When backed against the
wall attempting to validate religion to skeptics,
believers often point out that religious faith offers
comfort which atheism cannot supply. Even if
there is no God, they insist, belief in the
protection and guidance of a loving and caring parent
figure who listens to our prayers is immensely
comforting. And even if there is no Heaven,
belief in an afterlife calms fears of death.
Yet the comfort of such
beliefs rests entirely on the assumption that the
deity which one worships happens in fact to be
"the real one." If we
consider that thousands of deities have been
worshipped throughout the history of mankind, and
that those worshipped in the modern era represent
merely the current "fad" in the overall
picture, and moreover that there exists no evidence
whatever which clearly establishes which (if any) of
these is the One True God, then believers are clearly
gambling on a virtually impossible long-shot.
If, as seems likely just considering the odds, the
One True God turns out to be something other than the
particular deity we have chosen to worship, even the
most devout and pious among us might well find
themselves in a heap of trouble on Judgment Day.
In addition, many of
today's religions hold that there is not one
afterlife but two: one of eternal joy, and
another of eternal torment. For those who are
not absolutely certain to which realm they will
ultimately be consigned (which includes just about
everyone), belief in an afterlife can actually
backfire on the believer who finds himself suddenly
confronted with death, filling him with crushing
dread instead of comforting hope. (For any who
doubt this, I have personally seen it happen
to others! It's one of those troubling aspects
of religion which clergy prefer not to discuss, but
with which ordinary "sinners" have to deal
all the same.)
"But
atheism still offers no hope of comfort
whatever!" the fervent believer persists.
Not true. However,
atheism's practical comforts are very different from
the ethereal promises of religion. They are
useful on a realistic here-and-now basis, rather than
in the hopeful make-believe of a sweet
by-and-by. Consider:
- We are not at the
mercy of capricious and unknowable beings,
but are instead subject to essentially
knowable and predictable natural
forces. While making allowances for
error and the vagaries of fortune, we can
plan our lives accordingly.
- Blessings and
curses have no effect (except upon the
suggestible minds of the superstitious), yet
we possess an appreciable degree of influence
in our dealings with other people. To
use it effectively we need only acquire the
wisdom, cultivate the skill, and exercise the
determination to do so.
- While taking care
not to encroach upon the legitimate rights of
others, we may strive to improve our lot in
life without fear of incurring the wrath of a
temperamental deity.
- Though we must
accept the consequences of our own actions in
life, as well as the finality of death,
ultimately we have nothing to fear afterward.
Granted, atheism is a
sobering concept. It accepts that humans are on
their own, not the protected livestock of some
celestial herdsman. It acknowledges the wisdom
of taking responsibility for our own lives, and of
rejecting dependence upon divine benevolence as a
dangerously unreliable method of ensuring the
survival and advancement of mankind. Atheism
offers neither the vague assurance of mystical
guidance in life nor the empty promise of continuing
existence beyond. Instead it offers comforts
which are firmly rooted, not in the hopeful / fearful
fancy of unsubstantiated faith, but in the certain
reality of nature, and in the enduring fellowship and
cooperation of people of good will.
=SAJ=
