The Consequences of Atheism

A recent book by Stephen Hawking's, "The Grand Design", has caused more than a little stir in both scientific and theological circles. I'm sure I will get questions about this sooner or later, especially since Vermont has a fair contingent of atheists.

The most radical theological statements which Hawking makes in his book are, "Because there is a law such as gravity, the Universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the Universe exists, why we exist", and "It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the Universe going." In other words Hawking has explicitly rejected the possibility of any Deity or the necessity of Deity in creation.

Rather than touching on the various arguments for or against these statements, I'd like simply to focus for a moment on the implications of what he said, and explore the meaning of atheism in everyday life. Here are a few things for thought.

You are composed of several pounds of chemicals and a fair bit of water. Everything you are is simply a result of chemical reactions within your body. Each perception you have, every thought you have, every emotion you feel is simply a chemical reaction. A complicated reaction, perhaps, but just a chemical reaction in the end. Love is not real, neither is pain, joy or grief.

The sensation of being 'alive', or having thoughts and feelings, is basically a chemical reaction which creates an illusion of self-awareness. 'Alive' is simply just a temporary state of chemical equilibrium.

All creatures, plant and animal, are the same and have the same level of significance. There is a matter of scale and influence which sets the more complicated organisms apart, but in the words of PETA co-founder and President Ingrid Newkirk, "A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy" (Vogue, Sept 1, 1989).

There is no afterlife. There is no soul, no Nirvana, no Heaven, no Hell and no Happy Hunting Grounds. When your body ceases to function sufficiently well to support what we call 'life' or 'self-awareness', you will simply return to your constituent chemicals and what you were; the essential part that makes you who you are will be forever gone.

There is no reward for good behavior, there is no punishment for bad behavior except for the consequences of our own actions here. Other people may impose consequences upon you (fairly or not) but that is all that can happen.

When something bad happens to you, there is no underlying purpose. If you can get away with doing something to benefit yourself, even at the expense of others, go ahead and do it. There is no outside basis for morality, so don't worry about it. Ethics is a constructed fable.

There is no 'absolute truth' where behavior is concerned, it is simply a matter of your own desires being satisfied. Since you have only a small amount of time on earth and it all ends in oblivion, you might as well enjoy your time here. Party up! Get drunk, shoot up, sleep around. Just make sure you enjoy it all.

Since all life is simply a chemical phenomenon, there is nothing sacred about it. Want an abortion? Go ahead! Want to kill someone? No problem (just don't get caught)! Do what feels good and don't worry about others...they can look out for themselves.

Does this seem harsh? These are simply the logical consequences of following a belief in atheism. That is not to say that you cannot construct an ethos based on atheism (i.e. all human life is unique and can never be duplicated, so it is a crime against the universe to harm another person), but it is entirely optional and completely relative to the person.

The biggest issue I see with atheism and with the viewpoint of people like Hawking is that there is no hope anymore. This life is all there is. "Life sucks, then you die." As a Christian, I believe that there is indeed hope, and hope in the sense the ancient Greeks knew...not "pie in the sky thinking", but "confident expectation". It has been said that man can live without most things, but he cannot survive without hope. In what, or in whom, do you put YOUR hope?


"If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep." 1 Cor 15:19-20 (NIV)


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Coy-dogs and other things that go bump in the night

The moon was full and the night was full of strangely moving shadows when a lone howl cut through the late night darkness. An answering cry was heard, closer this time. Shivers went up and down my spine as I wondered, was it a pair of vampires on the prowl, or perhaps a couple of werewolves out for a midnight snack? Nah, it was probably a coy-dog looking for mice and moles!

Lately I took some heat for posting a link to an article on Facebook entitled, “Top 20 Unfortunate Lessons Girls Learn From Twilight”, from the website “wired.com”. The article posed 20 different lessons that girls in particular take away from the Vampire and Werewolf thriller now in theaters. The arguments are totally non-religious, just basic psychology and sociology. In many cases they are simply common sense! The movie and books encourage the obsession many females have with the ‘bad boy’ and everything that goes along with it. Would you want your daughter lying to you, spending time with someone who engages in bad behavior that could hurt or kill them? It is amazing to me how many teen girls and even adult women are drooling over the hunks in these movies in an almost obscene manner. Most guys I have heard look at the phenomena with disdain and perhaps even a little jealousy.

I look at the 'Twilight' series and take note that nowadays vampires and werewolves are becoming more and more regarded as simply a fantasy subculture where there is good and evil, a microcosm of the human race. The evolution of this concept of a superhuman, supernatural subculture is fascinating. Viewed through the lens of Hollywood, the early films about vampires and werewolves regarded them as tortured beings, cursed and damned. They were evil, even if sometimes unwilling victims. 'Nosferatu' in 1923 showed an ugly and thoroughly detestable vampire. Lon Chaney was the epitome of evil when in his werewolf form, but as a human was an object of pity. Dracula as played by Bela Lugosi in 1931 was plain evil with no trace of good. As the mid-century approached the role changed. Frank Langella in 1979 changed the genre by portraying Dracula in a romantic light with his victim Lucy. The Anne Rice novels further evolved the character of the vampire, while films such as 'A Werewolf in London' changed the character of the changeling wolves. The 'Underworld' series of movies and brought together the two races in a different way. This culminates today in the 'Twilight' series of books and movies.

A couple things to keep in mind, here. Werewolves and vampires are two fantasy races of what were originally conceived as embodiments of demons and demonic forces, hunting humans as prey. They are fantasy creatures, not real. However, spiritual warfare is very real. Those forces who oppose God will try anything to keep our focus off our spiritual condition and off God. The progression here also indicates the increasing fascination with a culture of death, seen all around us and in many ways, but is maybe most easily seen in Hollywood productions. Not only this, but our distinct human tendency to reverse the order of things become plain. Simply put, what was once called evil is now called good. What was good is now evil.

It is a sign of the times, I guess. It has always happened, and frequently happens in sub-cycles, too. The question is, do we recognize it? Or do we pass it off as the ravings of a few conservative religious nuts who don’t like movies and fantasy (which, by the way, I love both)?

So, is this a real evil, like a vampire or werewolf, or simply a coy-dog howling in the night?

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. 21But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God”. John 3:19-21 (NIV)

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Spots on the road

I was on the highway this morning, very early. It was about 6am when I started out, heading to a meeting with my prayer partner at the Friendly's Restaurant in Williston. We meet at 6:30am so that I can get to work on time, and actually it allows him to stay in bed late. Most mornings he is up at 3:15am! Suffice it to say, I am not up that early.

In any case, as I passed Exit 14 heading south I was struggling to stay focused on my driving and wondering why I was on the road at such an hour. Suddenly, as I passed a grease spot on the highway, my eyes snapped open and I frantically reached for the heater controls to shut it off. The stench was nearly causing my eyes to water; I realized the grease spot in the road I had just passed over was in reality the hapless remains of a skunk. The effect on my focus was amazing. Everything in my path was now crystal clear.

As I finished my trip I was thinking about this incident and how it might relate to some things that we have been dealing with recently (preachers always think this way). It occured to me that in normal circumstances we just kind of cruise along the highway of our life. It's quiet, kind of boring and we are half asleep. Then something in life comes along that really just stinks, but the effect it has is that suddenly we are brought up short and the events are brought into a sharp focus. Sometimes it is an illness, sometimes a job loss, sometimes the loss of a loved one. Other times it is conflict with another person or group, perhaps not even our issue but a problem with someone close to us such as a child. But the rest of life is now in sharp relief.

The issue with this is eventually the stink wears away, we forget it and go back to what passes for normalcy, our placid, bored drive, until the next skunk shows up and wakes us from our stupor. The good news is that God knows where all those stinky points in our lives are and He is still in control. So trust in Him, and watch out for the skunks!

"The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song." Psalm 28:7


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Short but joyful lives

About a year and a half ago my family went through a very traumatic experience when we lost our dog, Rocky. I've owned many dogs in my life but never one quite like him. He had a degree of personality that was quite amazing, and had a full range of vocalizations that seemed almost human. By the time he died at the age of ten he was completely blind due to glaucoma and had epilepsy. It was an uncontrollable seizure that finally took his life. One of the unfortunate side-effects of his being so extraordinary was that he took our hearts by storm, and it was very difficult to open ourselves up again. This was very hard in particular on my wife.

When I came out of the hospital last month one of the promises I made myself was to get another dog. I knew that we needed it, not just for the companionship, even though that was important, but because there was healing that needed to be done. And with Debbie being home much of the time it would also give her someone else to focus upon, making life that much less lonely.

The paradox of the animal-human connection is that most of our pets will not live as long as we will. We take them into our lives and hearts knowing that fact, but trying to deny it as long as we can. But I maintain that the joy our companion animals bring into our lives is worth the heartache of knowing that we will likely lose them at some point. Even when we chose a spouse, we must acknowledge that eventually one of us (in most cases) will lose the other. Life is simply not worth living if we do not open ourselves up to the joy and love of others, even knowing that the opposite side of the coin is eventual pain and loss. God did that with us...He opened Himself up to us, knowing that He would have to watch His only Son die on a cross.

This last weekend we opened our hearts again, and will welcome two rescued Shih Tzu into our home. We may not be able to make a difference for all the dogs out there, but we can make a difference for these two...and they in turn will make a difference in our lives. Let the joy begin.

Tracks in the snow

This last Sunday my wife and I were driving to church, taking the highway. If you’ve ever been in Vermont you know the one I mean, because it is one of two in the state and the one used by more people than the other. Of course, there are only two lanes each way for the entire length of Route 89, which would barely qualify as a highway in most places. But it is ours and we like it (and hate it, too).

To get back to the story, we were between Exit 18 and Exit 19, and looking off to the right I noticed a set of tracks in the snow. I knew they weren’t rabbit…wrong pattern. Too small to be a deer. Too many to be a dog, fox or coyote. Too big to be rodents. Then we saw them, a nice little flock of wild turkeys by the side of the road, weaving in and out of the undergrowth searching for breakfast.

When we lived ‘down south’ we’d be excited to see the occasional groundhog sitting up on the shoulder of the highway watching traffic go by. Seldom did we see anything more out of the ordinary. But in Vermont we are treated to regular glimpses of wildlife. At Exit 17 when getting onto the on ramp, at least several times a month I will see deer. A few weeks ago there were five running across the field, tails showing high alert.

My wife has seen moose on more than one occasion, including having one run into the side of the car in Williston near 'Best Buy'! Coyote, fox and rabbits are all frequent visitors. My wife’s birdfeeder is patronized by perhaps a score of species. Along Route 89 and Route 7 we can see various raptors as they watch the fields for tender mouse morsels. The banks of the Lamoille River near Georgia High Bridge provide summer entertainment with muskrats and water birds.

To no ones delight we found that our nice warm house was attractive to field mice in the fall and the occasional spring garter snake. But Northern Vermont is bereft of poisonous species, so we take comfort in that knowledge. One of our more humorous incidents involved a chipmunk running through the house during a church summer social!

So, why do we love living in Vermont? Many reasons, but one of the strongest is the connection back to the wild life that we have, even if it is largely vicarious and seen through glass. It still reminds us that there are other things in life than television, traffic and shopping malls.

“ And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky…let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so…And God saw that it was good." Gen 1:20, 24-25(NIV)