Atheist Bus or bust?

Pastor Pat Duffin

“It is an absolute truth that there are no absolutes. . .probably", or so it would seem from the atheistic bus campaign originating from England, but now coming to Toronto, Calgary and elsewhere in Canada. Have you heard about it? Banners splashed across city buses boldly declare, “There Probably Is No God, So Relax and Enjoy Your Life.” The irony seems to escape the British Humanist Association which is behind this campaign being financed from the personal pockets of non other than intellectual and popular cynic Richard Dawkins, author of ‘The God Delusion’. Says Dawkins, “This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think - and thinking is anathema to religion.” OK, let’s think about it! Taking the proverbial horse as our metaphor, one can challenge Dawkins with a similar statement, “You can lead an atheist to evidence, but you can’t make him think.” According to atheists, we happened by accident, and everything came from nothing and so no intelligence was involved in the design of your intelligence nor in the brilliant, irreducible complexity of the universe. According to the atheist, design does not require a designer because something can come from nothing, and order can come from chaos in much the same way as a colour TV can be produced from scraps by a tornado in a junk yard. That reminds me about the scientist who was arguing with God about who was the greatest. “What’s so great about what you did?” said the scientist. “I can make a man from the dirt, too.” “Go ahead, let me see you do it,” replied God. The scientist bent over to grab some dirt. “Hold it,” said God, “Go get your own dirt.” To be valid, science must be measurable and testable. Anything that is not measurable or testable is outside the limited parameters of science. Theories on the origin of the universe can neither be tested nor proven but only inferred and deduced. . .and then, only inevitably through the lens of our own personal bias. Therefore, it follows if you believe everything came from nothing, that would be a statement of faith rather than fact since you cannot prove it. One has faith in God; the other has faith in nothing! So, who’s the brightest? Whether you consider one idea as more intelligent than the other, in the end they are both a question of faith. Which, begs the question, “If there is no God, how come atheists are so mad at Him?” Why do they find it necessary to mock and deride God and those who accept His existence? Why does it matter if it’s not true? Atheists don’t believe in fairies or leprechauns, but they aren’t mad at them. So, why the inconsistency? What we believe materially affects our lives here on Earth. Consider the subtlety of this message, “There probably is no God, so enjoy your life.” Another way of saying that would be, “There might not be any God, so ignore His laws and do what you will with your life.” Or, “If there is no God, there is no responsibility or ultimate consequence for our actions and there really is no right or wrong, so do what you will. It doesn’t matter.” It doesn’t matter? Let’s see where that line of reasoning takes us. What if your will is to rape, murder and pillage? What if you have no compunctions about torturing and enslaving people? It’s all irrelevant, because in the end it doesn’t matter. It all began with nothing and is going back to nothing, so if it feels good to you, do what you will and never mind the other guy. There’s no one greater than you. No one has the right to subject you to their values and rules or anything else that might interfere with your fun. You are your own god. Rule your own life. Do whatever satisfies you however cruel, depraved or destructive. It’s survival of the strongest not the worthiest. The problem with that is I have some objections to you doing whatever you want. I don’t want you driving on whatever side of the road you feel like or only obeying “stop” signs whenever you’re in the mood. As someone has said, “Your right to swing your arm ends where my nose begins.” To which I would add, “...and the noses of my loved ones.” But, who cares about my neighbour or the stranger down the street or across the border? Who are they to me? Let them look out for themselves, right? Only, what happens if they think exactly the same way? Who will then look out for me and mine in this dog-eat-dog world where it’s survival of the meanest over the rest of us. “Suck it up babe! It doesn’t matter, anyway. You’re just part of the food chain and already destined for extinction immediately following your brief and futile existence!” But, what a difference it makes when there is a Supreme Being to whom we are accountable. Our behaviour changes when we know there is a Judge of the Universe who will punish rapists, murderers, dictators and despots, child molesters, liars and thieves. The world has all its problems because of its failure to recognize that there is a Holy, Righteous and Good God who requires love, morality and justice from His Creation. We intuitively know right from wrong because it is imprinted in our hearts by the one who made us. We carry His stamp that gives us morality and values. Dawkins and his ilk might be right about religion - which is a corrupt, and woefully-inadequate, man-made effort at relating to God. But he obviously has not experienced the Christian God of personal relationships who actually counsels us to think. “Come now, let us reason together,” says the Lord (Isaiah 1:18) and “Test everything. Hold on to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:21) Few of us would recklessly run the risk of running a red light at a busy intersection because the probability of getting totaled by a vehicle traveling across our path is greater than the probability that we could get away with it. If you wouldn’t risk losing your life going through a red light, why would you be prepared to gamble your eternal soul on a faith that is based on nothing and leads to nothing? “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 53:1). If God does not exist, you have lost nothing. But if He does exist, and you gambled wrong, then you have lost everything. There is a God. So believe and don’t worry. Enjoy your life, and enjoy God, too!