Atheism

This is our first easy target.  Atheists believe that there is no God.  That is a belief, and that’s the first problem.  Atheism usually means saying ‘your belief in God is irrational’.  What do they propose in place of God?  Usually, some account based on the marvels of science, humanism or some such.  Science and humanism, however, are twaddle, as we shall see.

Atheists also imagine that you can just decide not to believe in God, as you might decide not to believe in the tooth fairy.  It is as if one has a list of what to believe in, and simply strikes God (and the tooth fairy) off the list.  This is ‘casual atheism’ and, as Nietzsche points out, you just can’t do this.  Our entire belief systems, societal structures and ways of interacting with each other are founded on a fundamentally Judeo-Christian morality that underpins everything from our laws to our deepest values.  If God goes, everything goes, and you have to wipe the slate clean and start again.  What are we to do, where are we to go, and how are we to get there, without the way-markers that God provides?

Next, to be an atheist, it is necessary first to be an arrogant arse.  If this describes you, you are already halfway there, and atheism is certainly a contender for your ‘spiritual’ affections.  Atheists imagine that anyone that believes in God is thick – the disciples of Richard Dawkins call themselves the ‘Brights’ – Jesus, Mary and Joseph!