Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Are there any true atheists out there?


Having grown up with an agnostic father and a charismatic Christian mother, I floundered in a rather confused state for some time. In retrospect, although I disagree, I find the agnostic position more honest than the atheist position. The agnostic believes "there can be no proof of the existence of God but does not deny the possibility that God exists" (American Heritage Dictionary).
The end result of your faith, be it in God, or in humanism, is ultimately the fruit of your presuppositions. Is there a first cause? If so, what is it? If there is a creator, and He has instituted some form of absolute epistemological faith and moral system, then which one is the truth? Not necessarily which one do I believe, but which is evidentially supported (beyond "reasonable" doubt) with the most historical, archeological, geographical and intellectual evidence. Even having grown up with all the science books, the humanistic anthropological and sociological arguments, and the "proof" of evolution, I have always had difficulty with one glaring concept, which I've heard many an atheist use as a starting place: "Out of the nothingness came..." That illogical starting place preempts an atheist worldview for me. The world needs to have logic, order, and authority structure to function, and all of it needs to have a starting place. In my journey, I have found Biblical Christianity (although not the charismatic variety chosen by my mother)to be the most consistent and logical belief system. Of course, the common response to that is, "Where did your God come from?" A theist doesn't have to supply evidence because in his or her worldview, there is room for the supernatural, and in this case, an eternal pre-existence. An atheist, however, being a materialist, still has to give reason to, "Out of the nothingness came..."
Each pre-suppositional worldview requires an embrace and a rejection. The atheist must embrace humanistic and evolutionary materialism and reject notions of supernaturalism, while the theist embraces an ultimate creator and His system and rejects the idea of man as just the newest permutation of the evolutionary cycle.
Regardless, the particular worldview one has is the result of a choice which one stands by. Atheists are free to choose and Christians are free to choose. Ideally, we can amicably discuss and debate and at the end of the day shake hands and agree to disagree on matters of existence and eternity.