Listen, Parfyon. You asked me a question just now. Here is my answer. The essence of religious feeling does not come under any sort of reasoning or atheism, and has nothing to do with any crimes or misdemeanors. There is something else here, and there will always be something else – something that the atheists will for ever slur over; they will always be talking of something else. Dostoevsky, The Idiot
Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. (2 Peter 2:15)
We deserve better atheists than Sam Harris and the other “Four Horsemen.” These disciples of progress hold more faith than the Liberal Christians that sired them. Atheism, what have they done to you?
Atheism used to be the haven of the faithless. “God is dead!” echoes still from Nietzsche’s prophetic tongue. But have these words lost their meaning? Has atheism forgotten the face of the God it sought to destroy?
In the Christian mind, God is ultimate love. He is the singular logic, the Logos, the Word behind the universe, from which one can derive morality. Those who have faith in its existence are believers.
The idea that science and better technology will lead to humanity’s happiness is a belief, not a fact
True atheism seeks to destroy this belief. When Nietzsche spoke of God’s decomposition, he wasn’t declaring the death of some bogyman in the sky. To Nietzsche, progress was dying. The world of light was fading. There was no ultimate logic, no benevolent force from which man could derive his purpose. In the ruins of God’s colossal wreck, individuals were left to build their own personal fate, their own personal meaning.
But now there is heresy in the temple of Atheism. Believers have sneaked in amongst the faithless. Believers in Progress. Believers in Objective Morality. These atheists have more faith than their Liberal Christian forefathers.
Liberal Christians, sadly, still attempt to juggle the Christian faith with a multiculturalism rooted in moral relativism.
They are Christians who believe that they have found absolute truth; the path to save the mortal souls of not only themselves, but of all those who walk amongst them. Yet, these are the same Christians who keep their faith to themselves because talking about the ultimate Savior of the universe would be, well, rude.
These people actually call themselves believers!
Liberal Christians, sadly, still attempt to juggle the Christian faith with multiculturalism
In fact, Liberal Atheists are the real crusaders. With an undying belief in progress, they march on. They call for political change, dispute legislation, and even make objective moral claims!
Among the “atheists” known as the “Four Horsemen,” Sam Harris is the most devout, for he is an atheist who believes that science and progress will lead to humanity’s happiness.
Yet his greatest sin is the belief that one can derive an objective morality from science, a moral beacon that will lead mankind into a world of peace and love. Forgive them Atheism, for they know not what they do.
Does Harris not realize that it is this very idea of Progress that Nietzsche sought to destroy?
greatest sin is the belief that one can derive an objective morality from science
The creator of this idea was the liberal German idealist Hegel, who believed that such an historical progress was the will of God. The belief in progress does not undermine theism. Progress is evidence for the existence of God, not his death.
Worst of all is the insistence of these Atheists on an objective morality.
Contrary to the a-moralist Nietzsche, Harris believes that one can scientifically prove that there are better moral systems than others. That morality can be derived from the laws of the universe. Is this not the ultimate pillar of theism?
These new Liberal Atheists pretend to be pragmatists. They understand themselves to be thinkers who are above opinionated ideology, but they are ideology at its purest.
They are believers in grand theories that cannot be proven by facts alone.
The idea that science and better technology will lead to humanity’s happiness is a belief, not a fact. The future has yet to be. One can have faith that Xanax, atom bombs, and other wonderful gifts of science will lead us to a better future, since one can never know for certain.
How much do we give to the world?
The Christian believes that we are all ruled by love. The Atheist shakes his head in disbelief.
But Harris – he takes the belief that man should love one another as a basic assumption. Talk about blind faith.
He never fights the battle atheists actually have to face, the horrible question that plagued thinkers like Dostoevsky. Why should we love? To what end should we love? How much do we give to the world? The sacrifice of a few dollars, or do we give up ourselves even if it means our own crucifixion?
Can Harris even contribute to this true struggle of Atheism, or will he still be chasing away some man in the sky?
Maybe this is why Nietzsche shouted, “God is dead” to the non-believers as opposed to Christians. Maybe the Christians already knew, and it was the Atheists who needed to realize and confront the death of their faith.