In the midst of the religious wars of today, it seems that we are overlooking a key player. While the religious right vies for control of U.S. policy, liberal sects try to reclaim Christianity and Zionists tee off against Muslims over the Palestinian state, atheism seeks to dominate the intellectual and philosophical battlefield.
In this past week's Tufts Observer, Patrick Andriola valiantly raises his sword of reason and logic to strike down the theist infidels in his article, "Why it's Time for Atheists to Come Out of the Closet." Yet, just as those before him, he fails to accomplish much besides reciting atheism's worn-out rhetoric.
Just as many Christians feel that belief in Jesus is the only path to God - or similarly, as the Jews claim to be "the chosen" people - it seems the atheists are not immune to a false sense of superiority. Armed with modernism's rock-solid faith in science and reasoning, these God-unfearing folk attempt to strip down religion and destroy spirituality at the core.
Thankfully, no matter how hard they may try, any such effort is in vain. What many atheists fail to realize is that atheism is just another belief structure, and like any other religion or spirituality, it does not operate on the rules of logic but rather on a more abstract, and intrinsically human, concept of faith.
Christians have faith in their Bible, just as Jews have faith in the Torah, Muslims have faith in their Quran and pagans and astrologists have faith in the stars. Atheists have faith in modern science and reasoning as the end all, be all. Yet I would argue that this itself has only as much legitimacy as a religious text.
While one may retort that science has done a fairly damn good job at explaining reality, I would counter, according to a fundamentalist Christian, the Bible has as well. While I do believe in science and most of its corollaries - such as the fact that the world is round and humans arose out of evolution - I understand that this is merely a perspective.
Furthermore, if I stepped outside of my whole perspective (which does not have any universal merit outside of itself), it is easy to acknowledge that there is a possibility a God did create the world 1,000 years ago and just planted false memories and false fossils in the ground to "test" my faith in God. This remains a possibility, because no matter how hard I may try, I cannot disprove it.
Likewise, I cannot disprove the possibility that God does not exist, just as an atheist cannot disprove the possibility that God exists. Rather, I acknowledge both as possibilities in the overall scheme of things.
Many people claim that misery and suffering in the world are striking evidence for the absence of a God. However, many others claim the phenomenon of creating human life is firm proof of the existence of a God. Yet both of these claims - just like any other claim trying to use real-life occurrences to prove or disprove the existence of God - are only subjective perceptions, mere beliefs about reality.
One could just as easily argue that without misery and suffering, we could not fully appreciate the good things in life, or that with each additional human life, we are putting an even heavier strain on the world and bringing the human race closer to downfall.
When discussing and debating spirituality, to play fair, we must all realize that our beliefs are just that - beliefs. Even more useful, yet seldom understood or discussed, is the mysterious nature of God.
God could be an old man in the sky, God could be a young, playful woman whose mere voice will destroy any mortal, God could be the Tao, God could even be the way humans seem to bond together in times of trouble. While I personally take issue with the traditional concept of an all-loving God who somehow is still able to condemn those He or She loves to eternal pain and suffering, when interpreted within a broader framework, God seems quite plausible (and pleasant).
I am a firm believer in God, yet I understand how people may not believe in God. What I don't understand is the fervor to disprove any notion of God. What good is it to not believe in God? I understand the unconditional acceptance of religious dogma can be quite harmful, but God? The belief in a global force of good?
It seems the motivation behind atheism lies somewhat in the motivations behind theism.
Just as people created gods to explain the unexplainable, like fire and lightning, people disavow the existence of God to reconcile the irreconcilable, such as the loss of a loved one or the witnessing of another's extreme misery. If God exists, they ask, why would such a thing happen?
I do not know, nor does anybody else. That is not to say God does not exist, but only that there are things which we do not understand. Yet in our unending quest to find ultimate knowledge, to control reality and conquer the unknown, humans have taken unfounded leaps to establish a false sense of total superiority as seen in the perceived logical soundness of atheism.
Rather than futilely attempting to achieve supreme reign over reality, I will admit there are forces outside my control. I will admit there are things I cannot explain, no matter how hard I wish otherwise.
As a teacher of mine once told me, "Just as an ant can't understand calculus, we will never fully understand God."
Yet, for me, God still does exist, due to something much stronger and more human than "facts": faith.
Kevin Dillon is a junior majoring in sociology.
