What If Atheists Are Right?

An atheist says there is no God.  As a Christian, I am convinced atheists are wrong, and I have arguments and evidence to support my faith, but for now, let’s scrap the arguments favoring Christianity and consider the atheists’ point of view.  Again, atheists say there is no God, so if they are correct, let us explore the consequences of their beliefs.

 

According to one prominent atheist, the day will come when our sun burns out and earth is transformed into a ball of ice aimlessly hurtling through an unimaginable void of empty, meaningless space.  When this occurs, there will be no memory we ever existed.  Our history and our achievements will forever vanish.  There will be no recollection of you or me or anyone else.  If this atheistic prediction is correct, life becomes utterly inconsequential.  Nothing really matters.  We will have lived and died in vain.  

 

If there is no God as atheists insist, matters of good and bad or right and wrong are determined, not by an all-wise Creator, but by the majority of the human race.  If, for example, 51% of humanity decided stealing was an acceptable means of making a living or pushing grandmas in front of fast moving taxis was a legitimate form of amusement, then there would be nothing reprehensible about thievery and homicide.  According to the Bible, thievery and murder are wrong because God says thievery and murder are wrong, but in a universe without God, who is to say what is wrong and what is right?  If matters of right and wrong are left up to us, consider the consequences.  The day may come when adults, weary of caring for their children, are permitted to toss their offspring into landfills or turn the little ones into meat pies.  Does this prospect sound unimaginably vile?  If there is no God, who is to say anything is either good or evil?  If there is no God, what is right?  What is wrong?  Right and wrong become meaningless words while acceptable human behavior is shaped by whatever climate of opinion happens to be in vogue at the time.

 

According to Charles Darwin, man is nothing but an advanced animal with opposing thumbs.  Is that so?  Let us consider the consequences of this belief.  Not long ago, I read a disturbing survey that revealed a large percentage of college-age men believed they had a right to demand sex from a young woman, even by force if necessary, if they had spent a sufficient amount of money during the course of a date.  Do not miss this point:  These “entitled” young men believed rape was justified based on the cost of dinner and drinks.  Rape is wrong, wrong, wrong because God says rape is wrong, but if we remove God from the equation, who is to say these oversexed young men should be held accountable for their animalistic behavior?  Darwin pointed to nature’s survival of the fittest, and a 180 pound young man is generally stronger than a 110 pound girl.  If there is no God and Darwin’s evolutionary theory is, in fact, unalterably true, why should the stronger honor the wishes of the weaker?  A lion never asks permission before eating its prey.  As I see it, a world without God is particularly frightful for the weak and vulnerable.

 

Adolf Hitler, who labeled the Bible as “the Jews’ book of lies,” ignited a world war and in his campaign of global conquest, slaughtered millions.  Josef Stalin, a staunch atheist, murdered five million of his own Russian countrymen.  Mao Zedong, the blood-thirsty Chinese communist revolutionary who vehemently denied the existence of God, likely killed more of his people than Josef Stalin and Benito Mussolini combined.   Pragmatism, the belief that end results justify any and all methods no matter how violent, sinister, or radical, is the underlying philosophy of atheism.  Make no mistake about it—the brutal savagery of Hitler, Stalin, Mao, and Mussolini was in keeping with their atheistic worldviews.  

 

Without God, there can be no assurance of justice.  Let us imagine a man who built an empire based on dishonesty, corruption, extortion, and violence.  Through methods involving treachery, deceit, and racketeering, he amassed a fortune, lived like a prince, brutalized the innocent, and mocked the misery of others.  Throughout his long life, he enjoyed all the world had to offer and, in the end, he died peacefully at the age of 102.  His last words were, “I lied, cheated, and weaseled my way to the top. I had the best of everything. I took from others and never once felt even the faintest twinge of guilt.  My victims were all fools who believed my empty promises and trusted in the insincere lies I told them.  The secret to a happy life is only possible by crushing others and loving no one but self.  And now I die at this ripe old age with no fear of punishment or retribution during the endless ages to come.”  If there is no God and no eternal justice, our greedy extortioner was indeed a winner.

 

This is empty, meaningless atheism.  While I can speak for no one but myself, I do not want to live in a world where a greedy, fire-breathing, blood-thirsty despot can live sumptuously and escape justice.  There is nothing, absolutely nothing, grand or comforting or reassuring about atheism.

 

For eight years, I worked with substance abusers attempting to break the chains and fetters of addiction.  Many of those I encountered eventually gave up the fight for sobriety and returned to their world of opiates and fentanyl and heartless drug pushers who drove high-dollar automobiles and never seemed to lack for cash.  I cannot begin to count the number of addicts passing through my office who lost their battle to the bottle, the needle, the pipe, and the pill.  There are many reasons people turn to narcotics, and I will not be guilty of making over-generalizations, but if life appears meaningless, it is easy to see how drugs can be appealing.  As the old saying goes, “Eat, drink, for tomorrow we die!”  If life is meaningless and futile, never fear, for drugs will end this meaninglessness and futility in a hurry.

 

I have little regard for the cultured or respectable atheist. Frankly, I think the polite, well-mannered atheist is a hypocrite. Logic insists that a measured, controlled lifestyle and atheism do not rightfully mix. If I were an atheist with no regard for eternity, I would lap up every drop of pleasure this world has to offer—and I would not care who got hurt in the process.  After all, if atheism is true, then nothing really matters.