Blasphemy is a victimless crime

Commentary by Patrick Keller

There’s a silly old saying that goes, “There are no atheists in foxholes.”

But there are atheists in buses. And now, they are advertising on them!

Across Europe, and much of the new world, buses touting the slogan, ‘There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life’ are kicking up a busload of controversy.

Religious folks are up in arms, perhaps unaware of the double standard. Not only do tax-exempt churches benefit financially from the idea that God exists, they have had free reign to advertise spurious claims that would land a retailer in the law courts for false advertising.

With evangelical Christianity on the rise south of the border, and Islamic fundamentalists threatening jihad against all infidels, perhaps it’s time to let a little secular sunshine in.

These days, most theologians have dismissed the idea of the Bible as the literal word of God.

Thankfully!

If we were to take the Bible literally, we’d still be stoning women, killing homosexuals and keeping slaves. Ah, the good old days!

Creationists, take heart. It may be impossible to prove there is a God, but it is equally impossible to prove there is none.

But we can try. And, say atheists, we owe that much to humanity. It is here science and religion have their donnybrook.

Atheists claim there is no empirical evidence for God’s existence. There is no physical evidence, no prayers answered, no miracles performed. Ever. There has never been any communication from God whatsoever, despite the alleged ease with which an omnipotent being could ratify this conundrum.

Scientists, for the most part, concur. Evolutionary biology is a fact. The fossil record dates back millions of years, long before the defunct deist religions of Osiris, Horus and Zeus came to be. The universe, we now know, is some 13 billion years old. For this, there is a huge and growing body of supporting evidence. To atheists and scientists, the wonder and beauty of the universe is plenty enough to keep them interested and enthralled for millennia, without the need to impose superstitious and often hateful God mythologies.

Creationists, on the other hand, have faith. No matter what evidence you throw at them, the final, reason-crushing card of faith is produced in the end. Faith is impossible to refute.

And besides, what’s wrong with a little harmless religiosity if it gives people hope?

Unfortunately, faith without reason often leads to tragic ends. Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse blood transfusions on religious grounds, sacrificing loved ones in the belief that blood is contaminated (an odd supposition, considering all blood is ‘of God’).

Islamic suicide bombers are promised 72 virgins in paradise following martyrdom; their shrapnel no doubt contributing to the number of available virgins, along with the very young and very old.

The Catholic Church has reiterated its stand on birth control as sin, denying whole African societies a way to climb out of their diseased and impoverished existence.

Evangelical Christians repress homosexuality, heaping on numbers of confused young people who turn to suicide to deal with the guilt wrought on them by their bad ‘choices’.

The notorious genital mutilations of Hinduism ensure the lowly women of their culture will never experience one of ‘God’s gifts’, often ending in wasting and disease.

Creationists cite Stalin and Hitler (somewhat erroneously, as Hitler was Roman Orthodox, dabbling in occult Christianity) as examples of evil atheists. Without God, they say, we are without moral compass.

Oddly, it is science that has allowed this argument to continue. Without medical advances, technical overtures and a healthy skepticism, we might not even be here to have this discussion.

Copyright © 1999-2009 South Peace News. All Rights Reserved.
No part may be reproduced without written permission.

View our Privacy Statement.
Send website suggestions to the Webmaster