Some people experience this strange “symptom”: it seems as if their worldview is the only possible one, and those who do not support these beliefs are usually treated as blind.
This happens on both sides of any barricade: in politics, in science, in art... In religion too. There are Christians who are perplexed: “Why don’t people believe in God, since it’s so obvious that He exists?
These are probably some very bad inveterate opponents of religion?” No not always. Let's allow ourselves to think a little on the topic of atheism.
A person who does not believe in God is called an atheist
Atheists get their name from the Greek language. “A” is a prefix of negation or opposition and “theos” - that is, “God”. It turns out: “God-denier” or, more precisely, “atheist.”
Don’t make the mistake of equating the meaning of “a” with the meaning of “anti.” An atheist is not a fighter against God. To fight something, you need to believe in its existence. If you don’t believe, then there’s nothing to fight against. Atheism has gained serious proportions in our time. We shouldn't be afraid of this.
Pious believers remain so, and people who are not devoted to religion are eliminated.
Atheism is a kind of filter. But it is not so important what an unbeliever is called. What's more important is why he doesn't believe.
Is church about good?
At all times, there were people who subjected loved ones to death for their beliefs when it was necessary for those who had power. They were killed because they were once convinced to believe in one or another god.
People believed in idols, and killed each other in the course of someone's struggle for power. They believed in the gods, and continued to rob, frame and start wars with thousands of victims. Today, those who call themselves Christians continue to kill their own kind. There are wars going on right now in all parts of the globe.
And all this was often approved by the Church. This is because history is not about religion, it is about power. To those who go to kill and die, religion says that this is honorable. Nobody sees the honor, but people are convinced of anything. To those who live their lives in utter poverty and hopelessness, the Church says that this is not a real life, then there will be another, where they will be rewarded for their torment. No one sees retribution and another life, but again, people can be convinced of anything.
In addition, from the Middle Ages to the present day, the Church has been the richest structure, which always receives funds from people. How?
Manipulation is carried out on a person’s main fears. Every Christian knows that if he does not keep the commandments and does not pray in churches, then eternal torment awaits him. And this dogma is instilled in many people from childhood and becomes the cause of strong fear, which turns out to be stronger than the person’s logic. This is where the search engine queries “I don’t believe in God, but I’m afraid of him” come from. According to official data, in this one month, 83 people typed this phrase into one of the search engines.
The first version of atheism is those who could not be convinced that God exists
Previously, there were no difficulties: the rain came, which means it was by God’s will. Thunderstorm - God is angry. A volcanic eruption is another manifestation of Divine power.
Some peoples approached such phenomena thoughtfully - they say, this is all the material world, but behind its scenes there is a spiritual reason - a certain Deity.
More primitive peoples looked at it more simply: it was raining, therefore, somewhere in the sky an old man was running around with some kind of watering can and watering the earth.
Atheists are not at enmity with God, they simply do not recognize His existence.
The first glance is unprovable. You can only believe in him. But few people look at divine phenomena so deeply. In the mind of the average person, God is an old man in the sky, and the entrance to heaven is the golden gate on a cloud.
Such people claim: “Gagarin flew into space and did not see any God.”
This is, of course, a profanation of religion. But what can you do about it? Some people are simply unable to look deeper.
The book "The Funny Bible" by Leo Taxil is one of the most complete and thorough lists of questions to the Holy Scriptures. Photo: kob-media.ru
Atheism is based on logic. All these questions are valid, and no theologian has been able to find answers to each. And there are those who are capable, but require “iron” evidence. Let's say:
- If the Universe could have arisen on its own, as science claims, then explain why God is needed?
- If God is love, then why does He allow evil in our world?
- If God needs me to believe in Him, why doesn't He prove His existence?
- If God is disgusted by atheism, why doesn't He destroy all atheists, as He did with the unrighteous nations in the Old Testament?
Leo Taxil "Funny Bible" read online
And we must admit that theology does not have ready answers to these questions. For centuries, outstanding minds of preachers and philosophers have been searching for answers to these questions. And they find it. But everyone's answers are different.
And if there is no agreement in the religious world, how can we expect to convince an atheist? Of course not.
Psychology
Another argument in favor of not believing in God is the following position.
The whole point is that religion, from childhood, shapes a person’s thinking in a certain way so that he is convenient for management. Anyone who believes is afraid of his natural needs, afraid of everything around him. He doesn’t value his life because he believes in the next one, which means he won’t fight for anything in this one. All this also turns beliefs into convenient means of manipulation for those in power.
Those who act on the principle “I don’t believe in God, but I’m afraid of him” put fear at the forefront of their lives. A person thinks the same way in all spheres of life, and begins to act one way or another, fearing the boss and other people in power. Such a person will not become strong, he will not be able to become a threat to power. Just as someone who constantly repents and looks for his sins and defects in everything will not become one. He is humility, which is so convenient for those who want to live beautifully in this life. The whole system is built on using others in a way that they don't understand.
The second version of atheism is those who stopped believing in God
There are people who are disappointed in God. As a rule, these are those who expected something from Him and did not receive it. Sometimes this arises due to a superficial understanding of religion or due to its adoption at an unreasonable age.
A man was born, he was baptized, he went to church a couple of times. He says about himself that he is Orthodox. And then his mother and father die. Prayers didn't help. “Where was your God?” such a person becomes indignant.
And he doesn’t realize that these are not issues in which the Almighty intervenes, that prayer is not an order for what will happen next, but a means of communication.
“The Kiss of Judas” is a fragment of a four-part icon. Photo: icons.pstgu.ru
If we rely on the traditional Christian version, then Judas Iscariot is quite suitable for the role of a man who was disappointed in God. He was once chosen among prominent believers, but chose to go from Christ rather than to him.
And then another person appears who does not believe in God because he is angry. And religion for him is already fairy tales. But what can you do if you don’t have the right religious education?
And it happens that a person searches for himself in religion and does not find it.
Someone rushes about, takes on other teachings. He doesn’t like, say, the idea that we all live once is unpleasant to them.
But reincarnation is just that. And the person finds that Eastern teachings are especially close to him.
And it happens that people emerge from such crises who do not believe in God. They simply think that such a cruel world cannot have a Creator and deny the idea of his existence.
An example of a story when a person becomes an atheist is told in the video below by Archpriest Alexander (Ignatov). His story illustrates another path to atheism - through guilt.
Actually, Father Alexander’s entire sermon is an attempt to understand atheism from the position of a believer.
A word about faith. From February 7. About atheists
Why does faith grow cold over time?
Many people are familiar with this state: it seems that just recently the heart was burning for the Lord, but today it is dry, you don’t want to pray, doubts come from all sides. So the day goes on, the second, the third, a month... And suddenly the thought pierces: there is no faith?! How natural – or, conversely, unnatural – is such a state? Why does faith diminish over time? Can this be avoided and how? And what should we do to survive this period with the least spiritual loss? Pastors share their advice.
“Grace returns if a person is zealous”
Hegumen Nektary (Morozov):
– Probably, the point here is not so much about time, but about whether a person is diligent and constant in his Christian life.
When grace departs, this is how the Lord tests a person
When a person is engaged in any business, he tries to succeed in it, after time he succeeds in it, and the more time passes, the more experience, greater skill, and skill comes. The same can be said about the Christian life. If a person began to live this life and took advantage of those grace-filled gifts that the Lord gives to those who have just turned to Him, and then, losing zeal and warmth of heart, does not lift up the work with which Christian life should be associated, then naturally, cooling and some kind of internal devastation sets in. But if a person works, and works zealously, then something else happens: at times he experiences a certain state when it seems to him that grace has departed from him, but in fact this is a time when the Lord is simply testing a person, and grace is really hidden. But if a person works hard, if a person is constantly cheerful and zealous, then grace returns, and the person again experiences joy from his Christian life, and consolation, and some amazing feeling of the fullness of being. And if during this period a person, out of cowardice and inconstancy, abandons his work and zeal, then cooling cannot be avoided, and then very, very great efforts are required in order to return again to a good Christian life.
"Unbelief always comes as a consequence of unrepentance"
Hegumen Luka (Stepanov):
– I’m not very familiar with this. “Cooling of faith” is, apparently, an admission that it is not one’s own sins that are the cause of all sorts of disturbances in the soul and in life, but that, they say, the Church is mistaken, and I am good! "Where will we go? “You have the words of Eternal Life,” the apostles said to Christ when He exposed their heartfelt confusion with the question: “Do you also want to depart from Me?” I think that a repentant who, on the advice of St. Theophan the Recluse, strives to acquire the “spirit of unceasing self-reproach” may have many and different sins, but there is almost no disappointment in our divinely revealed Orthodox faith. Unbelief always comes as a consequence of unrepentance.
“To overcome coldness, find those who are having an even more difficult time and start helping them.”
Hieromonk Dimitri (Pershin):
– Alas, cooling in faith happens to us every hour, or rather, every second. So I woke up and decided that I would say my morning prayers. But then the thought comes about unanswered letters, about dust that needs to be wiped away... - and my determination disappeared somewhere. And vanity consumed my soul without a trace. And in the middle of the day I catch myself that my prayers have not been read. Or I came to the service, joined in what was happening, with one mouth with the choir and clergy I turn to God, but suddenly I remember that Ivan Ivanovich quarreled with Ivan Nikiforovich, and I begin to think about how to reconcile them. Or whether oil will become cheaper or more expensive. Or that Australian penguins are smaller than Antarctic penguins. Why is this happening? How did I end up on the far side? Because he is receptive to evil. Not focused. Absent-minded. The same goes for longer distances. After all, even in spiritual life the aphorism is true that you can walk towards yourself for so long that you completely forget how to walk. From a series of small substitutions, a habit of sin, passion, dependence is born - and now a person is no longer himself. It’s not him, but his wish list that makes the decision for him. According to one of the Athonite ascetics of the century before last, our passions become demons for us. And it is they who will cover the Sky. They grow into our nature and shamelessly distort it. And we become a caricature of ourselves. The enemy of our salvation is perpetrating this terrible phantasmagoria on humanity, wanting to annoy the Creator. And all that remains for us, having realized what we have gotten ourselves into, is to get up again and again and turn to Him with a prayer for mercy that we have not deserved.
It happens, however, that cooling in faith is due to the fact that a person gets tired of butting heads with those external circumstances that, as it seems to him, prevent him from witnessing to Christ. For example, Sergei Fudel, who suffered in Stalin’s camps for more than two decades, recalled how his father, Archpriest Joseph Fudel, in his old age, lost his pastoral passion and began to devote more and more time to tea parties with friends. And this was due to the fact that he was unable to overcome all that routine, all that endless paperwork that the Church demanded of the clergy during the Synodal period of its existence.
Therefore, the reasons for such cooling can be both internal and external. But we must remember that the Lord provides for us. And if we begin to grow stale and die in our lukewarmness, then a fiery temptation comes upon us. Those same persecutions and other sorrows that shake us up, invigorate us and, paradoxically, give us the strength to return to the narrow path.
My scanty experience suggests that, firstly, if we are tormented by this very “cooling” or if we are offended and squeezed into pincers, the only thing that is needed is to find those who are even more difficult, and, without delay, begin to help them. Now I’m not even talking about the beggars in the passages. I’m talking about those who are sick, who have small children in their arms, no father, who are simply waiting for a kind word or a phone call from us, and maybe a Skype connection. The fact is that the heavenly bank has different interest rates. And a penny of our time, our investments and worries is converted into quiet joy, and often into reciprocal assistance to us in our affairs.
Secondly, if the work we are doing is worthwhile, then let us remember that, in the words of Yuri Shevchuk, “The Lord respects us.” And therefore, we must do it in simplicity of heart, preparing for the worst, hoping for the best, and then - as God wills. When you walk through an oncoming thunderstorm to your home, there is no time for cooling down - everything around is so wet and disgusting - here you just have to go.
“Go to church, confess, repent, take communion”
Archpriest Alexander Ilyashenko:
– Such temptation, of course, happens. But we must keep in mind that our human life is, so to speak, a striped thing. Periods of recovery are followed by periods of some kind of spiritual relaxation. We need to be prepared for this and not go to any extremes, not be discouraged, but understand that this period is to some extent natural due to our human weakness, but we must not give in to weakness - we need to mobilize and patiently and diligently endure this time of some kind of spiritual cooling, without in any way agreeing that this is forever. The evil one puts such a thought into it. And this is a crafty thought, you cannot believe it. You need to understand that even if this is an involuntary sin, it is a sin, and you don’t want to lose heart and retreat from the Church - so go to church, confess, repent, partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ, ask the Lord for forgiveness - and with God’s help you will overcome this temptation.
“It is very important for Christians to come together and share their experiences”
Archpriest Konstantin Parkhomenko:
– Cooling occurs when habituation occurs. This also happens in marital relationships - after about two years of married life. This is what happens in faith. I put this next to each other for a reason, since these states are very similar in nature. Very often, the Holy Scriptures and the Holy Fathers likened the relationship with God to marriage. And here and here we are dealing with difficulty, with effort.
To prevent cooling, so that faith is always “in good shape”, in a state of combustion, it is necessary to monitor the following.
1. Faith should not be formal, but should be living. This means that we must observe ourselves: has our prayer turned into a soulless reading of the prayer rule? Hasn't attending church services turned into distracted standing around for services?
It is important to watch yourself so that your prayer is alive and sincere, so that you maintain a not formalized, but a living relationship with God.
We must "grow" in faith. Any stop leads to a fall
2. We must “grow” in faith. Any stop leads to a fall. What does growth happen through? Through gradual growth in prayer, in good deeds, through reading and meditation on the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the holy fathers and ascetics of the faith. Our faith should be the source and life-giving force of our personal growth.
3. We must be creative in our approach to faith. If a Christian does not have a Christian “passion,” he may soon become bored with the faith. The Apostle Paul wrote that we all have our gifts from the Holy Spirit and must develop them. Some people have charisma (= a gift of grace) and a testimony of faith, some are excellent prayer books, some love and know how to engage in social projects and affairs. Everyone can find something they like and gradually grow in it. Just as the flowers in the meadow are different, but each flower is beautiful in its own way, so every Christian is unique and beautiful in his own way.
If we find in faith the resources to realize the talents and abilities inherent in each of us, then such faith cannot become boring.
4. It is very important for Christians to get together and share their experiences, tell brothers and sisters what difficulties we personally have faced, get acquainted with their experiences, support each other, etc. The fact is that the phenomenon of “professional burnout” has been discovered for half a century now. Those who work with people are susceptible to such burnout: teachers, doctors, priests, etc. For many years, psychologists have been trying to find a “therapy” that would prevent and help overcome such burnout and lack of interest in work. And so it was discovered that there is nothing better than getting together in groups and jointly discussing, under the guidance of a competent specialist, the problems that have arisen. This therapy was called “Balint groups”.
In some respects, a similar technique can help Christians avoid burnout and coldness. As a matter of fact, Christians have been gathering together and communicating since ancient times, so this is not some kind of innovation, but a very normal phenomenon. It’s just not normal when parishioners are separated, unfamiliar, and everyone comes to the temple for their own needs.
“Without prayer, faith is impossible”
Priest Valery Dukhanin:
– Cooling down in faith can happen to any Christian. But this is not due to the fact that a lot of time has passed and a person seems to be tired of faith, but to the fact that we become lukewarm and lose spiritual zeal.
When faith has no embodiment in life, then, of course, it goes away. It's like a good book, once read and put on a distant shelf. The person seems to treat it well, knows that it exists somewhere, but simply does not address it in everyday life. Likewise, faith, if it does not manifest itself in any way in real life - by visiting a temple, by treating others, by solving life situations - then it is pushed somewhere to the periphery.
Faith in God is not a recognition that God exists, but a living sensation of the presence of God
But in general, in order to understand the reasons for cooling in faith, we need to find out what faith actually is. Essentially speaking, faith in God is not just a recognition that God really exists. True faith in God is a living sensation of the presence of God, when you feel with your whole being that the Lord is next to you and you have the opportunity to turn to Him - He will hear and answer, because He is Love. That is, faith is a special heart connection. This is how when two people love each other, they have a heart connection and it is obvious to them, although others do not feel it. Faith is evidence; a person feels God with his whole being, and does not just recognize it with his mind.
And such faith is supported only by prayer, by direct appeal to the Lord. Imagine that a believer will not pray for a whole year and will not visit a temple even once. Yes, in a year there will be nothing left of his faith, because he does not turn to God at all. The Lord will be relegated to the margins of his soul. And it may seem that there is no God at all. Just like at night we don’t see icons in the room because there is no light, and it may also seem that there are no icons there at all, but if you light a lamp, the light illuminates the holy faces. So our prayer is the light of faith that reveals to us the presence of God. When we lose prayer, we lose the light that reveals God. Without this light, one might think that God does not exist at all. That is, faith in God is inseparable from our inner connection with Him. Having lost contact with the Lord, we cease to feel Him and therefore begin to think that He does not exist.
The impoverishment of faith is always associated with the impoverishment of personal spiritual experience. Accordingly, faith is strengthened by living and sincere prayer, when each time you rise not to formally read the rules, but to communicate with the Heavenly Father. Prayer brings a living connection with the Lord, and from this faith will also be alive.
Faith in general grows from our readiness to follow Christ, to be faithful to Him in any situations - sorrowful and joyful - to solve problems from the position of the Gospel commandments. If you try to build your life according to the Gospel, correlate it with the commandments and repent of sins, then the Lord with His grace will strengthen your faith.
“We need to drive away the demonic spirit of unbelief”
Priest Dimitry Shishkin:
– Faith is the highest manifestation of free human will, on the one hand, and the gift of Divine grace, on the other. And the blessed indescribable states of “triumph of faith” bestowed upon us by the Lord, undoubtedly, are and must be replaced by periods of “bad weather,” when the Sun of Truth is hidden from us. But this happens precisely so that even during the “inclement darkness” we preserve with our will the memory of the Sun, and this is a necessary test of our faith, which no one can avoid.
No one and no circumstances - neither external nor internal - can force a person to believe or not to believe. This is the secret of faith. And the more consciously and clearly we imprint and confess our faith in the most difficult and troubled periods, the more we strengthen our faith and the more we attract God’s favor to ourselves, which manifests itself, as a rule, in certain “insights,” so to speak. , when the light of the Sun of truth is partly revealed to our soul and an experimental understanding of what “Spiritual Heaven” is partly becomes available. Of course, these are not the highest states and experiences that holy people experience, but this is not some kind of ghost, but the reality of spiritual life, revealed to us by the Lord for our confirmation in faith.
Besides this, there is one more thing to remember. There is undoubtedly a demonic spirit of unbelief. And you need to know this so as not to be faint-hearted and not to be surprised, not to lose heart in the event of its sudden attack, when the soul seems to be enveloped in the darkness of unbelief. This is a time of absolutely necessary struggle for us, a test of our freedom. It is at such moments that one must consciously and firmly say: “I don’t believe you, spirit of unbelief, get away from me, I believe in my Lord, I worship and serve Him alone.” This is a certain unshakable point of faith, a point of our will and free choice, a point of determination. And no one has power over this “point”. We must confess our faith, no matter what, and then in due time the Lord will certainly send us both consolation and the inexpressible joy of communicating with him in repentance and contrition of heart.
Our task is to stand strong in faith, no matter what thoughts and feelings overwhelm us.
You should never be troubled by the spirit of unbelief. He does his “work” - he tempts, tests. And our task is to stand firmly in our faith, no matter what thoughts, moods and feelings contrary to it may overwhelm us. The Greeks have a saying: “A good captain is visible in bad weather.” This is about us. It is very important not to give in to all these “winds, storms and fogs” that give no rest and sometimes do not immediately dissipate even during prayer. Not giving in means, even in the most desperate storm and storm, remembering the moment when you will again meet the Sun of Truth - Christ. And it is very important to maintain such a disposition so that then, in a moment of silence, you can say from the bottom of your heart: “Lord, You know, even in a storm, I believed only in You!”
“By being patient, you will wait for spiritual spring”
Priest Leonid Kudryachov:
– They say: “time heals.” And in fact, experiences and sorrows after time are no longer so acute and sensitive. But it seems that time also “heals” spiritual experiences. Over the years, it may turn out that faith is no longer the same, not so alive, sincere, ardent. This is the experience of many people, you can’t just brush it aside. Preserving your first love is not an easy task, but increasing it is a feat. But this is the same case when they say: it’s difficult - it means it’s necessary! A classic illustration of this is the image of a dying fire, which will flare up again if you begin to add the appropriate fuel to it.
There is also such a theory: in the personal faith of each person there is a certain change of seasons. Our inner bright, juicy summer is coming to an end, and a tearful autumn is coming. And then it gets even worse - it means winter has come. But, by showing patience, you will wait until spring; spiritual upliftment, the desire to please God, and the feeling of His presence will reappear. And this change of seasons is normal. Some people are more sensitive to it, others less. Understanding all this, it is easier to survive the next winter.
The third version of atheism - some schools of Buddhism
And there are religious atheists. These are representatives of different schools of Buddhism. It cannot be said that a Buddhist is someone who does not believe in God unequivocally. Rather, he simply ignores the issue.
That is, formally we get the same atheism: a Buddhist lives on his own, like a person who does not believe in God. But at the same time, he can acknowledge that God may be out there somewhere.
And even if He exists, for a Buddhist it is not important at all. Each of us is the same God inside, so there is no point in introducing aspects of worship into life.
However, let us make a reservation that not all Buddhism is a religion of atheists. There are a lot of schools in it. Each has its own differences. But most Buddhist movements do not touch upon the topic of the Almighty and do not welcome such questions.
Siddhartha Gautama - Buddha. We do not know whether he believed in the existence of God, but he recommended to his students not to ask questions about the Almighty. This is a form of religious atheism
History of the adoption of faith
It is reliably known how in Rus' Prince Vladimir chose a new faith for the country. The chronicles of that time indicated how he sent messengers to different countries. Everyone had to study the tenets of religions in neighboring countries - Islam, Buddhism and Christianity. All this was done to choose the most beneficial religion for Rus'.
The choice of belief did not decide his spiritual question, but the one that gave specific advantages in power. So, he used Christianity to unite with the then powerful Byzantium. Religion was an instrument of power.
There are people who are religious but do not believe in God
A separate category is those who revere various kinds of spirits, but have not even heard of God the Creator. They do not believe that there is some God above everyone, but this does not prevent them from being believers, pious, and virtuous people.
Belief in spirits is a form of degenerate religious tradition. Sometimes you can trace the rudiments of monotheism in it, and sometimes not a trace remains of them.
Examples of such beliefs can be observed in various tribes and relatively isolated ethnic groups.
This is clearly not an atheistic consciousness, but there is little left of faith in God. What pushes people to take such a step? Usually this is a desire to avoid responsibility.
The presence of God the Creator presupposes a certain set of Laws and posthumous judgment for their violation. Traditions that only honor spirits usually report no serious punishment for sinners.
What is a miracle? An inexplicable natural phenomenon or a person’s call to God?
Having left the control of God the Creator, magical traditions proclaim freedom for man. Sometimes it’s just nominal - just to be there.
And it happens that such licentiousness leads to a terrible fall - to cannibalism, sacrifices, and so on. In general, it’s not necessary once in a while.
Believers' reaction
Adherents of the biblical picture of the world ignored the discovery of these remains and tried to deny their significance in evolution, saying that these were only a people who lived a couple of thousand years ago in Europe, and the bones of ancient animals turned out to be near them by chance. A number of others argued that they were apes similar to humans. The position of believers was also precarious due to the fact that, according to the Bible, the world was created just 5000 years before the birth of Jesus Christ. And it made absolutely no mention of the evolution and development of the human species. More and more people did not want to believe in God.
There are conventionally religious people who would be better off being atheists
Some believers like to elevate all religious issues to absolutes. There are Orthodox Christians who believe that atheism is a great sin, and that someone who does not believe in God is a lost person for society.
But it's not fair. A person may not live in thoughts of God, but this remains his personal matter.
You can be a good atheist and an extremely bad Christian. Just assigning oneself to one or another “camp” does not make a person unambiguously bad and unambiguously good.
Candles, prayers, bows, etc. are attributes of religious life. The main thing is what a person has inside. If priorities are set incorrectly, such a person’s faith is hardly more pious than atheism
What atheists can be praised for is their honesty. After all, he admits his denial of the Almighty. And there are many Christians who tell everyone around them about their piety, but themselves behave rudely and ill-mannered.
Remember the embittered old women that are in every temple. A girl in jeans will walk into such a place and catch sidelong glances at herself - and this is in the best case, otherwise they will also make comments and insult you.
And all because they are the ones who are so righteous. In fact, no one in the church has the right to make comments to anyone. There cannot be a more experienced believer; we should not even attempt any kind of church hazing.
About types of atheists
According to the author of the article, today there are three of them:
1. The post-Soviet atheist philosopher was brought up on Marx, knows Hegel very well and has absorbed Soviet philosophical culture.
2. Atheist-postmodernist. This is how the author defines this type:
Postmodernism denies all truth and the possibility of truth in general. Postmodernists reject Christianity on the same grounds on which they reject modernism with its scientific rationalism. Christians and modernists believe in truth. Postmodernists - no. What will be more tolerant of Christianity—modernism or postmodernism—remains a mystery.
Such people can be found among cultural scientists, writes the philosopher. Disputing with them requires a special strategy.
3. Atheist scientist. Such, in the author’s opinion, are found at every step among the so-called “techies” - biologists, physicists, etc., whose attitudes partially overlap with the worldview of the first two types. Arguing with them is especially difficult because they lack a clear philosophical position.
Atheists don't believe in God, and agnostics say they don't know if He exists.
Nowadays the word “agnostic” is gaining popularity. Those who want to seem original call themselves that. "Do you believe in God?". "I am agnostic". Beautiful. And it sounds serious, as if it should command respect.
In reality, agnosticism is simply the claim that we know nothing about whether God exists or not. How can we draw such conclusions? A person lives by what he has seen and knows. He takes some facts on faith, some he doesn’t.
Let's say we have never been to the USA, but this country is on the globe, it produces films, a lot of people fly there on vacation or for work. It sounds authentic, so it exists.
Agnosticism has nothing to do with Gnosticism, just words with the same root.
But if someone tells you that yesterday they saw a Bigfoot on the street, it’s fair to doubt it. It's too strange a statement.
If it is reported at all, it is by Himalayan tourists and local old-timers, but not by residents of the average city.
It’s more complicated with God: saints, apostles, believers, priests talk about him. Moses allegedly even saw him face to face, and His disciples considered Jesus to be the Lord incarnate. Whatever one may say, all persons are interested.
What is there to rely on to believe it or not? This is a fact that you either unquestioningly accept or reject.
An agnostic is honest with himself: he does not dare to judge what he does not know about. This is not indifference to the spiritual, but simply an objective view of the world.
So how can believers argue with atheists?
Anyone interested in this question should familiarize themselves with the work of a modern theologian, Doctor of Philosophy, Yuri Chernomorets. His article is called “Public Dispute with Atheists: Main Aspects of Theory and Practice.” It is a printed version of the training recently conducted by Yu. Chernomorets in Kyiv. Every believer can use the scientist’s tips in his own conversations with non-believing colleagues, relatives, friends, and so on).
According to the scientist, a Christian who is ready to enter into a discussion should be primarily interested in the interlocutor, even if he is an atheist. In order to convince him, it is necessary to understand what positions he adheres to on the issue under discussion. It is necessary to study the worldview of each type in order to understand how to build public communication with them. The choice of style of arguing with him depends on the type of opponent.
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Atheism, Agnosticism, and Faith Require Courage
Atheism presupposes courage: it’s hard to live knowing that after death nothing awaits you. An agnostic also needs courage: he lives blindly, without hopes, without a solid foundation under his feet.
It’s also not easy for a believer: faith requires constant support. It's very hard to believe in what you can't see.
It's great to trust that someone in the spiritual world is taking care of you.
But there are so many disappointments in this world, many blows of fate show us that it’s as if no one needs us there, in heaven. And it takes incredible resilience to overcome all these doubts.
Intermediate position
Someone doesn’t believe in God, but prays not to slide down. This is often done by psychologists who are confident that beliefs are necessary for a person to survive. They point out that it is religious ideas that explain to a person what he cannot understand and what he fears. Death is an unknown that frightens. And faith eases this fear, making it clear what will be waiting there. Therefore, psychologists often do not believe or deny God. This helps them live a happier life.
The following grammatically incorrect query “I don’t believe in God, but I hear his whisper” was also found on the World Wide Web. It should be noted that it has been officially proven that convincing yourself that there is communication with supernatural beings, and clearly hearing voices in your head means being mentally ill. Someone begins to believe that in this way he communicates with God. But the opposite proves that this syndrome is easily treated with drugs that cure schizophrenia. Only a psychiatrist can select them.
Faith can be the result of both spiritual search and simple gullibility.
True faith is the result of spiritual quest. You need to try it on yourself, like clothes, experience it, understand that this is your path, without which you cannot live.
Faith is not something that you take, try, forget, and then come back. It's a full-time job. Even the most steadfast priests sometimes suffer from periods of doubt.
Immanuel Kant is a famous agnostic. He philosophically argued that it is impossible not to prove or disprove the existence of God. Photo: upload.wikimedia.org
But there are a number of other “believers” - nominal ones. These are those people who were born somewhere in a religious family, grew up all their lives according to religious rules, but never appreciated or truly comprehended what they had. This is faith out of habit, a given. It's empty.
And some even take everything on faith: they listened to the first preachers they came across and were baptized into any religion that came their way.
Many dubious religious movements are assembled from such stupid things: they have never heard of God in their lives, they saw a brochure about the Bible - and that’s it, they are already Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Catholicism, Orthodoxy, you tell them? Why, now they won’t even listen, although they don’t know what they’re talking about.
There are 2 types of “believers”: those who have suffered through faith and those who believe out of habit.
Every believer is obliged to ask himself at least once in his life the question: what if there is nothing, if I am wrong, why do I think that everything is this way and not otherwise?
Only after an honest answer can we call ourselves a true believer.
And we shouldn't condemn atheists. Of course, among them there are many who also “don’t believe” out of habit, because their parents were not from a religious family.
But a true atheist is one who remains honest with himself. His choice is not ours, but we need to treat each other with respect.
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How did religion appear?
Thus, it was proven that the history of man is much older than any religion. People created it as part of culture and modified it throughout their existence. Many religions appeared, lived for several thousand years, and then died. Each cultural layer in human history believed in something different. Completely different beliefs were created in their place. Whatever anyone wants, Christianity plays the same role. Each religion remains with a person as long as he needs, and after centuries, perhaps a dozen of them, it turns out to be extinct and passed on to descendants as part of the history of semi-wild ancestors. Just as people now study the gods of Ancient Greece, in whom those people sacredly believed for millennia, so in the future I will study modern religions. There is nothing left of those gods except myths, and for millions of people they were their whole life, someone shed blood and gave their lives for them.
And then one woman appeared in my life...
And then another thing happened to me, a woman appeared in my life. This young girl was the most stubborn, strong-willed girl I have met in my entire life. I am able to draw these conclusions because six years later I married her. She was the first girl out of all of them who deserved my respect. Sometimes you will hear preachers who have no idea what they are talking about based on life experience. They will say: “If you stick to your virtues and adhere to moral standards, people will respect you.”
Let me, as someone who has been on the other side of the fence, who thought he was separate from what God thinks, say that this statement is absolutely correct. I guarantee you that I never seriously thought about getting married until I met this girl who I respected and who really stood for something. She not only supported something moral, she specifically believed in God and read the Bible. Although she could not answer all my questions, she kept returning to the Bible. I also quickly learned how to keep her from understanding where I really stood morally. I knew that if she found out, there would be nothing she could do about it. It didn’t even seem possible to me - to break her faith, as I did with other people, and as a result of her persistence, she finally achieved that I began to read the Bible.
I read the Bible cover to cover four times during my sophomore year of college for an obvious reason: I wanted to find scientific inconsistencies in it. I mean statements that I could throw in her face in order to prove how insignificant her faith in God is. I even decided to write a book called “The Stupidity of the Bible.” And something amazing happened as I pondered and thought about these things, I realized that I could not find any inconsistency, any scientific inaccuracy in the Bible. I just wasn't able to do it, and I got stuck in writing the book because I didn't find enough material. And it was surprising to learn that people who considered themselves Christians and had been for many years did not read the entire Bible even once. I found it hard to believe that they believed in God but didn't want to know what God said.
My epiphany and gaining faith in God
And as I read the Bible over and over again, I began to realize that not everything I was told about God and religion was in accordance with the Bible. It could be what religion says or what people teach, but not what the Bible teaches. For example, the Bible does not say that God is an old man who lives in heaven who creates things on earth. The Bible says, “God is spirit...” (John 4:24), and that God is not flesh and blood. Jesus Christ said: “...it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” (Gospel of Matthew 16:17). There are many people today who do not understand this. A Russian astronaut once said: “Look, there is no God; I didn’t see Him when I was in orbit.” The question might be, “What was he looking for?” I began to understand that God is not an old man in heaven. My anthropology professor once said in all seriousness: “We all know what God is like. This is an old man with a white beard in a flowing robe.” I'm sure this is his vision of "God". And I began to realize that this was not the biblical vision of God.
I began to understand that the Christian life is not the same as the altruistic life. I was told by several people as a child that if I became a Christian, I would not be able to be happy and would not be able to have anything of my own. And I will have to walk around with a long sad face and a beard dragging along the ground. When I read the Bible, I read the following: “So ought husbands to love their wives as their own bodies: he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and warms it...” (Ephesians 5:28-29). I read about an Ethiopian eunuch who became joyful and cheerful because he found Jesus Christ. Many problems have appeared in my life, but all I can do is look back at the miserable life I had without Christ, and compared to that, my life now is great.
I began to understand that the church is not a building. I remember that while we were living in Alabama, some religious group met on our street. My mother used to point me to this place and say, “Look at this. How can anyone believe in God if the church is like this.” I think the Bible did not teach that the church is such a structure. 1 Corinthians 3:16 states, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God.” As an atheist, I have learned that whether you meet on the moon, on a submarine, in the desert, or anywhere else, it will still be a church. After all, a church is not a building. Today large sums of money are being invested in temples and churches and it is a real tragedy while large numbers of people are starving nearby.
Don't dogmas contradict modern science?
They do not and cannot contradict - because dogmas talk about God and His relationship with creation, natural sciences study matter. Take, for example, the Dogma of Chalcedon, which declares that our Lord Jesus Christ is perfect God and perfect man - how can this contradict science? The statements of natural sciences and dogmas simply lie on different planes.
