Published by TO BELIEVE OR NOT BELIEVE
By Curtis R Schofield
It takes academic “faith” and some science fiction to be an atheist. An atheist is someone who does not believe in God. When we do not believe that there is an eternal Creator, logic says we must believe that what we call the creation, matter and energy, are eternal or are created by some type of force or process. If we accept that matter and energy are eternal, as Aristotle believed, then we must explain how life was created out of dead matter(stuff). If that is so, then our only choice is to believe that in the dead stuff there is a force that developed(or creates) life. Life as we know it includes living organisms that can reproduce themselves. This includes plants and animals and human beings, plus small living organisms within matter, plants and beings that are too small for the human eye to see. It takes a lot of “faith” plus some science fiction to believe that there is a force in energy and dead matter that can create life. It takes even more faith to believe that there is a force that can not only create life, but that it can create intelligent life. Intelligent life is probably the greatest act of creation that we human beings can understand. In my opinion to believe that there is a force in energy and dead matter that can not only create life, but can also create intelligence, goes beyond faith to science fiction. If an atheist can believe that there is a force in dead matter, which itself has no self awareness of its own existence, but that it has the power to create a living being, a living being that has awareness of its own existence, then that person has to have more “faith” than is called for by the theist,one who believes in God, the Creator.
However, it is important for the serious reader to realize that becoming a believer is not just a matter of giving intellectual assent to our academic conclusions.The Scriptures teach us that faith is a gift which we must accept. The late Paul Tournier, a distinguished Swiss physician and psychiatrist, in his book, “TheMeaning of Persons” tells what it really means to be a person. Because of his experience of becoming an orphan as a child he claims he was never as a child ableto accept the gift of love that his care giver offered. Therefore, he was not able to form personal relationships with others and with God, until as a adult he was able to accept the personal love that his wife offered him and the personal friendship of some Christian men who truly cared for him and taught him how to share the personal part of his life with them and with Christ.
Therefore, I choose to believe what was given to us by the Biblical writers and our experiences in the faith community of believers:
Genesis 1:1-31
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…And God said ‘Let there be a land in the midst of the waters’…And God said ‘Let the earth put forth forth vegetation, plants yielding seed, and trees bearing fruit’…And then God said, ‘Let the waters bring forth living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth.’…And then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth living creatures…cattle and creeping things and beasts…And God said, ‘Let us make human beings in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish…the birds…the cattle…and every living creature on the earth…and God saw everything that He hadmade and behold it was very good.
John 1:1-4,14
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God, and all things were made through Him,
and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth, and we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.
Curtis R Schofield is a retired United Methodist minister and an associate trustee of the Foundation for Evangelism, related to the General Board of Discipleship of the United Methodist Church
