My fellow blogger, Dinesh D'Souza, asks where atheists are when tragedies like Virginia Tech shooting happens? I'm not an atheist (I'm agnostic), but the answer is simple -- they don't have to be anywhere. They're not the ones with the grand theory of the wonderful, benevolent God who is going to save us all. A thousand times better question is -- where is Jesus?
Or Mohammed? Or Moses? Or Ganesh? Or Apollo? Or Thor? Why didn't any of them ride to the rescue? Here's the real answer, although it makes a lot of you very uncomfortable -- because they don't exist!
They don't do wonderful magic tricks. They're not waiting to the end of time (usually after most of the people on earth are killed according to the so-called holy books) to show up to rescue the few good people left. They're not going to show up any of these tragedies. Because they are a figment of your imagination.
Atheists have nothing to answer for. Whereas, all of the religions claim to have all the answers. So, here's a simple one: Where the hell were you when we needed you?
Yeah, I know, God works in mysterious ways. Excuses are a dime a dozen. You claim there's a magic man up in the sky, so you bear the burden of proof. Ante up. Where is he?
The Young Turks
Mo Rocca has appeared on a bunch of shows, including 'The Daily Show,' 'I Love the 80s,'...
Mo's Blog Roll
Resources
Where is Jesus?
Posted Apr 18th 2007 6:40PM by Cenk Uygur
Filed under: Young Turks, Religion, Islam, Christianity, Virginia Tech Shooting
Mo's Video
The Sound of a Smoke-Free Barack...Almost two years ago we speculated on how Barack Obama's voice would change if he stopped smoking. ...
Most Popular Stories
- Don't Like Goodbyes...
- Pittsburgh Steelers: Is it Time to get some Cheerleaders?
- How NOT to give an Oscar Acceptance Speech
- Could Jim Belushi Win the Nobel Peace Prize?
- Spring Break Sexy T-Shirt Removal Training!
- Quest for the Crown 5: Plastic Wrap to Make you Less Fat!
- Quest for the Crown 4: Work Those Heels!
Most Commented On
-
Coming Soon
Recent Comments
- Saint Brian the Godless on Obama and the Reagan Doctrine
- Saint Brian the Godless on Obama and the Reagan Doctrine
- Saint Brian the Godless on Obama and the Reagan Doctrine
- Saint Brian the Godless on Obama and the Reagan Doctrine
- Ryan Anderson on Obama and the Reagan Doctrine
- SC on Are Father-Daughter Purity Balls Really Christian?
- Observant on Obama and the Reagan Doctrine
Mo's Bio
Mo Rocca appears on a bunch of shows, including CBS News Sunday Morning (with the indescribably wonderful Charles Osgood), The Tonight Show on NBC, and NPR's Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! He's a sometime judge on Iron Chef and was featured on Telemundo's Amore Descarado. Last year he starred on Broadway in the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. His expose "All the President's Pets" was published by Crown in 2004.
Top News Headlines
Political Machine Blog
- Stupak Says White House Wants Him Quiet on Abortion
- Washington in 60 Seconds: Landmark Health Bill Set to Pass Tomorrow
- Obama Prank-Calls Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine
- Plan to Move Guantanamo Detainees Hits Funding Roadblock
- Michelle, Malia, Sasha Obama and Bo at Children's Hospital; First Daughters Answer Kids' Questions
- Obama Reponds to Critics on Health Care, Says He's 'Enthusiastic' About Reform Bill
- Valerie Jarrett on the Extreme Right, the Extreme Left and 'Seedy Chicago Politics'
Reader Comments ( Page 4 of 6)
46. To Cenk Uygur,
I respect the beliefs of individuals, but I can't help but comment on the level of irony in this article. You say you are not an atheist, you are agnostic. Agnostics believe that there is the possibility of an existence of god or it's possible there is no god. Atheists are firm in their belief of a lack of a god (or "magic man in the clouds"). You contradict yourself right from the start. I'm not a fan of religion in any way (I believe it often causes more harm than good in this world). In times of crisis, the idea of some sort of higher power seems to help people through. You sound just as narrow minded as a religious fanatic. Your beliefs sound just as rediculous because of your arrogance and certainty that NOTHING exists. Thank you for answering the question "Where are the Atheists?". They are busy trying to disprove others' beliefs. You don't need to believe in god to offer comfort to another human being in a time of need.
D Nile at 11:49AM on Apr 19th 2007
47. We kicked God out of our schools, courts, football games, and homes a long time ago!!!! If we continue to turn our backs on him, maybe one day he will LEAVE us completely. It is time that this country stop asking where is God? and start inviting God back into our lives just as our founding fathers intended.What part of ONE NATION UNDER GOD, do we not understand. It is times like these that we attempt to take God out of storage and ask why? Maybe this time we will leave him out of storage, invite him back into our schools, courts,football games and homes and it may assist this country in finding a moral compass that results in our being a kinder, more compassionate, and less violent world. Think about it.
karen at 12:22PM on Apr 19th 2007
48. I very Much agree with Karens note above.
We have removed God from our Lives. It is a choice He gave to Us, He never forced us to choose. And while all you folks are wondering why he didn't stop this young man who was crazy. How do you know he did't. Maybe there was to have been 100 people. Maybe God moved him to
stop. So why did he allow Cho to kill so
many then take his own life. Well maybe he
was there trying to change him talking to him and telling him to accept Him and be saved and stop what you are doing these are innocent people. How do we know in the final moments as he pulled the trigger of the gon on himself he didn't mentally say to God I am sorry save my soul. We don't.
It is also absurd for the media and others to continue to pick on the campus and police personel whom worked so hard trying to stop this and save these innocent victims. The liberals in this country complain everytime we set up a new rule which might curtail there freedom. So for goodness sakes if there where more rules in place to try and stop it there would just be folks working harder trying to avoid the security rules.
It all boils down to pray for those whom are left behind. Pray for the souls whom have left this earth bound for eternity. God does exist I have heard Him and I do believe. He won't help you unless you ask and invite Him in.
Cheryl at 10:32PM on Apr 19th 2007
49. lil_turk
Read or re-read 2nd posting, or get a tutor to read it to you and a second to explain it. Don't get me wrong; I fully understand wilfull ignorance! It makes people comfortable while traveling the path of personal choice. The difference is that you have Adam as a warning.
dalosophy at 12:55PM on Apr 19th 2007
50. YOU TAKE GOD OUT OF THE SCHOOLS, THE GOVERNMENT, YOUR JOBS, AND EVEN YOUR DAILY JOB, AND THEN YOU WANNA ASK WHERE IS GOD? WHERE WERE YOU?...GOD IS IN THE MIST OF ALL OF US AND IT IS WRITTEN IF YOU ARE ASHAMED OF HIM, HE WILL BE ASHAMED OF YOU. JESUS IS LORD!
JESUSFREAK at 12:53PM on Apr 19th 2007
51. God is in control of everything so there is no reason to get nervous for those who believe in Him and for those who don't believe in Him,well,nobody gets out alive
David at 12:47PM on Apr 19th 2007
52. In response to what Cheryl said above, I couldn't agree with you more and thank you for putting it out there. Maybe Cho would have killed more if God did not intervene. None of us will ever know. And maybe he did ask for salvation. Us Christians work off something called FAITH. We live and die by faith. We are not to know everything. Sometimes nothing makes sense. Children die all the time from various illnesses and we always wonder what's the lesson in this. Sometimes we figure it out, other times we don't. FAITH. Think about it.
Gail at 1:02PM on Apr 19th 2007
53. Hmmmm? Does God fail to meet your definitions? Does he not do what you want ? Sorry, but that is not his "job".
God exists but those who expect him to step in and solve our problems can't get him to identify with their "job descriptions" of what he is supposed to do or be.
There are actually two seperate and distinct reason.
1) We either must behave like robots with the limitations of the designer at all times, OR we all have free will and can do as we wish. Sometimes, in situations like doctors, welfare workers, Peace Corps members and International AId workers, that allows us to do counter intuitional things that do not seem to serve our self centeredness.
In other caes, evil can do as it wishes and if a person makes a choice to reject the epitome of "functional behavior" ( hurting no one and not allowing others to hurt us) then the consequenes are obvious. Sin it self is just that. It is dysfunctional behavior which hurts you or someone else. If you do not do that, you will not be able to committ sin. Simple but complex.
2) The other reason is that God may be more powerful that evil or "the Devil" (the bible does not define this entitity or its powers. But it was powerful enough to promise "the world" to Christ, wasn't it ?)
Most Christian churches preach that God is Omnipotent (all powerful) which includes being "all merciful" and "all good" while at the same time, "all just" . This is impossible.
So what you come down to (after long contemplation) is that God is NOT ALL POWERFUL.
He (and most religous teachings ) will teach you how to lead a good, happy, and prosperous life but he does not force it upon you. On the other hand, Evil will still pervade in this world, Billy Graham admits that but cannot explain this.
So you can discontinue praying for sunshine for the church picnic, to win the lottery or to protect you from evil. You are on your own and so am II. But one day we will be judged on how we did..
Joe Turner at 1:23PM on Apr 19th 2007
54. I don't have all the answers. But I do have a question. God gave us this earth to live out our lives on. It is a perfect earth. We have all we need to live here. He gave us laws to live by, he gave us Jesus Christ. Who told us to love each other. If we had done that, whould their have been a Cho in this world? or anyother evil person?
God Bless All
Lucille Stockton at 1:25PM on Apr 19th 2007
55. Jesus is at the right hand of GOD. His body and blood offered as a gift for all (a covenant between GOD and man). Only those who would have "faith" in Him see the wisdom of GOD's plan. It is a plan of salvation that unites us with His love. It is a mystery to those who fail to realize that GOD has an eternal plan, not based upon the things of this life, but the relationship of fellow free willed beings, who have tested the 'knowledge of good and evil,' and concluded that all comes down to this: "To know GOD!" HIS is a path of love, founded in relationships. Your soul is all you will carry into eternity. It will either be with GOD or without. The misery of evil verses the path of good. The battle of light verses the darkness. Mixing the two creates gray areas. To be complete you need to rely on Jesus for His is the true path into the light. He sits upon the right hand of GOD (figuratively being in unison with HIM).
Rob at 1:38PM on Apr 19th 2007
56. To Karen and others. The United States is a secular nation. It was not founded on Christianity. Most of our founding fathers were non believers or diests (believing in a nature's god) The motto of this nation was E Pluribus Unum (out of many, one) until the 1950s when the fear of communism persuaded congress to adopt this motto.
I used to be a Christian but I am now a Humanist. I understand the human need to feel as if we are being looked out for but I realized that this belief has no benefit to humanity or the planet earth. This tragedy (and all others) should be a reminder of how precious life is. I'm sure each one of those victim's resorted to crying out to god at the fear of losing their life. The survival instinct is the most powerful of all. I don't believe god held back the gunman in some instances while he allowed others to be killed. That would make god a fiend.
nightingale at 2:36PM on Apr 19th 2007
57. Thank you, Dalosophy, for your reply to the "Where is Jesus?" comment! I am always amazed that people somehow think God or Jesus is supposed to swoop down at times of trouble and rescue us. The Jews who were not ready to accept Jesus as the messiah also rejected him, thinking the messiah must surely be a powerful figure ready to save them from their own troubles, not some gentle man preaching faith in the Lord and telling us that LOVE is the answer. For every time there are terrible events like this there are also large and small acts of courage, kindness, and mercy performed by human beings towards one another. That is where you will find Jesus, in case you are looking for him...
Mahatma Ghandi said, "The Lord sent us Jesus to teach us to love one another but the world was not ready for His message." Ghandi got it.
Faith is believing in something even though you cannot see or hear it. The truth will come into your heart if you open it.
Believe me, I am no "holy roller" even though I may sound like one. I am actually not a believer in organized religion but I know in my heart that we are so beyond any understanding of any of this in the human form we are in. We as human beings are limited, each of us in different ways. Some of us more than others. We are here to learn and achieve a certain level of understanding, and that is why we must endure our human tragedies. Has anyone noticed that apart from everything else these things make us hold one another closer and pray for strangers? No mystery here to me....
TaraE at 1:56PM on Apr 19th 2007
58. You ask where was Jesus?
Lets remember Jesus isnt allowed in our schools ,,,
perhaps this too needs changed ,,,back,,, to allowing Jesus into our schools
Dd at 2:30PM on Apr 19th 2007
59. JESUS IS ALL AROUND US AND HE IS REAL. Why was HE not there or why didn't HE stop that deeply depressed guy from killing? I think it WAS because A LOT OF PEOPLE voted JESUS out of our lives and OUT OF ALL THE SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC PLACES. So don't try to blame HIM. BLAME ALL THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T WANT GOD IN THEIR lives.
SP at 2:50PM on Apr 19th 2007
60. Tinosoli, God didn't "appear" to me, he filled me with the Holy Spirit so that I could know he was real. I didn't say that before, because I honestly did not know how to explain that feeling. Even If I did, I'm sure you would find a way to belittle it.
Also you're making it seem as if I don't believe in Science, which is not true. Science does not discredit God, because God created it. These are my beliefs, so let's agree to disagree.
I can deal with the fact that one day I will die. What makes you think that I can't?
I'm not going to sit here and argue with anyone. I already know this is an never-ending argument. People get so bitter when it comes to Christianity, why is that?
Why do Christians frustrate you so much? If we're so dillusional to you, then why even give us the time of day? And if you want to go back and forth with commentary, why do you have to treat me with such anger, resentment, and disrespect?
Lets Be Real at 2:41PM on Apr 19th 2007