christianity

October 09, 2007

Atheism is too Simple

(Today's post is from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. What do you think about what he says?)

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because a man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet. Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too—for the argument depended on saying that they world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist—in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless—I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality—namely my idea of justice—was full of sense. Consequently, atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were not light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should ever know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.

About this...

  • Everyone needs a nudge from time to time. The tendency for all of us is to drift toward the path of least resistance (or at very least, the least effort). However, we believe that God made us for more than this. So this blog will feature daily thoughts and questions--often but not always inspired by Scripture--to challenge us to a deeper consideration of who we are, what we seek, and what impact our life has on the world. Feel free to respond to anything you see here--our goal is for these thoughts and questions to kick-start some deeper conversations in your own life.

Contact Us

  • Email: radiusmiami@gmail.com
  • Facebook: Radius MU
Blog powered by TypePad