Letters From Timothy

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.

-Matthew 7:21

I think most people with religious beliefs have a crisis of faith at some point in their lives. I know I did. I think that one of the reasons that atheists and agnostics are so feared and mistrusted by religious people today is because they represent a struggle that they have tried so hard to win in their hearts. But this fear and mistrust creates a widening gap between the faithful and the faithless, and the end result is a sort of cultural war.

Why do people become atheists or agnostics? Some of them are just born into non-religious families, and don’t see the need to adopt any belief system. Others are born into a religious family, but find that they just can’t keep their faith. Still others are raised in very strict religious families, and become atheists and agnostics out of spite for their overbearing parents. Atheists from this last group, I believe, are the ones most likely to become what are now called “militant” atheists. “Militant” atheists are basically the bizarro opposites of Christian evangelicals. They see faith as a cancer on society, a relic of the past that is dangerous to the well-being of society, and must be eliminated. And, looking at their arguments, they have a strong case. There have been countless atrocities in the history of mankind performed in the name of God or religion. The Inquisition, the Crusades, the Salem Witch Trials, and countless other similar incidents are all permanent stains on the history of Christianity. Today, Islam is struggling with similar corruptions of its doctrine to justify horrible deeds. I’m not saying that all the people who performed and continue to perform these terrible acts necessarily believe that they are performing God’s will (though some of them do), but religion allows them to justify them. I don’t agree with “militant” atheism because I feel like it divides people and is fundamentally identical to the fanatical beliefs that it claims to abhor. If “militant” atheists dislike people trying to convert them into Christians, they shouldn’t try to convert people into atheists. I also believe that religion has enough redeeming qualities to justify its existence.

Most atheists and agnostics, however, are not “militant.” The problem is that many religious people do not realize this. Atheists and agnostics are painted as cartoonish villains who wring their hands together as they plot how to destroy everything that religious people hold dear. This is simply not true. Most atheists and agnostics are indifferent or friendly to people of faith, unless they feel like they are being attacked for their beliefs. There is the fear in America that there is a vast conspiracy to “secularize” the country, and that the “core values” of the nation are at stake. The efforts to so-called “secularize” America, however, are less the work of atheists and agnostics and more the work of people who do not wish people of different faiths to feel excluded and isolated in their own country. Another misconception about atheists and agnostics is that they are less moral than religious people. Besides the fact that there is no evidence whatsoever for this claim, the philosophical grounds of it are very suspect. I used to believe this argument, so I think I can explain it best: because atheists and agnostics do not believe in a higher power, they also are forced to believe that there is no fundamental moral system. This is actually the opposite of what usually happens. Many atheists and agnostics become atheists and agnostics because of their moral sense. They have a difficult time believing that a God who is supposed to be all-powerful and all-good can allow terrible evils plague the world. Most atheists and agnostics follow a simple moral code of not hurting others, which, really, is the core of the Ten Commandments and the teachings of Jesus.

It is very important for people of faith and people without faith to embrace each other, because that is the will of God. Trying to convert other people so that they can be “saved” from the fires of hell or from the grips of irrationality just increases the sense of “us versus them” that fuels so many conflicts today. If you fear for the soul of your atheist or agnostic friend, pray for them, but love them unconditionally. If you fear for the mind of your religious friend, invite them to ask questions about their faith, but love them unconditionally. I believe that God is just and loving, and that he will call home all of his children that have loved.

-Timothy