I wrote my first post for DT about a month ago, choosing to call it The Happy Atheist. I chose that title very specifically, as the post was about my passion for reason and the joy that I find proselytizing it. Today, however, I want to look at the other side of the coin. There is one gigantic reason why being an atheist frankly sucks.
Religion will always, always have a better sales pitch.
The religious don't have to play by any rules but their own. As a result, they can promise (literally) the sun, moon, and stars to convince others to adopt their beliefs. Faith can promise prosperity, happiness, peace, eternal life, and a benevolent protector. Those of us on the "show me" side of the debate can not.
We're left with esoteric and difficult to convey arguments. While we might have taken the time to work through the implications of omnipotence on free will, or the contradiction inherent in first-cause cosmology, what can we offer the fence-sitters? Humanism? When the other side is offering an eternity in paradise, can "the advancement of the species as an expression of combined knowledge" really hold a candle?
This is why there are so few atheists. We all, as humans, want comforting answers. Choosing correct answers is a lot harder. The idea that we're alone in the universe without any overarching meaning is hardly comforting.
I have yet to find a good counter-argument for atheism in the face of the promises made by religion. It's easy enough to scoff at their claims or demand proof. But that's not enough. What the undecided person sees is a system in which they matter, in which someone cares, and in which they can be happy; and he sees none of these things in atheism.
It's rough, and it's unavoidable. We're the Washington Generals here, so we don't get to use the step ladders and buckets full of glitter that the Globe Trotters get. So we lose.
Be Well,
Chris.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Out of curiosity - why do you believe that there is a win-lose situation? How do atheists benefit from turning others away from religion? I'm personally tired of not being able to say that I'm agnostic without mildly offending someone, but I don't find it necessary to try to convert others to my way of thinking.
ReplyDeleteThe churches obviously have more to gain from converting people - monetarily, of course. But atheists? Well, maybe some of that tithing money will head on over to poker night...
I'd agree with you, if I though that religion and faith were harmless, but I don't. It is my belief (and I should stress that this is just opinion, I can't back it enough to call it an argument), that humanity would be better off without faith. If that's true, then I have a moral obligation to spread that view. I've chosen to do it via this blog for two reasons. First, I don't ever "preach" to anyone who doesn't want to hear it, so I make it optional. Second, it allows for reasoned debate like this.
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a problem with agnosticism. I'm not an assertive atheist ("I believe there is no god"), I'm an empirical atheist ("I see no reason to believe that god exists"). When looked at that way, it's pretty clear that my views don't vary very much from the agnostic view -- we both live lives attempting to find and live truth. We would both react exactly the same to god descending from the heavens. We both avoid intellectually damaging and entangling ideas. I simply take the view point that no cause exists until its effect is shown.