Atheism and the Response to It
Atheism and the Response to It
Atheism is the first and most dangerous of the major sins. And how many sins are born from atheism! They are too many to count.
Atheism is of two types: one denies the existence of God, and the other rejects this God or mocks Him and criticizes Him.
And atheism that rejects God: either rejects Him for a lustful reason or an economic reason. Those who reject Him for a lustful reason see that God stands against their desires through His commandments that prevent them from enjoying certain sins. Their slogan says: “It is better that God does not exist, so that I may exist!”—meaning, so that I may enjoy the existence I want, far from the commandments of God that restrict me!
These people mockingly say: Do you claim that God is in heaven? Let Him be in heaven, and let Him leave us the earth—we have nothing to do with Him, nor He with us…!
As for atheism that rejects God for an economic reason: it claims that God dwells in an ivory tower and does not care about the affairs of the earth, nor does He establish justice and equality in it!
On earth, there are those who live in poverty and need, unable to find the necessary sustenance, while there are the rich who live in luxury, and they possess more than what they need, while the poor long for the crumbs falling from them. And God sees and does nothing!!
These atheists were the ones who created atheistic socialism, claiming that according to their system everyone shares equally in the goods of the earth!! They prohibited ownership of land and property. People live in buildings without owning them, and they cultivate the land and benefit from its produce without owning it as well.
And in some of their atheistic methods, they would say to the farmer: Do you want a cow? Ask God, and if He does not give it to you, ask Stalin or Lenin… and then you will receive it! So what is the meaning of believing in God then? And what benefit is there in it?!
Practically, it is impossible for people to be equal in their income, because they are not equal in mentality and degree of intelligence, nor in ability to produce.
A certain group may begin with an equal amount of money for each individual, but some may invest with intelligence, diligence, and honesty in work, so their money increases and multiplies, while others lose what they have or spend it on corruption. And the result is that those who began equally in wealth end in the opposite way… and this is just, because God rewards each person according to his deeds—unless we make people mere machines without thought!!
Agricultural land may be distributed equally among people, and some of them may turn to industry and invest their money in it, excelling and increasing their wealth beyond others.
In the end, we do not find this desired equality.
We cannot suffocate the talented and capable so they may become equal with the idle or the rich, under the pretext of achieving equality that, no matter how it begins, cannot continue.
And in the same way, we do not accept those libertines who reject God so they may take their freedom in debauchery and corrupt without restraint.
For God wants good for people, and good is not found in corruption. And He wants them to have freedom, provided it is disciplined freedom that does not harm them nor harm others because of them. We have seen that those who rejected God to enjoy their existence did not enjoy true existence, but rather were lost, reaching deviation and perversion, and they lost the ideal image of humanity.
And even if they reject God because of His commandments, do they also reject the state because of its laws? And reject society because of its systems and rules, claiming that all of that deprives them of their existence!! Or say: It is better that there be no laws, systems, or morals, but that we exist!!
As for those who denied the existence of God, their denial dragged them into many sins, among which we mention:
They also denied the afterlife and did not believe in the resurrection, for who has the power and ability to raise the dead except God? And they do not believe in God!
By denying the afterlife, they denied reward and punishment in it, and denied what is called heaven and hell, and lived without purpose and without fear of the consequences of sin.
They denied the spiritual world altogether, for they do not believe in the existence of angels and all their ranks, nor do they believe in the invisible and the immaterial, and therefore they also do not believe in the intercession of the righteous nor in the prayers of the saints.
They likewise do not believe in prayer in general, for to whom would anyone pray? Is not prayer directed to God? And they do not believe in the existence of God, and so they lost prayer, hymns, praise, and all spiritual means.
And in not believing in God, they came to not believe in revelation nor in the holy books. Consequently, they do not believe in divine commandments nor commit to any of them.
We must discuss with them their belief or lack of belief.
The first point of dialogue with them is the reason for existence, its source, or its cause.
There are existents—this is indisputable—so who brought them into being?
There is inanimate nature such as mountains, hills, rivers, lakes, lands. And there is sky, sun, moon, planets, stars, galaxies, and meteors… And there are living beings like humans, animals, birds, fish, and insects. And there are also trees and plants… etc. So who created all these beings?
There must be an all-powerful Being who created all this. Who is He?
Some atheists say: nature. So what is nature? And what is its ability?
Is nature the inanimate nature that has no life in it?! Can the non-living bring into existence living beings? This is irrational, for the one who lacks something cannot give it. Did the living beings bring the rest of nature into existence? This too is irrational. So who created the universe then? Our answer as believers: it is God. If atheists have another answer, let them say it, and we will discuss it with them.
And if the problem of existence is an unsolved mystery before atheists… then the problem of life and its source is an even deeper mystery for them.
Everything the world has achieved in science, intelligence, and invention stands helpless before the source of life: how did it come? And if it is lost, how can it return, if it can return at all? And I do not mean life in its exalted form as in humans, but even life in its simplest form—such as in a single living cell or in plasma.
The life of an ant walking on the ground constitutes a mystery before the atheist: from where did it receive life? And the existence of a bee seeking its sustenance and making honey from the nectar of flowers, organizing its affairs—this bee, in its life and work and order, is a more complex mystery before the atheist: how did it receive life?!
And how did it acquire this activity, this ability, and this management?
If life is distinguished by mind and thought, its source becomes even more complex for the atheist—especially if this life has the ability to invent, as in human life. What is the source of all this? The question remains without an answer.
Life on earth had a beginning. How did it begin?
It is scientifically known that the earth was originally part of the nebula, and was in flaming fire, which did not permit the existence of any kind of life—neither humans, animals, nor plants. Then the earth’s crust cooled, while the interior of the earth remains fiery, producing volcanoes and hot springs.
So from where did life come on the surface of the earth, where there previously was no life of any kind? The question remains before the atheist without an answer.
Some of them may offer assumptions or guesses with no scientific basis. And life, even in its simplest form, remains evidence of the existence of God, who has the power to bring life into being.
Some atheists boast of the abilities of humans in invention, while these abilities are limited!
No doubt there are currently astonishing inventions that indicate the greatness of the human mind. And the human mind is also a gift from God. And everything humans have invented depends on matter, so it falls under the category of manufacturing, not creation, for creation is within the power of God alone. And matter is created by God, while atheists do not believe in creation… So is matter eternal without a beginning, or does it have a beginning? If it has a beginning, then it is created, and its beginning becomes a mystery before atheists—how did it come into being? Who brought it into being? And it cannot be eternal, because matter is weak, and humans manipulate it in many ways; weakness does not align with eternality.
And although the human mind has shown brilliance in dealing with matter through invention, God has allowed certain dilemmas to exist before the human mind that it has been unable to solve—such as certain incurable diseases before which the human mind stands powerless.
The next point in proving the existence of God is the marvelous order found in the universe, proving that there is One who organized it, and who can that be except God?
For this reason, one of the Greek philosophers called God “the Great Engineer”…
If you see a pile of stones thrown in a place, you might say that chance placed them there. But if stones rise beside one another, and above them a third stone, forming a building of several floors with doors, windows, and balconies—there must be an engineer who made this… And so is the universe!
Do you not see the marvelous system among the heavenly bodies and their relation to the earth?
The earth rotates on its axis once every day, producing day and night, and rotates around the sun producing the succession of the four seasons. And it has a relationship with the moon every month resulting in the various phases of the moon… all in precise order that never fails. This is why theological colleges in ancient times studied astronomy, because it proves the existence of God.
Consider also the marvelous relationship between winds, temperature, and air pressure—and how all this determines the direction of the winds, and the seasons of rain and drought, in relation to passing over seas and lakes, and the relationship of all this to agriculture and plant growth.
Thus it is possible to establish fixed times for rain and farming, and for seasons of heat and cold.
Human life is organized according to this, and countries differ from one another in this regard.
Can all this order come by chance without an Organizer?! Or must there be a wise Higher Power who set a system for everything in the universe… and this is what we believe.
As for the order in the human body, it is wonder upon wonder, so much so that contemplating physiology proves the existence of God. And likewise the structure of every human organ. Look at the brain—its structure and work—and what is in it of centers for sight, hearing, speech, and movement, in addition to its work in understanding, memory, and reasoning… The whole world stands astonished before any of the centers of the brain, and if one is impaired, no scientist on earth can restore it to its natural state.
What can we say also about the rest of the bodily systems and their precise work:
such as the heart, or the liver, or the nervous, circulatory, or digestive systems—and about the formation of the embryo in the body, and its nourishment and growth until it is complete and emerges.
And what we say about the human body and its organs,
we can say similarly about the bodies of animals and birds… and we see an even greater wonder in the structure of insects. Is not all of this evidence of the existence of an all-knowing, all-wise Creator?!
We add to all this the general consensus in believing in the existence of God.
Even a child is born—with natural instinct—having this belief.
The names of God may differ in various religions, but belief in God is a constant matter.
As for atheism, it has special causes that we consider foreign to the human mind. Some of them have social or psychological conditions, or are wars from the devil.
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An article by His Holiness Pope Shenouda III, published in Al-Gomhuria Newspaper on 8-6-2004.
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