Do people of faith lack intellectual prowess? Do they lack the capacity for reason? Have they surrendered their discernment to doctrines?
Many people believe that these statements are true of people of faith. Critics commonly call out Christians in particular for believing in “a sky fairy,” liken faith to that of a child who believes in an Easter bunny, or just simply write off the entire population of believers as unreasonable, if not uneducated.
Though there are certainly people of faith who allow someone in a position of authority to make their decisions for them (at one time I lived among that group of people), the vast majority of people who live a life of religious faith are intelligent, educated, wise, bright lights in this world.
Given that many people of faith are thoughtful, reasonable, successful people who live in this world and contribute to it, why then the bias and the stereotype?
Are there no areligious people who allow someone to do their thinking for them? Certainly some people who would never heed the words of a spiritual leader will turn on their favorite news channel and ingest without questions every word that their favorite anchor or news show host has to say, and even worse, some people hang on every word, every endorsement, or every critical response that their favorite celebrity spits out.
Religion, or lack thereof, is not a determining factor in whether or not people allow themselves to become intellectually lazy.
Then what leads to the disdain of the religious by many in the secular realm?
As I have read and listened to what people have had to say throughout the years, many cannot reconcile the “good God” with the suffering in the world. Having been a Christian for a very long time, I personally find that I tire of that argument. But the Spirit reminds me that their crisis of faith – or the lack of faith – is valid. It’s valid because people with that particular dilemma are either experiencing great pain or have seen significant suffering.
Even the most devout have reported experiencing their own crisis of faith due to the harsh realities that we see day after day in this world. It is widely known that Mother Teresa experienced some challenging circumstances given the mission to which she was called and the people who she served. She found though that doubt led her to prayer: “If our bones were not sending whispers of doubt to our hearts, there would be no need for prayer at all.”
For people who view doubts like Mother Teresa, the doubts serve the purpose of bolstering the search for answers within their faith. For those who are not yet connected through faith to God, the doubts and questions could drive them further from making a connection at all.
Beyond the sincere questions, that often do arise from a painful place, I believe that much of the disdain for faith, and for those who adhere to a religious worldview, comes from a place of hubris.
Those who do struggle to reconcile our worldview, that is centered on the Bible and the teachings of Jesus, truly do struggle daily with living in a physical and tangible world while trying to reconcile our beliefs and actions with a spiritual ethos.
We too wrestle with the suffering in the world. We try to discern truth in a world where lies are becoming more acceptable. We try not to fall prey to the culture that allows for lowering the standard of behavior to that extent. We work to figure out practical things, like what it means to obey those who God has placed in authority over us, especially when they lack discretion or abuse their authority, taking away our God-given rights.
We even wonder how to best care for our health and for that of the people we love. We care about putting the needs of others first, but we try to strike a delicate balance between meeting those needs that others have while not neglecting our own to the detriment of our wellbeing.
Living a life that would be pleasing to God in a world that He left with the free will to choose Him or not is work.
Living a life without having to think about God’s point of view, His requirements, or His leading seems to me to be an easier path.
To whom does an atheist answer? Clearly we all have to live to some extent by the laws within our state, territory, or nation, or we will face the consequences associated with breaking the laws or violating the ordinances or codes of conduct.
But beyond that, with whom does an atheist really have to reconcile his thoughts, his opinions, his choices, and his actions? Looking at atheism, I see that the only truth possible for a person who chooses that belief system is not an absolute and timeless truth, but rather a relative and fluid truth – a “my truth” mindset.
Given the criteria that an atheist, whether affirmed or by default, can think what he wants, can formulate his opinions, can make his own choices, and can do whatever he believes is right, and all of that can change at any point based on something as significant as a shift in cultural norms to a change in his own temperament.
Given that criteria, I believe that atheism, at least as it relates to the ideological and philosophical, is an easier path.
What say you?
The Listener 