It is more reasonable to me, as it is to any atheist, to believe in things that are in accord with what we know are natural laws, than to believe in things that contradict them….[but] unless you’re raised atheist, people become atheists just as I did, by thinking about the same things Augustine thought about. Certainly one of the first things I thought about as a maturing child was “Why is there polio? Why are there diseases?” If there is a good God why are there these things? The answer of the religious person is “God has a plan we don’t understand.” That wasn’t enough for me. There are people who don’t know anything about science. One of the reasons I recommend Richard Dawkins’s book, The God Delusion, is that basically he explains the relationship between science and atheism. But I don’t think people are really persuaded into atheism by books or by debates or anything like that. I think people become atheists because they think about the world around them. They start to search out books because they ask questions. In general, people don’t become atheists at a late age, in their 50s. All of the atheists I know became atheists fairly early on. They became atheists in their adolescence or in their 20s because these are the ages at which you’re maturing, your brain is maturing, and you’re beginning to ask questions. If religion doesn’t do it for you, if, in fact, religion, as it does for me, contradicts any rational idea of how to live, then you become an atheist, or whatever you want to call it ”“ an agnostic, a freethinker.
I do think there are strong reasons for faith in the Holy Trinity and that the local church has been, in my limited experience, not great, and sometimes not interested, in presenting them in a winsome manner. But it’s also my experience that few are persuaded only by such reasons (even though I think they are truthful). So the task is often exploring folk’s desires – for joy, for beauty, for goodness – and seeing where that relationship may lead.
Dawkins’ book, as an exploration of the issue it purports to engage, is lamentably poor but that many thoughtful folks don’t seem to recognize this is an indication of an opportunity that local churches might take up.
BTW, of course C.S. Lewis remains a great resource, and Tim Keller’s book, “The Reason for God” can work well in small groups (there’s a DVD and study guide to go along with it).
[blockquote] “If religion doesn’t do it for you, if, in fact, religion, as it does for me, contradicts any rational idea of how to live, then you become an atheist, or whatever you want to call it – an agnostic, a freethinker.” [/blockquote]
Whatever. Its a free country.
The Bible really has only one very short sentence for atheists:
[blockquote] “The fool says in his heart, “There is no Godâ€.” [Psalm 53:1] [/blockquote]
That’s all they get. But the Bible has plenty to say to those who at least have an open mind on the issue.