Share

On Christian atheists and theists

On Christian Atheists and Theists.

A  debate  between  Christian Atheists and Christian Theists had now been going on for some years on News24 and usually elicits very many comments. Religious believe has its roots in trying to come to grips with the uncaused cause of everything and has probably been around ever since Homo erectus became Homo sapiens.  With time religion also evolved into guidelines for acceptable ethical norms, but unfortunately has most  recently exploded into serious conflict where all ethical norms are being disregarded.  Against this latter background it becomes important to confirm in which grouping we all belong. 

I cannot  imagine that any of the opposing participants in this debate  between Christian atheists and theists will shoot and injure a young girl wishing  to acquire an education, or stone a female relative, should she be unwilling to marry a man that members of her family had chosen for her, or that they will take people hostage against their will, let alone decapitate persons that they had held as hostages for some time. Christians are also not known to strap explosives to themselves  and then to detonate these in crowded places. They do not kidnap schoolgirls or leave backpacks carrying explosives at the finals of sporting events and then detonate these remotely. Christians do not fly aeroplanes carrying full loads of passengers into buildings, or plan such atrocities. Perhaps Christians are not as convinced of a joyous afterlife as are members of the other major theistic faith. Or convinced that an afterlife even exists.

 I would like to believe that all the participants in this debate on News24 are law abiding citizens that do not indulge in criminal behaviour, that they frown on people who tell untruths (although they do not refrain from accusing each other of lying), and hopefully do not commit fraud or use violent means to achieve their objectives. The ethical standards of Christian theists and Christian atheists,  therefore, seem to be derived from the same source and are much the same. And, surely, this is all that really matters.

I cannot say that I fully understand the reasoning of Christian theists who believe that the Bible is the word of God and that everything in it is the truth. God seems to interfere in many matters in astonishing ways, such as stopping the rotation of the earth in order to lengthen a day, or by changing humans into salt pillars, or causing the physical strength of a man to reside in his hair rather than his muscles. It is interesting to contrast the latter gospel-truth story of Samson and Delilah with the fictional account of Count Vronsky and Anna  Karenina, since both these stories have been adapted for the opera as well as the cinema.   We know the story of Anna and Vronsky is fictional because Tolstoy wrote it, but  the fictional character of Vronsky is certainly much more credible than that of the gospel-truth  Samson, and this leads one to question whether Samson and Delilah ever existed.   So, where does one start to edit this ancient script?

Perhaps these parts of the scriptures were never intended to be serious reading matter for grown-ups.  Nonetheless, some of my friends claim to believe every word of it and this leads them, in my view, to a rather simpleminded understanding of the uncaused cause.    I do not, however, see why this should bother me.  The available religions do not enhance my understanding of the uncaused cause  either and, therefore, I am not really in a position to offer any guidance in such matters.  It can be reasoned that there is no such thing as an uncaused cause, and this could have lead Einstein to introduce a cosmological constant in his theories that would have given the Universe the quality of eternity, but this he later called his biggest blunder. And so the uncaused cause has remained with us as an unsolved riddle. 

However, there just seems to be many pressing  topics that  may be  of communal interest, apart from the one about religion, which, after all, is a personal matter. 

So let us start at the top with our Head of State, not that the media or News24 had neglected him. South Africa and Botswana are the only countries in the world that are Parliamentary republics,  where the head of state, as the President, is chosen by Parliament. Would it not be a better idea that the President of our country be elected  by its citizens in Presidential elections, as is the case in countries such as France or the USA, and not simply by the majority party in Parliament ? Most countries in the world have either a full presidential system or a semi presidential system.   This could mean that  a president that misbehaves can be impeached, or removed from office without dragging the whole party to which he or she belongs into the matter.  As it stands now, in our Parliamentary republic, the ruling party and its followers will go to unseemly lengths to protect a president that had become a subject of ridicule. This could even interfere with the functions of the Public Protector whose job it is, amongst other things, to guard against the misappropriation of State Funds .  Is it not  questionable that the South African electorate would have chosen our current president  had there been a Presidential election, seeing that  his candidature was mired in controversy  from the outset?

This country has benefited enormously from the mining industry, which relies to a large extent on the efforts of miners that labour deep underground under conditions that may be very detrimental to their health.  A worst case scenario had probably been the mining of asbestos that affected not only the miners in the Northern Cape, but a wide spectrum of people who handled, and were thus exposed to, asbestos products. Asbestos fibres are considered to be the sole cause of mesothelioma, a rare form of  lung cancer that has a very poor prognosis.  The incidence of this disease in South Africa is one of the highest in the world.  During 2013 a class action was brought against mine companies that neglected the hazards of silicosis and the associated tuberculosis amongst South African mine workers.  Silicosis is caused by the inhalation of  crystalline dust particles that scars the lungs.  Over time, the disease reduces lung function and leads progressively to serious shortness of breath, coughing and chest pains. Victims also become more prone to develop tuberculosis.

Fatal accidents seem to exact a larger toll in South African as opposed to Australian mines, with the chances of being killed in a work related accident 4 to 5 times as high.  One cannot dispute the fact that mining is a dangerous occupation and yet the chief executives of major mining companies in South Africa, while sitting in their airconditioned offices during 2012, each  paid themselves in excess of R20 million rand a year. Compare this to the R70 000 per annum pay package of the average miner.  Such disparaties, the Mail and Guardian argued at the time, were at the root of unrest in the mining sector. Many newspaper reports failed, however, to highlight the role of occupational diseases and dangerous working conditions, together with the enormous pay differential, in shaping the attitudes of the mineworkers.

The demographics of South Africa and  of the world is worrying. Economic conditions in Africa cause an exodus to Europe and many Africans loose their lives while trying to cross the Mediteranian. An alternative that does not involve such risks is to migrate south where it is much easier simply to step across the South African border. How much longer should we absorb refugees from Zimbabwe, Somalia, shrewd merchant types from Nigeria and other African countries?

South Africa’s electricity supply comes mainly from coal powered power stations, and to a much lesser extent from Koeberg’s nuclear power station. Neither of these options are thought to be environmentally friendly. It is widely acknowledged that our abundant sunshine makes solar energy  a viable and preferable option. If we consider that there were in recent times load shedding periods  it is surprising that more discussion is not centered around options in electricity generation that can also minimize our contribution to  global warming from coal burning power plants. In fact, during 2012 Eskom launched a rebate scheme for smaller renewable energy technologies including solar PV, wind, hydro and others.  Would it not be useful to be able to benefit from the experience of  persons or families  that have already made the switch to the above renewable technologies?  How many people are, following the disasters of Chernobyl and Fukushima, still comfortable with  nuclear power plants or would not like to discuss other options?

Our wildlife is an important resource that can draw visiting tourists to our country. But several species were hunted to extinction in the early days of European settlement. The rhino population seems to be safe for the moment, but collapsing the demand for Rhinohorn, that is thought in some Eastern countries to have medicinal value, could be an important objective. Can this not be achieved in consultation with the relevant governments? What can be done to conserve our remaining wildlife?  Or to convince the Japanese that whalehunting is a thing of the past?

And so it is not as though there is a shortage of alternate, worthwhile issues and very relevant  problems that we could and do concern ourselves with, rather than a protracted discussion between different Christian factions with  irreconcilable differences.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 529 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 747 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.90
+0.2%
Rand - Pound
23.86
+0.2%
Rand - Euro
20.39
+0.2%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.31
+0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.2%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE