Notice something interesting about the aftermath of the Virginia Tech shootings? Atheists are nowhere to be found. Every time there is a public gathering there is talk of God and divine mercy and spiritual healing. Even secular people like the poet Nikki Giovanni use language that is heavily drenched with religious symbolism and meaning.
The atheist writer Richard Dawkins has observed that according to the findings of modern science, the universe has all the properties of a system that is utterly devoid of meaning. The main characteristic of the universe is pitiless indifference. Dawkins further argues that we human beings are simply agglomerations of molecules, assembled into functional units over millennia of natural selection, and as for the soul--well, that's an illusion!
To no one's surprise, Dawkins has not been invited to speak to the grieving Virginia Tech community. What this tells me is that if it's difficult to know where God is when bad things happen, it is even more difficult for atheism to deal with the problem of evil. The reason is that in a purely materialist universe, immaterial things like good and evil and souls simply do not exist. For scientific atheists like Dawkins, Cho's shooting of all those people can be understood in this way--molecules acting upon molecules.
If this is the best that modern science has to offer us, I think we need something more than modern science.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 27)
1. You silly people here want to blame God every time something bad happens but otherwise you want no part of Him in your lives (nor in anyone else's).
Evil exists in the world because mankind allows it to exist by our choices. It exists because sin exists. Even if God did intervene every time some evil person decides to commit an evil act, and supernaturally intervened to stop it, you would not give Him credit for it. You'd gloss over the facts/proof that something supernatural occurred to save lives and just call it luck or chance.
This happens all the time in the secular/liberal media. Miraculous things do happen, but it's durned near impossible to find that out by searching through the secular media. It takes real journalists who are not afraid of the truth, going to the source-to those who were involved or affected by the events for one-on-one interviews. I have seen this happen over and over and over. The real story behind the story is virtually ignored by mainstream press.
Your argument that God does not exist because evil exists is tired, illogical, and stupid. Give it up.
Louise CA at 1:39PM on Mar 2nd 2008
2. the person commited the killings because somewhere along his journey to adulthood someone failed to instill in him goodness for himeself and others. the human person has to be nurtured to do good and it is the responsibility of everyone.
eugenia at 1:09PM on Mar 5th 2008
3. John 3:3 "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
Luke 6:27 "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you."
II Timothy 4:3,4 “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
II Timothy 3:1-5,7 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of god; holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
John 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved."
Luke 21:28 "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."
Gabriel at 9:39PM on Apr 3rd 2008
4. although I am a fan of Mr. D'Souza's work (I just picked up "The End of Racism" yesterday and can't put it down!), I fail to see the connection he makes here. Since I ascribe to no particular belief system (including atheism), I feel that I am in a unique position to comment about both sides. Petty outbursts like this one only fuel the atheist position; as a political analyst, Mr. D'Souza should recognize this. The problem with both athiests and believers is that they argue from a Biblical persepective (by this I include the Torah and Koran). Both believers like Dinesh and non-believers like, let's say, Christopher Hitchens, see god(s) as divine dictator(s). The smartest scientists since the Enlightenment have all been deists, which coincidentaly, makes the most sense. Atheists love to pull the "well where did god come from" card, without once considering that perhaps s/he evolved the same way consciousness evolved. For the believers, this is not a good answer because the word "evolve" comes into play. Both sides need to grow up just a wee bit and start asking the questions that actually matter: Did Jesus exist? Don't know, and either way, does it matter? Does the lack of a Christ dispell the existance of a god? Did humans evolve out of single celled organisms? Yes, but why does that negate the idea of a god? Both sides market-yes MARKET-laughable positions, which only serve further human divisivness. Now I ask you: IS this what athiests and believers want? I would suspect that atheists want camaraderie to prove that it can exist without a cosmic moral dictator; and I presume believers should want this because anything that seperates humans (and remember, according to their position "god is in all of us") cannot be good for the whole. Sorry to disturb both the believers and the non-believers, but pointing out human inconsistancy is, for some reason, what I do best.
psillytom at 11:07PM on Apr 17th 2008
5. Judging from the comments posted the reason atheists are nowhere to be found and are not invited in, in the aftermath of tragedy is because that much sanctimonious callousness and bitterness would simply not be tolerated by those who have lost loved ones.
The atheist answer would seem to be, life is hell, then you die, get over it, they were just dirt anyway.
Brass at 12:32AM on Apr 27th 2008
6. Wow. I'd like to point out that I'm an Atheist and probably the most empathetic person I know. Simply because I do not subscribe to other's beliefs about their imaginary friends does not make me heartless. I believe that not only can science provide us with evidence that there is no god, but that it can also provide us with the reasons that we humans tend to care for one another, fall in love and feel pain and outrage when something like the Virginia Tech shooting occurs. I found this article pointless, hurtful and horribly insulting. Even worse were some of the comments that were left. Sorry to sound so hateful, but I'm sick and tired of being judged for not believing in magic. I guarantee you that I know more about your own religion than you do and I can show you a million and one reasons why you look like an idiot. I have no problem with people who want to continue to have faith. But don't act like you have good evidence. Don't act like you're a good person simply because you go to church. And don't assume that I don't care when someone dies. Because I will rip you a new one. Go do some research and maybe discover for yourself why some people don't think your reasons for believing are sufficient. Shouldn't the fact that I denounce God be enough reason for you to want to know more? Or would you rather sit in your box and pretend nothing's wrong?
Sam at 1:20PM on May 5th 2008
7. You talk about how you are insulted when people assume you don't care about when a person dies or believe that you are "heartless," but you aren't being any more tolerant than they are. I am fairly certain that my religious friends would be extremely insulted, as you refer to religion as "magic" and "imaginary friends"--that people who believe in any religion are "idiots."
People who have faith do not have faith because they have evidence. The fact that there is no evidence and yet they continue to believe is what FAITH is. I'm not religious--I'm not atheist, and I try to look at things like this from both sides of the spectrum.
D'Souza wasn't saying that you have to have religion in order to have compassion and emotions. He was saying that if people believe we are just a horrible accident that just happened to end up in the universe, then why does it matter if I shoot somebody--they are just another accident, just like me. We just came out of the same slime pit at the beginning of time, so killing them isn't a crime at all. "Molecules acting on molecules." If that's how modern science is being interpreted, then something more, WITH modern science--to give life meaning--would be nice.
Rachael Todd at 5:24PM on May 21st 2008
8. 375 cont.
Tor ANY atheist who happens to be reading this: please tell me why you think life is worth living. What's the point?
Rachael Todd at 6:15PM on May 21st 2008
9. Guess what, you are a conglomeration of molecules, nothing more. Atheists don't speak at tragedies because the families of the victims want to be comforted, to think that their children have gone to a better place and are happy. They don't want to hear the truth because it's rotten and cold, that their loved ones are sitting in a ditch, dead, and there's nothing more too it.
Matt at 11:13PM on Jun 29th 2008
10. It just takes Psychology to understand it, buddy.
And there is no God in Psychology, as well.
This argument is so poor... typical of shallow bigots trying to reinforce their faith in face of tragedies.
NO problem with me if this pathetic attitude helps them deal with their problems, but, please, don't try to push your beliefs on stupid grounds.
Where are the atheists? Here is one of them, who doesn't need any God to go through this kind of crisis. Even if I had loved ones perishing in that terrible incidente. My respects to those who lost loves ones there. And I also respect the fact that they clang to their beliefs in order to go through the painful aftermath. I have no criticism whatsoever of their attitude, but total criticism of yours.
Alex at 9:39PM on Jul 9th 2008
11. Where are atheists when bad things happen? Probably hiding from all the overzealous Christians who forget about turning the other cheek and not casting that first stone without the no sin requirement. When you can lose freinds,your standing in the community, your job, and maybe even your health or life you tend to learn to keep a low profile.
C K at 2:03AM on Jul 29th 2008
12.
Where are atheists when bad things happen?
Running for one last bit of heathenous pleasure and hurting any and everyone on the way to it without a care in the world and no love for anyone else but themselves.
Sam at 11:11AM on Aug 20th 2008
13. At the lowest level possible, yes, a murder or anything else that humans deal with on a day to day basis is the interaction of molecules. Also, many, perhaps most? atheists are moral relativists, as you suggest. That does not meant that we like to cause harm or cannot feel compassion for a fellow human being. It doesn't take much thought about it to realize that there are all kinds of people on both sides of the theocratic divide. I'm sorry you have such a low opinion of atheists, and I hope you can change your mind given time.
Jesse at 2:05AM on Sep 10th 2008
14. Great post, keep up the good work!
TorrentEye: http://www.torrenteye.com
bob at 11:09AM on Sep 18th 2008
15. It is sad to me that the author chooses to put all atheists in one category, the category of evil. I would never want to be part of a religion that is so closed minded and hateful to anyone who is not a part of their "club". I thought Christians were not supposed to judge others. It seems to me this author has truly lost sight of the teachings of Jesus or maybe never understand them in the first place. Practice whatever you want but please try to educate yourself on your own religion before you start bashing a group of people you know absolutely nothing about.
Kristy at 1:07PM on Sep 25th 2008