Worldviews 1: Intro and Atheism Justin Kim ANEW November 1, 2008

Typical Atheism “people who love Jesus are fanatics” they receive info from media doubt the Bible doubt God live for today everything is relative they are first if Jesus comes up, then I’ll ask about Him - was He real? - was He truly inspired? - investigate the resurrection, etc. - how do I get to heaven? - what happens if I’m not good enough? - other problems - what’s next?

UM Survey 15% = non-theistic responses 6% = true atheist Buddhist or Shinto Because aunt/uncle are fundamentalist; negative experience I don’t know – Jewish raised in secular context I don’t know – Catholic questioning since third grade Agnostic – because of organized religion being the cause of wars and suffering Agnostic – Evolution has too much evidence Human psychology is not compatible with religion and God Naturalist or Scientist If God was there, there would be scientific evidence Prophets have faults Agnostic – there is a higher power that connects us Religion is control and causes conflict Faith in science It is impossible to know Didn’t grow up with it in the family

The New Atheists Richard Dawkins –The Selfish Gene –The God Delusion Sam Harris –The End of Faith –Letter to a Christian Nation Daniel Dennett –Breaking the Spell

The Old Atheists Karl Marx Jean-Paul Sartre David Hume Bertrand Russell –Why I Am Not a Christian Friedrich Nietzsche –Adolf Hitler –Joseph Stalin –Benito Mussolini –Bernard Shaw –D. H. Lawrence –W. B. Yeats –Carl Jung

Everyday Atheists (Ralph Muncaster) Level 7: “Closed” – never listen to reason, Mt 7:6, 10:14 – strong atheists Level 6: “Open” – listen to reason, very intellectual Level 5: “Apathetic” – don’t care – barriers need to be broken down Level 4: “Religious” – non-Christian religion, cult, need to break free Level 3: “General” – normally skeptical, friendships needed Level 2: “Christian” – no commitment, just born, but have same ideas Level 1: “Seekers” – never heard anything else, very open

Biblical Injunctions Colossians 4:6 –Know how to answer everyone 1 Peter 3:14-16 –Do not be afraid –Be ready –With meekness and fear –They be ashamed Luke 10:27 Jude 1:3

The Seven Worldviews A worldview is a consistent systematic perspective that addresses: –Truth / Knowledge –Universe and Origins –God –Law and Values –Evil / Ethics –Meaning

Pantheism Hinduism, Zen Buddhism, New Ager God and universe are one God is impersonal Man is God Ethics are relative

Theism Islam, Judaism, Christianity God is personal and infinite Man was created immortal Evil is caused by choice Ethics is grounded in the absolute person of God

Other Worldviews Deism – God is beyond world Panentheism – God is in the world and beyond the world Polytheism – Many gods Finite Godism – God is limited like humans (process theology, open view, etc.)

Atheism Taoism, Jainism, Humanism Universe is eternal and by chance came to be Man is evolved from molecules Evil is real and defeated by education Ethics are relative

Nietzsche “Christianity is the one great curse.” Saw no light at the end of the tunnel –Loneliness of existence “What are these churches now if they are not the tombs and sepulchers of God?” - The Madman Two Predictions –20 th century the bloodiest –Universal Madness Rejected Sermon on the Mount –Society would be run by losers Basic Nihilism –No values, no truth, nothing

Atheism Doctrine of belief that there is no God “I have infinite knowledge that there is no being in existence with infinite knowledge.” –Self-contradiction Four Areas –Origin –Values –Meaning –Life

1. Origin There is no creator or any origin. Cannot answer the hows or whys There are general contradictions and internal weaknesses. –Scientific disciplines contradict each other and prevent a synthesis from being developed.

1. Origin Mathematics –Chance of life = 1/10^40,000 –Brain has 10,000 other cells it needs to connect to. –1 billion long nerve cells Chemistry –More probable that life came from hydrogen atom than from a Creator? Biology –Francis Crick said DNA has been found and it needs machinery; therefore life came outer space. –Genetic mutations do not result in corresponding single changes. Physics –Entropy (heat, energy, chaos) always increases. But biological organisms maintain their structure at the expense of system. Anthropology –Cannot explain evolutionary gaps

2. Values Atheism cannot explain deontology. –Duty, commitment, loyalty, “ought,” obligations Clockmaker-Timekeeper Syndrome Ethics are like choosing colors (Bertrand Russell). Atheists may live ethical lives, but there is no moral obligation or argument for it.

3. Meaning Everything is meaningless. Everything is relative. Nothing has meaning. All are self-contradictions.

4. Life Since there is no meaning, no creator for an origin of life, or values attributed to life, there is no reason to live. Life causes despair. There is no such thing as friends, family, dreams, hopes, aspirations, accomplishments, and relationships.

Conclusion While atheists may believe in their worldview, they live out a mixture of other worldviews. Psalms 14:1-3 “If God is dead, somebody is going to have to take His place. It will be megalomania or erotomania, the drive for power or the drive for pleasure, the clenched first, or the phallus, Hitler or Hugh Heffner.” - Malcolm Muggeridge

Conclusion Have courage in the theistic worldview. Initiate and/or continue dialogues with those with atheistic perspectives. It is difficult to live as a true atheist (i.e. Nietzsche).