Over the last few years a group called the New Atheists has been gaining in popularity. This group claims to have no religion, and one of their most outspoken leaders is a man named Richard Dawkins. Dawkins has been quoted as saying that all religion is a disease and it should be eradicated. But do Dawkins and the New Atheists escape the religion claim themselves? Or are they just another religion in a different hat? Let’s take a look.
The New Atheists claim that they only believe in science, further claiming that reason, logic, and science are on their side. Whereas, in their eyes, religious people have none of those things on their side. Instead, those who believe in God are equated with those who believe in Santa Claus, unicorns, and fairy tales. However, I would argue that these atheists actually do embrace a form of religion.
How so? Well it’s pretty simple. Like religion, they have a belief system that they adhere to and fully embrace. If it’s not science it’s thrown out and regarded as fallacy. The same people who claim to only believe the evidence quite ironically ignore the evidence when it comes to creation. Why? Because that’s what their belief system tells them to do! It’s not about evidence, but rather about what they want to be evidence. This religion is called Scientism, and it has a lot of flaws.
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not one of those Christians who is anti-science. Quite the opposite. I believe that God has established science, and that’s also what early scientists like Galileo, Newton, and Kepler believed as well. Science is a much needed part of life. Without it we would not be able to cure diseases, and we would know next to nothing about our universe. Needless to say, science is very important.
Where I differ from the New Atheists, however, is that I do not believe that every answer we need can be found in science. Science is a great answer to the “whats” or even “hows” of the world, but it doesn’t answer “why.” Why do these systems exist? Why is it that our bodies contain these small strands of DNA that define who we are? The difference between me and the atheists is found in the “why”.
An atheist would say that it’s all random. Random processes came together and created everything that we see today. These random processes created the intricate and minute details of the human body. We are the result of a lot of luck and a lot of time. If you want to believe that then that’s fine. But that’s not science, and it’s certainly not reasonable or logical.
It makes much more sense to say that there is a designer behind it all, and he is responsible for all the minute details that we see in creation and in our own bodies. Our DNA isn’t the process of a lot of randomness, but rather it is due to the hand of an almighty God who loves us and cares for us. Even many scientists, who are atheists, will admit that there certainly seems to be a design and a pattern for the world around us. That’s because there is. It has nothing to do with science, and everything to do with who or what you place your faith in.
It’s up to you to decide. Do you believe in this faith-based belief called Scientism? Or do you believe that the designer and creator of the universe is behind all of this? Be careful how you answer this question. It will determine how you live your life.
Photo by Greg Rakozy on Unsplash
Great post 😁