Warren McDougall Richmond Hill United Church January 17/10 Atheism: A Blessing? John 3:1-8 An atheist was taking a walk through the woods. What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!, he said to himself. As he continued walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes. Turning to look, he saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charging toward him. He ran as fast as he could up the path. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that the bear was closing in on him. His heart was pumping frantically, and he tried to run even faster. He tripped and fell to the ground. He rolled over to pick himself up, but saw the bear raising his huge paw to take a swipe at him. At that point, the atheist cried out: O my God...! Time stopped. The bear froze in place. The forest was silent. It was then that a bright light shone down upon the man, and a voice came out of the sky, saying: You deny my existence for all of these years. You teach others I don t exist, and even credit creation to a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you now? Have you suddenly become a believer? The atheist looked into the light. I know it would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps...could you make the BEAR a Christian? Very well, said the voice. The light disappeared. The sounds of the forest resumed. Then the bear lowered his paw, bowed his head, as if in prayer, and said: Lord, bless this food which I am about to receive, and for which I am truly thankful. Amen. Given the spate of popular literature these days on the theme of atheism, I thought it was about time to address this topic in church! I have 4 of these books on my bookshelf, and have read at least parts of all of them: two by Sam Harris Letter to a Christian Nation and The End of Faith Richard Dawkins book The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens book God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. The Dawkins book, of course, we re studying in the Monday Night Study Group. I don t find these books the least bit threatening. Don t get me wrong - there is a lot in them that is infuriating and just plain wrong but there is also a lot in them that is challenging and helpful and just plain true! 1
There has been a lot of criticism of what has come to be known as the new atheists. They have all been accused of being fundamentalist in their own views, while [at the same time] condemning religious fundamentalism. They refuse to dialogue with theologians who are more representative of mainstream tradition, and only comment on the outrageous beliefs and activities of those on the fringes. As a result, their analysis is disappointingly shallow, because it is based on such poor theology. On a different but related topic, I remember when Bill Maher s movie, Religulous, came out, and the critique of some movie reviewers who said that Bill Maher s problem is that he never talks to anyone who is as smart as he is. He doesn t interview contemporary theologians and religious experts he interviews snake handlers and people who picket the funerals of gay men with signs that say God hates fags! Like religious fundamentalists, these new atheists read scripture in an entirely literal manner and seem never to have heard of the long tradition of allegorical or metaphorical interpretation or of biblical criticism (which all ministers learn in seminary). Dawkins has a simplistic view of the moral teaching of the Bible, taking it for granted that its chief purpose is to issue clear rules of conduct and provide us with role models which has never been the stated purpose of the Bible in churches like ours. I don t know who in their right mind would look to the bible for role models, where even the so-called heroes of our faith are all cheaters, adulterers and murderers! They also have an extremely literalist notion of God. For Dawkins, religious faith rests on the idea that there exists a superhuman, supernatural intelligence, who deliberately designed and created the universe and everything in it. But he is wrong to assume that this is the way people have generally understood the term God. This may be the way that some people understand God, but certainly not all people, and certainly not me! In their own lack of tolerance, the new atheists are again at one with the religious fundamentalists they criticize, even though they must be aware that the absence of respect for difference is what has lead to some of the worst atrocities in modern times. All 3 of these writers present religion at its absolute worst. It is very important for us to remember the evils committed in the name of religion [and there are many] and these authors are right to bring them to our attention. All too often, religious people like to enumerate the sins of other traditions while ignoring the stains on their own. But claiming that religion has only been evil is just not true. Many of us have found ways to be religious without being either stupid or homicidal! 2
Unfortunately, not enough of our non-religious neighbours know enough about what we believe. We need to speak up! Overall, the new atheists show a disturbing lack of understanding of or concern about the complexity and ambiguity of modern experience, and their comments entirely fail to mention the concern for justice and compassion that, despite their undeniable failings, has been espoused and practiced by all 3 of the monotheistic religions Judaism, Islam and Christianity. I was thinking about this when I heard the news, just before Christmas, about the Anglican Church in Whitby that burned down, destroying [along with everything else] - 90 Christmas hampers for families who needed help in that community. And our own congregation that, in Advent, (even in these challenging economic times) raised over $3000 for a medical clinic thousands of miles away in Jamaica and for The York Region Alliance to End Homelessness. Almost every food bank in the country has been started by churches. And almost every Out of the Cold programme in the city is operated by churches and synagogues. A statistic that was true a few years ago, and which I still assume to be true, is that people who support religious communities (in other words religious people ) are also the people who are most likely to financially support community organizations like schools, hospitals and community centres. In answer to the question can we be good without God?, I would say of course we can!. And anybody who knows me at all knows that I have always said that. Religious people (in general) and Christians (specifically) have no monopoly on moral behaviour. I believe that, as individuals, non-religious people can be just as generous and selfless as religious people. The generous response to the crisis in Haiti is ample evidence of this. BUT [and I could be totally wrong about this, and if I am wrong I want you to tell me so, and then I ll never say this again] BUT...I ve personally never heard of a group of atheists getting together to put together 90 hampers of food and gifts for needy families in their community. I ve never heard of a group of agnostics getting together and running an Out of the Cold programme for 150 homeless people every Tuesday night from November to March. I ve never heard of a group of humanists getting together and having a fund-raising event for Aids in Africa. I hope I am wrong and I want you to tell me if I am. But I think I m right. Maybe it says as much about our need for community as it does about our need for religion. Okay, I think I m finished being grumpy for the time being. I ve been very negative up to now, but I want to switch to a positive note, because in answer to my own question in the title of this sermon, Yes, I believe that having atheists in my life is a blessing. 3
When Rabbi Lawrence Kushner was asked what he thought about atheism, he jokingly said, Judaism is fine with atheism as long as there is only one true God that you don t believe in. Then he added, more seriously, If you are not doubting the existence of God every two weeks, you are theologically comatose. It reminds me of what Buddha once said: The gatekeepers to enlightenment are confusion and doubt. Atheists give us the gift of encouraging us [forcing us? compelling us? making us?] actually think about our faith. Atheists (and other questioners) have much to say to religious people that we simply cannot say to ourselves. They call us out of our selfserving use of religion and toward a better faith and a better world, which [paradoxically] is what we say God wants. Atheism, at its best, participates. It doesn t simply dismiss religion, but engages with it constructively so that the world is better for it. It is an expression of faith in humanity, asking the difficult but legitimate questions that many religious people dismiss or ignore about scientific evidence ignored by religion, about historical facts forgotten by religion, and about suffering caused by religion. Religion needs to be challenged! Atheists are God s whistle-blowers (but then we know what happens to whistle-blowers, don t we?). We ve all heard this quote before: The unexamined life is not worth living. Socrates said that at his trial for heresy. He was on trial for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and, instead, to think for themselves. We know now that he was asking the right questions, but at the wrong time. During his time, people wanted certainty rather than criticism, and so Socrates was condemned to death for corrupting the young. Fortunately, we don t have to choose between an examined life and death. But the sad thing is, many people avoid the questions that characterize an examined life and an examined faith not because they don t have the time or the resources, but because they just find it too threatening. On the other hand, I can honestly say that I ve learned far more about myself [about what I believe, about who/what I think God is, about what is important to me, what I value, what I love] from conversations with people with whom I disagree than I ever have from conversations with people who are exactly like me and who just affirm and agree with everything I say (as pleasant as that is!). After all, how can we be so sure about the existence of God and what this God is like? Even Jesus said: The wind blows where it wills, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes; so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit. 4
In other words: Don t be so certain that you know it all! Maybe a little more humility is in order! Recent challenges by the new atheists can be seen as a threat to religious people. Or...they can be welcomed as a chance to see ourselves as others see us, to grieve, to repent, and then [with renewed wisdom] to act for the common good. God does not have an ego that can be wounded by our questions or even our doubts about God s existence. God, I would suggest, would prefer a world where human beings love and care for each other and this planet [even at the expense of acknowledging or believing in God] rather than believing in and worshiping God at the expense of caring for one another and the world. In the words of the Chancel Choir Anthem this morning (in Hebrew): the world is sustained by three things: truth, justice and peace. Whether we attribute those qualities to God (as some do), or simply to the goodness of human nature (as others do), does NOT seem like the most important distinction to me! What DOES seem important to me is that we human beings [believers and non-believers alike] with integrity and sincerity and with a whole lot of humility - believe in and work toward these things: truth, justice and peace. Thanks be to God...or not! Resources: It s Really All About God, Samir Selmanovic The Case for God, Karen Armstrong The God Delusion, Richard Dawkins 5