yeah just recently I heard about this
there's a campaign in Europe to raise
money to put these placards on the side
of buses I think in London and Genoa
some other places and the placards say
there's probably no God so stop worrying
and enjoy your life and as versions of
that like you know relax there's no God
don't worry about it we hear strikes me
it's another example of course of this
campaign the steady campaign of the New
Atheism
against religion in general but
Christianity in particular and I've
spoken out against as many times and
what I notice is how kind of flip
popular and deeply unintelligent this
form of atheism is what I want to do
first is contrast it with what I think
is a much more serious version of
atheism go back to the mid 20th century
and the work of the existentialist
jean-paul Sartre and Albert Camus and
others well they disbelieved in God I
mean they argued strongly against the
existence of God but they were more
serious about it
they weren't just playing at atheism
they saw to the bottom of it
they knew that we have in us a deep
desire for fulfillment truth goodness
justice in other words for God but since
there is no God then as Sartre said
l'viyah tap sold life is absurd life is
meaningless
they knew that there's a tension between
our desire for God and God's
non-existence now the existentialist
ethic was in the face of this storm in
the face of this terrible darkness you
assert your own freedom you assert your
own will and you say nevertheless I will
go on okay now I don't think for a
minute they're right about the
non-existence of God but at least the
existentialist were serious about their
atheism they saw the implications of it
I think what we see now a lot of the new
atheism is a kind of frivolous or
superficial or childish atheism a kind
of playing at atheism and I think if you
go back to the Bible you will find an
answer to both these forms of atheism
the
in serious forms in the Bible you will
find passages every bit as dark as
anything in jean-paul sartre or Albert
Camus or the existentialist look at a
number of the Psalms and you'll see a
very deep sense of how dark and often
meaningless life seems but the best
example of this is the book of Co haloth
Kohei LIF is an old guy wizened done it
all seen it all experienced it all had
it all cohan that presents himself as a
kind of ancient combination of Brad Pitt
and Barack Obama he's someone who's had
everything sex pleasure money power
everything and his conclusion he says
all is wind and chased after the wind or
the older translation vanity of vanities
all is vanity now it's a very perceptive
book all the things that we want in life
pleasure money power honor all the usual
things he's had him he's had him do they
satisfy him
no he experimented with them all you
know and probably for a moment enjoyed
them all but he realized in his old age
none of them finally satisfies and this
gives us I think the way past the
atheists because Co Halon doesn't say
well therefore life is absurd or well
then just sort of enjoy your life what
he says is don't put your trust
finally in any of the goods of the world
rather trust in the Lord
reorder your life to God and then you'll
find true joy think of a dog for example
who's eaten is Phil who is properly
sheltered has a nice family around him
that dog is utterly content that dog
just falls blissfully to sleep we're not
like that
if as the atheist claimed were just
clever dogs were just animals with
bigger brains then we would be satisfied
when we have enough of food and drink
and sex and pleasure and shelter and we
should just fall asleep blissfully like
any dog but the thing is we don't
in fact precisely when we get all those
things that animals want we're not
satisfied we want something more that's
because we have deeply ingrained in us a
sense of the limitedness of this world
that there is something more
in fact our very wiring for God proves
the existence of God we desire something
which transcend the limitations of this
world means that we have within us a
sort of participation in the eternal
your hunger is not a sign that food is a
projection but your hunger in fact
proves the existence of food your hunger
proves the reality of food right it
doesn't mean that food some kind of
subjective projection or an illusion so
that our desires are not are not
misleading us our desires order us to
realities so our desire for God you know
I'm going to turn something around
religion from the time of Marx has been
accused of being the opiate of the
people you know we just take this drug
that will dull our sensitivity to this
world and so we dream about heaven see
I'm gonna turn that right around
I think atheism is the opiate of the
masses I think atheism is a kind of drug
what is it what is it masks it masks
this desire that I'm talking about let's
just pretend I don't have a desire for
anything beyond this world I'm going to
be satisfied within this world I would
submit to you you've got to take a drug
to convince yourself that that's true
you got to take something that will dull
your sensitivity to your deepest longing
that's what a theism is you want the
opium of the masses it's precisely this
trivial atheism that says oh just you
know relax enjoy your life take this
just pretend there's no God see people
accuse religious people all the time of
dreaming up this fantasy world see but
atheism itself is a kind of fantasy
world wouldn't it be nice if there's no
God and I can simply find my
satisfaction in this world wouldn't it
be nice if there's no absolute moral
demand wouldn't it be nice if I could
determine my life see I'll turn the
tables an argument say well you're
denying God out of your deep
psychological need
stop taking the drug that dulls your
sensitivity to the very deepest longing
of your heart it's religion that says
stop taking the drug and wake up