all wrote books, many on bestseller lists, that attack and denounce religion. Their arguments include asking thought-provoking questions such as why a loving God would kill children and why so much abuse and violence occurs due to religious beliefs. Sam Harris's book intrigued me. He made a great number of valid points and arguments against Christianity. Atheism has never looked so tempting.

It would be easy to be an atheist. Ah, to live in the land where logic reigns. To live in a place where what is seen is what is true. We could still have morals, but we wouldn't have to deal with all of those pesky Bible verses that contradict one another and are so utterly confusing. Sarcasm aside, I can only see two real cons against the whole proposition — accountability and motivation.

I work in the ministry field — some days for better, some for worse. Today was a better. I saw the validity in what I do. I saw another reason for belief in the unseen God that I follow. As a coworker and I were on our way to help a local resident with a chore, I felt a lack of motivation for the task. It was a busy day and I had more important things to do — at least I thought so. The resident we were to help is a widow and my coworker happened to point that out, in reference to Jesus's teaching about caring for the widows and the orphans. And like an uppercut to the jaw, the reality of her statement hit me. "Yeah, that is our job," I thought. Even as a Christian who works in the field of ministry, I was having trouble following the commands that I'm supposed to model.

Later this question arose: If I, as a Christian, struggle to do good things in this world, how would I ever do those good things as an atheist? I'm not suggesting that atheists are immoral people who don't care about helping others. I'm just stating that, without the accountability of my faith, I would have a hell of a hard time finding the motivation to help people in need.

At the end of the day, how do I come to terms with the enticing logic of atheism and the beautiful absurdity of faith? Some days the historical evidence and apologetics of Christianity prove to be enough. Some days I struggle as the logic and reason of atheism grabs at my will. In the end, it comes down to who I want to be. And, ultimately, faith is the helping hand I need toward that destination.