An atheist who longs for God?

A couple of days ago, there was a long post by a pastor on a Christian site that I belong to. It dealt generally with inter-denominational problems and I felt I would have no input until I got to this paragraph:

There is one of several conclusions that I derived from all including atheism--but one perhaps is more relevant here than the others--that all of these expected the “expectation of the nations.” Why do I say that even of atheism? Because there is not an atheist I know of that does not wish there was a God who cared about them and could make a difference. Most atheists will tell you if they see a burning bush (without the influence of hallucinogenic drugs), then will no longer be atheists. They long for God even though they have given up on him.

I’m the only atheist who posts regularly on the forum, but I’m not sure if he was referring to me. Although I did say in a recent post that sometimes I wished that God existed so that I’d have someone to blame for all the things that are wrong with the world. That was meant partly tongue in cheek - and I did go on to clarify, saying that raging against an unthinking universe can be a pretty frustrating exercise. I certainly do not “wish there was a God who cared about them and could make a difference”.

To my mind, if you’re someone who wishes there was a god, but can’t find it in him or herself to believe, then that’s not my definition of an atheist. I’ll post something in return on the particular forum, but I thought I’d mention it here to see if anyone had any comments.

It's a variation of the arrogant theme of, "Atheists are merely stubborn Christians." I've no doubt this pastor means well, but it is an arrogant position nonetheless. If he had read The God Delusion -- and I have no illusions he has -- he could never accuse Dawkins of "longing for God while having given up on him".

It is very frustrating how theists can so profoundly misunderstand what it means to be atheist. To paraphrase Nietzsche, we must be discussing two different species here, when one can be so myopic concerning the other. I have an online Christian acquaintance who asked me how I became atheist. "Did you just shake your fist at God one day and decide you'd had enough?" I can't begin to describe how frustrated was my reaction, or how shallow his assessment seemed.

PS: it might be worthwhile sending some of those theists over here. We're in need of intellectual repartee with mature folk.

I think this is "wishful thinking" on the part of the religiously devout, who would like to believe that deep in their hearts, atheists are really just rebellious Christians who long for redemption. They just don't know it yet.

I've only observed this similar thinking from a couple of the Christian members of this forum. I think that when a person is religious, their God becomes their paradigm and they end up viewing the world through their religion-coloured glasses. They can't seem to wrap their minds around the fact that atheists just simply have no need for a god. They think that by not believing, we're consciously rejecting God, when in actual fact we just don't believe in the existence of God.

Some Christians also cannot comprehend how, if atheists don't believe in god, then how do we live our lives? They can't imagine how godless people can live without any need for external spiritual guidance or holy books. Also, for that pastor to explain atheism in such a way is an easy cop-out. To reassure the masses and make it easier to understand these strange heretics!

I also think this is probably why it's rare to see a straight deconversion from religious to atheistic. Opening up your mind and getting outside the religion box would need to be a gradual process.

Originally Posted by Kaeso

For a while I actually side-stepped the issue by being an atheist who maintained a residual belief in the afterlife...

That's precisely what I did for many years (I became atheist about twenty-seven years ago). And I believe that fear of death, and of uncertainty and the unknown in particular as they are related to death, is a large part of the reason why religion and theism exist.

I assume religion can provide emotional comfort for the fear of death and pain of loss. Those fears can sometimes be so powerful, that it might be nice to have such a security blanket. Even as a self-delusion, I could imagine times when it would be pleasant to believe one will live forever and see lost love ones again. Plus, often you also get the support of a community group (but to what extent I'm not certain).

I wouldn't say I long for it, but I can see the upside. Likewise, I would not fault an atheist who turned to religion at the end of life or due to tragedy. It's not that they are turning back to God. It's just that sometimes you need the comfort of fantasy.

From a completely different perspective, if I could choose, I guess I would have a God or Gods. Likewise, I want unicorns, aliens, ghosts, and draculas in that they might make the universe more interesting. I mean, the moon is pretty cool, but it would be better with moon unicorns.

Originally Posted by Louis

And I believe that fear of death, and of uncertainty and the unknown in particular as they are related to death, is a large part of the reason why religion and theism exist.

I agree. Religion is like a big baby soother, telling everybody "it will be OK."