Happy 2007!
The thoughts that pop into my mind while I’m slowly waking up in the shower are often random and incoherent. This morning was an exception. With closed eyes and water hitting my back, I was thinking about my classes and remembered one moment when I overheard some students talking about religion and a couple of those students were touting atheism. This moment happened months ago, but as I stood in the shower this morning, I wondered how I could respond to an atheist. This is what came to my mind.
First, it takes a lot of faith to be an atheist — in fact, I think an atheist must make a larger leap of faith than a person who believes in God. Here’s why. An atheist must make several radical assumptions….
Assumption #1: The order and intelligent life in our world and universe arose from a series of utterly random events. I’ve heard mathematicians work out the probability of this happening and it is exceedingly improbable.
However, if an atheist is able to take that leap of faith, they still have to deal with assumption #2: The matter that makes up the world and universe (the molecules, atoms, etc.) came out of nowhere and from no one. Now, some atheists might look to science for their answer and point to the Big Bang. However, the Big Bang does not explain where the matter came from, it only invokes the question. Thinking about the theory (that all matter once started at the same place and then continued to expand), it makes one wonder — where did the universe’s matter come from? Creationists can say the matter for this organized universe was spoken into place by a supreme being while the atheist must simply shrug his shoulders and accept ignorance.
This leaves me with this thought: If the material of our universe had to come from somewhere and it appears to be ordered, then there is most likely a supreme creator who designed this wonderous well-ordered (both macro and micro) world. If there is a supreme being as there seems to be, I should pursue him because: 1. to not pursue him simply seems lazy and will certainly leave me in ignorance 2. unlike the cliche “ignorance is bliss”, ignorance can in fact be dangerous, especially if that supreme creator wants something of me.
From this point in thinking, I then have two options of pursuing truth about this supreme being: 1. Make up my own ideas about him from the knowledge that appears right from my own observations of his creation and/or 2. Investigate the answers that current religions offer, test them out and see if one of them offers the answer.
From what I’ve learned about various religions, it appears that Christianity gives the most accurate explanation of the condition of man — we have an innate concept of what is good (everyone claims certain things are “fair” and “good”), but we fail to do these things and need help. History has backed up biblical evidence of Jesus’ reality and his radical claims to deity, so he has to either be God as he claimed to be or a madman who should not be trusted. I believe he was God and have decided to follow his commands and establish a relationship with him — both of which help to counteract my tendency to go against that which I know is right. While seeking God, God has spoken into my life and revealed himself through numerous experiences, including one of the most significant experiences in my life — my battle and victory over cancer. This is what I know.
This is what came to my mind in the shower this morning as I thought of how I might respond to the atheist’s challenge.
After thinking about that, I looked back at the structure of my thoughts and realized how much my 7 years of programming affected the way I look at things :)
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4 comments:
hello mr. kennet. after stumbling upon your website i thought i would leave a reply to this.
Although i wouldnt call myself an atheist, i guess that could be the most reasonable title. in my believes i see very much what you have described, i believe in the big band and evolution and i even believe in a creator as well. but one thing that still crosses my mind. if the creator created the mass which caused the big bang. who created the creator, where did he come from. some would say that the creator has always been there. but then you have to think, if the creator can come from nothing. why cant the mass from the big bang, which makes me question if there is even a creator. there are many things left unknown. and i dont think there will ever be an answer to this.
Thanks for your thoughtful reply, Kevin. I have also wondered whether the mass of the Big Bang could have simply come from nothing. I guess it could have. But, there are a few things that make me believe this is incredibly unlikely and it is far more likely that there is a supreme mind behind it all.
First, the order and design of the universe seems to shout out that there is a creator. Not only is the macro realm ordered including the universe, the galaxies, solar systems, and the planets, but so is the micro realm — our organs, cells, electrons, etc. Everything has its place–its laws. This order makes me stop and think — this couldn’t have happened randomly. Just as I can’t take bits of metal, thrown them in a box, shake them up and get a finely-crafted Rolex watch, it seems improbable that the world came about by random events. When I see order, especially the complex order that is in our universe, it means that, more than likely, there is a mind behind that order. For centuries man has been meticulously observing this order through our sciences and each day we are uncovering more orders and mysteries that seem to point to a designer.
Second, the heart and mind of humanity leads me to believe that we are special and there was a supreme being that made us. Just as the natural world is controlled by laws, we seem to have a “law” of sorts that is written in our hearts. People around the world claim that certain things are “good” and “fair.” And, contrary to what some may say, strangely enough, there are a lot of things that people from various cultures could agree on as far as what is fair. For example, in most parts of the world, if I steal something from someone (for our western world, let’s say it’s an iPod), and they find me out, they are going to yell at me and say that isn’t fair. In fact, they’ll demand that I give it back because it was theirs first.
This little example also reveals something else that is significant. While there seems to be a “law” in our hearts about what is right and wrong, unlike the unbreakable laws of the physical world (like gravity, etc.), this “law” in our hearts can be broken. We can deviate from the “law.” In fact, people recognize and point to the deviations from the law as in the prior example or the more extreme example of today’s terrorism. The majority of people look at the bombings on the World Trade Center and even the wars in the world today and say to themselves, “This is not how it’s supposed to be.” This thought should make one ask a question — “Says who?! Who says it isn’t right?! Why shouldn’t we all just be killing each other?!”
An atheist might have a hard time sufficiently answering where this feeling of right and wrong comes from and why we shouldn’t just tear each other apart. In fact, in danger of sounding like the philosopher Aristotle, in order for the ideas of “right” and “wrong” to mean anything, there needs to be a supreme truth that exists outside of this system that we could test things against. If there is no supreme truth or right and wrong, there is only anarchy, principles of randomness and “survival of the fittest.” If the atheist believes that these are the principles that created the world, how can he argue that the way people are attacking each other isn’t “right”? If he remained true to his beliefs, he should allow for these principles to run their course and see who comes out on top. If there is no supreme creator, there is no supreme creator of the rules. In fact, there are no rules.
That doesn’t sit well with me. My heart seems to be drawn to an answer that seems far more satisfying to the heart and the mind: the supreme creator who established the order that we see in nature is the one who created the rules in our heart–the rules that scream out to us that this violence is not how things are supposed to be. He also created us with the freedom to follow the rules of what is “good” so that we can freely choose to love him, but, with that freedom to do good comes the freedom to choose evil. It is the human tendency to choose evil that has screwed up our world and made things “not right.” We need someone to save us and, sadly, the only one who can save us is the creator himself.
Finally, the last thing that draws me to my belief in God is my relationship with him. One can talk about religion and the origin of our world and, while interesting, it doesn’t completely satisfy. The only thing that has satisfied me has been to go through the thoughts that I just expressed, come to God, and ask him to reveal himself to me personally. I feel like he’s done that in my life in numerous ways. While the least logical of the reasons, it is probably the one that is the most satisfying :)
Bravo Tim….as usual, well thought out and concise! No matter how much we would like to know those answers, they are by the nature of the question, beyond finite comprehension. This is why we evenutally have to accept God on faith. He then rewards that faith with intimate knowledge of Himself. No matter how much you would like to have it otherwise, the creator isn’t answerable to creation. If you want to know if He is real, (and I mean really want to know), then just ask Him. I did that 35 years ago, and His answer was YES. I committed my life to Him and have never looked back. I wish you well on your lifes journey. I hope you have the courage to seek Him, because if you do, you will find him. It’s a question of the sincerity of your heart. He never denies a true heart.
I was in the middle of homework when I realized I didn’t know what my English homework was, so, I went to the school website to find your email. While on your page, I saw a link to this site. Being the extreme procrastinator that I am, of course I clicked on it to have an “excuse” for why I wasn’t doing homework. (long explanation, but I promise I do have a point) So, here I am, reading through your thoughts when I come across this one titled “Shower Thoughts”. First reaction: okay, Mr. Kennett’s a bit weird; he writes about his thoughts in the shower. But, I read the whole thing, and really wanted to comment. So I am. obviously.
I wanted to say that, like you, I’m a Christian, and I’ve often thought about how atheists think. I also believe that it makes sense to have a supreme creator that could be able to build a whole universe.
Anyway, I’ve been brought up Christian my entire life, but in the past few years, I think I’ve learned more and more about Him. I feel like I’ve grown closer to Him too. Though there hasn’t been any hard experience I’ve had to go through, there is one significant time when I really had to rely on God, which really confirmed everything I’ve believed in my whole life… (why I’m telling you this- I don’t know. I probably just don’t want to do homework.) Last year, my friend was going to commit suicide. She’d had the thought for a while, and was ready to do it. But, the night she had planned it, she IMed me. I was able to talk her out of killing herself. Though that night was pretty scary for me, I think it was one of the best nights of my life. As my friend told me that she couldn’t take another day and how everyone wouldn’t miss her if she were gone, I took out my Bible. In my super awesome Bible, there are a few laminated pages on some difficult topics that really stick out when you’re just flipping through. It’s kinda hard not to notice them. Anyway, that night, the first page I turned to was a pretty purple page with the heading ‘Suicide’ And I knew that God was there with me & my best friend. Through me, He saved my friend’s life… Maybe it doesn’t sound as wonderful as it was, but… that moment really brought me closer to God… when I didn’t know what to do… yep…
well, that’s my long comment. Sorry I talk so much. Have a good weekend!! See you on Monday! :D
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