Atheism
Atheism claims there is no God.
The word atheism is a transliteration of a Greek word which means
"without God." The word atheos is used in Ephesians 2:12
describing the condition of being without the true God.
Christians were
at one time called atheists because they refused to acknowledge heathen Greek
gods. Protestants at times have been called atheists because of their refusal
to deify Mary and to worship saints.
Today the term is generally used to describe those who philosphically reject a
personal self-conscious deity or the absolute denial of God's existence.
There is a practical atheism as well. While God is not denied, life is
lived as if there is no God. There is complete indifference to his claims, and
often there is outspoken and defiant wickedness. This form of atheism is widely
prevalent today.
One of the most visible atheists in 20th Century
America was Madalyn Murray O'Hair whose efforts contributed to the 1963 Supreme
Court ruling that declared unconstitutional the devotional reading of the Bible
and the recitation of the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
Today atheism
is claimed to be the logical consequence of a rational system that accounts for
all human experience without the need to appeal to God.
Communism is such an organized and integrated
system. At its heart is a materialistic view of history and the complete
secularization of life.
Arguments in favor of atheism:
- The onus of proof is on the theist, since atheism is prima facie of more reasonable postion.
- Theistic proofs are inadequate.
- Theism is harmful to society, as it leads to intolerance and persecution.
- With the advances in modern science there is no need for God as
an explanatory hypotheis. The supernatural is unneeded.
- The material universe began with the 'big bang.'
- Charles Darwin rejected God on the grounds that there is an inherent cruelty in nature, as seen in the struggle for existence among animal species.
- Belief in God is psychologically explainable.
- Sigmund Freud saw God as an illusion, a childish projection which grew out of the insecurity of knowing that parents will die someday and the subsequent wish for a "father" who was perfect and would not die.
- Theism is neither true nor false because it is unverifiable by public sense experience.
- Theism is logically contradictory or incoherent. It has been claimed that the notion of necessary existence is incoherent and that the existence of an omnipotent, perfectly good God is inconsistent with the presence of evil in the world.
Arguments against atheism:
- It is against reason. The existence of something rather than nothing requires God.
- It is contrary to human experience, where some knowledge of God, no matter how suppressed and distorted, has universally existed.
- Atheism cannot account for design, order, and regularity in the universe.
- It cannot explain the existence of man and mind.
The Major World Views
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. - Acts 17:22-23
- Agnosticism
Holds that truth is "unknowable."
- Rationalism
Sees all of nature as rational and the making of proper deductions is essential to achieving knowledge.
- Pragmatism
Is more concerned with what 'works' than with what's true.
- Monism
Everything is an undifferentiated oneness or unity.
- Henotheism
One supreme god, not necessarily to the exclusion of other lesser gods.
- Liberalism/Modernism
We must rethink and adapt our concept of God and truth to fit with modern culture and modes of thinking.
- Pantheism/Naturalism
Everything is god.
- Polytheism
There are many gods.
- Atheism
There is no God.
- Monotheism
There is only one God.
