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What hope is there without God?
One of the most common critiques of atheism is that atheism offers nothing. It offers no hope of answered prayer, no hope of eternal life and no help from God in a time of dire need.
Well here we have proof of why Christians cling to God in the face of modern sensibilities. Their faith gives them emotional comfort, hope and eternal security; their joy is overflowing just knowing that there is a loving, caring father daddy in heaven, to hold their hands through life.
How can atheism offer anything near as great as Christianity? Christians are in love with an idea that does not really exist. The perfect concept of love is found in Jesus (God) who died for us on a cruel Roman cross.
This is the pinnacle of divine love and it is purported to heal, give a reason for living, and makes people worthy, which lasts for eternity. In fact the Bible reveals to us that it is the love of God that draws us to him.
This love is so wonderful that it cannot be measured or understood. Jesus is the most worthy being in the Universe. He is the only begotten Son of God. He expressed his love in the most tangible way possible. He chose to suffer and die so that we could go to his mansion in heaven and not spend an eternity in Hell.
Our sins are forgiven and we are made worthy and accepted in the beloved. We have all heard the children sing “Jesus loves me this I know for the Bible tells me so.”
Love is the greatest fixation there is in the Universe and it is this concept of love which, is nothing more than to be in love with love.
This is comforting and addictive when it serves to fill an emotional need in our lives. Murderers and rapists doing jail time gravitate to the love of God and become transformed as they seek to escape their harsh loveless world as well as their guilty conscience.
You see the Gospel of Jesus, we are told, gives meaning and purpose to a failed life. People have always preferred easy, neat, pigeon holed answers whereby one can find a solution with nobody suffering, good triumphs over evil and everybody is okay. Christianity fits that pattern. Christianity has all the answers. But does it?
It would be great to think good wins over evil; that Zuma will get his comeuppance that the universe is ultimately fair, that we all meet again in heaven and will eventually have a great existence, but it's a fairy tale and at some stage people need to accept reality and grow up.
Being a Christian is the ultimate easy answer, but like all easy answers it comes at a cost, which in this case is ignorance - and ignorance is not bliss, for as they say in Nigeria; if it’s too good to be true, it’s because it is.
Christians always have a silly smile on their faces (mind you, so do Buddhists).Why? Where does this notion come from that we must always be happy? Is not anger, fearfulness, and sadness part of human existence too?
Is not life in reality a continually flow from one to the other? Is not the ultimate human goal; connection - to connect with the real you, that is within, and make an authentic connection to the world?
The couple whose child has committed suicide, why would an atheist say they should be happy? Sadness and pain is part of human existence. We all suffer pain and sadness if a loved ones dies.
It is true Christians derive comfort from believing their departed loved ones persist in a heavenly realm, but even atheists can find ways to continue the relationship in some manner with the one who has gone on without reverting to myth.
Christians have a tough time to live a life of faith today but they persevere because of the reward that awaits them. The difference for an atheist is that reward and redemption happens in the here and now. The life I lead right now, not a life I might have at a later date.
Christians believe that everything occurs because God wills it. Thus the outcome of prayer will always be God's will. If the outcome of prayer will be God's will and the outcome of not praying will always be God's will then the outcome will be the same both with and without prayer. So who needs to pray? The act of prayer is defunct.
The Apostle Paul referring to the gospel of Christ said “how shall we ignore such a great salvation!” Easy it is not real. Atheists are not necessarily happier or unhappier than believers. They however do have one up on Christians as they don't base their lives on a delusion. Whether or not a person is broadly speaking contented or discontented depends first of all on character, and secondly, to a lesser extent, on circumstance.
There is no evidence for God. But there is plenty evidence that there is no God. Once that becomes clear, you cannot just summon him back into existence. He is not there. And life can then become a whole new and exciting experience. To become a Christian is a choice but to be an atheist is not a choice, it is the default position, every one is born with.
The benefit of atheism is that it requires one to focus on life in the here and now. You live life to the full because you know this is the only life you will ever have. To live fully, you must forgive yourself and all others around you and therefore redeem yourself for the present, not the future or the past.
The extraordinary state of affairs that is life and the universe is quite amazing and fascinating and mysterious enough as it is; no one in this day and age should need to fall back on demonstrably irrational systems of belief such as Christianity in order to give it significance and meaning -for after all it is better to have no hope, than a false hope, no God than a false God and no faith than a false faith.
