Dare To Ask Talk And News About Our Differences By PHILLIP MILANO
Question
Why do atheists not believe in God? Do we need proof to believe in Him? Don’t we only need love?
George, 15, Jacksonville
Replies
I am not willing to believe unless I see valid proof. My parents were scientists and taught me not to assume.
Lynn, 29, atheist, Washington, D.C.
If a person told you they had a friend they talked to all the time, but you never saw this friend, and they could not describe this friend or where this friend lived, wouldn’t you think they were insane? Also, look at 9/11. Don’t you think many people who were killed were praying to God? If there is a God, that God let them down.
Johanna, Stroudsburg, Pa.
Many atheists don’t believe in God because they just don’t want to be held accountable for anything. They refuse to accept that they may not have absolute control over their lives. After all, if no one is judging you, what’s stopping you from doing anything you want?
Nanen, male, Memphis, Tenn.
Experts say
Lots of ground to cover here. First, and most important, if there is a God, would he ever create a hot-looking atheist? Three words: Madalyn Murray O’Hair. But wait – an informal poll of Times-Union male staffers found that current American Atheists president Ellen Johnson, whose pic is at www.atheists.org, rated a solid 8 out of 10. Now we’re confused.
Can Johnson clear things up? Do you think we’d ask?
However, we did press her on the “God is love” thing.
“People will say, well, you can’t see love, but we know it exists, so why can’t God exist?” said Johnson. “Well, I can accept that . . . that God is an emotion, but not more than that.”
The atheist can’t disprove God, but asks for evidence from those who say there is a God, she said.
Penn Jillette, of the well-known atheistic magic duo Penn & Teller, had lots to say on this, too. But first, his rate-my-godless-face numbers from our female staff: Well, let’s just say they showed no mercy on his non-soul, and leave it at that.
“Pretty much everyone is an atheist about every god except one,” he said. “We atheists just happen to go one god more.”
Regarding love, Jillette wondered why it can’t satisfy people all by itself.
“To anyone who believes in God: Isn’t love more than enough? The beauty of humanity, love for family, your favorite Jell-O . . . my love for my father and mother . . . why are you telling me that’s not enough?
“People say ‘I believe in God, and God is love.’ OK, I say God is my Mini-Cooper. How can you have the hubris to say ‘I feel in my heart there is a God, but I can’t explain it.’ ”
And, contrary to popular belief, Jillette said, some surveys show that more atheists came out of the closet after 9/11, “because the idea that a belief in God by very pious people is a completely harmless thing went away for a lot of Americans that day.”