A common claim made by many atheists is that religion causes evil, suffering,
division and war. A recent recognition of this was when an acquaintance at the bugle house we both
frequent brought to my attention, on his iPad, a Munk Debate in Toronto involving
Cristopher Hitchens arguing against Tony Blair. Religion, Hitchens claimed,
causes sectarianism, division, strife, disagreement, war, poverty and a host of
societal evils. In his best-selling book, God
is Not Great, Hitchens even wrote that "religion poisons
everything."
My friend and I discussed, at short length and off the cuff, how each of us responded to the debate. Then, I, on my own, have pursued the question, a bit more in depth, recognizing first of all there’s a major problem with Hitchens' argument. I can very well remove the word "religion" from his statement "religion poisons everything" and replace it with many other words. Politics, for example. More so in this political circle. I’m noticing, more than ever that politics causes division, bloodshed, argument, and war. Politics poisons everything. Or then, what about money? Money causes crime, resentment, bloodshed, division and poverty. Money poisons everything.
I see the problem being that atheists like Christopher Hitchens have built their worldview on the idea that human beings are essentially good and that the world is getting better—a kind of naïve utopianism. Is it any wonder that the far left Democratic presidential runner and the Republican nominee are so popular, I ask myself? No. It seems to me that both, in their own ways are saying they are the one who can provide leadership in making America a utopia, again (as it ever was). But I don’t see the world like that. Rather, it seems to me to be the case that whatever human beings lay hold off, they use to cause damage. That applies to money, politics, government, science—and religion. The problem is not with religion, politics, or money. Nor is the problem not out there somewhere, the problem lies in here, in my human heart.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian novelist and political commentator, who survived the Russian gulags and wrote with amazing insight into the human condition, once famously said this: "The dividing line between good and evil runs right through the middle of every human heart." What the world needs, as an answer to violence and injustice, poverty and pain, is not a clever philosophy, not a religious system, not a new politic, not more money, more education—none of these will fundamentally change anything. Rather, it needs individual transformation, a radical transformation of the human heart. Only Jesus Christ offers that possibility if I am willing to surrender my life to him.
I have only one atheist friend that I know of and in my brief moment the other morning I made the effort to point him to the fact that Jesus himself was also anti-religion. He regularly clashed with the religious leaders of his day because he saw empty religion as powerless, damaging, and enslaving. Ultimately that stance led to his crucifixion. I've never surveyed any other believers in Christ, but I can well imagine that most cannot talk about suffering and evil, pain, and violence, without talking about the example of Jesus, one to whom violence was done. His example has inspired millions if not billions of Christians to give sacrificially, to love their neighbors, to engage in peace making. I still remember one of the most power examples of my lifetime is the Amish School Shooting in 2006. Not only did the families of the victims publicly forgive the perpetrator and offer pastoral support to his family, they set up a trust fund to help the wife of the shooter, who had killed himself too. Without embracing the total Amish religious thinking, in my opinion, Jesus Christ is the only One who offers the transformative power that makes that kind of choice possible.
My friend and I discussed, at short length and off the cuff, how each of us responded to the debate. Then, I, on my own, have pursued the question, a bit more in depth, recognizing first of all there’s a major problem with Hitchens' argument. I can very well remove the word "religion" from his statement "religion poisons everything" and replace it with many other words. Politics, for example. More so in this political circle. I’m noticing, more than ever that politics causes division, bloodshed, argument, and war. Politics poisons everything. Or then, what about money? Money causes crime, resentment, bloodshed, division and poverty. Money poisons everything.
I see the problem being that atheists like Christopher Hitchens have built their worldview on the idea that human beings are essentially good and that the world is getting better—a kind of naïve utopianism. Is it any wonder that the far left Democratic presidential runner and the Republican nominee are so popular, I ask myself? No. It seems to me that both, in their own ways are saying they are the one who can provide leadership in making America a utopia, again (as it ever was). But I don’t see the world like that. Rather, it seems to me to be the case that whatever human beings lay hold off, they use to cause damage. That applies to money, politics, government, science—and religion. The problem is not with religion, politics, or money. Nor is the problem not out there somewhere, the problem lies in here, in my human heart.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, the Russian novelist and political commentator, who survived the Russian gulags and wrote with amazing insight into the human condition, once famously said this: "The dividing line between good and evil runs right through the middle of every human heart." What the world needs, as an answer to violence and injustice, poverty and pain, is not a clever philosophy, not a religious system, not a new politic, not more money, more education—none of these will fundamentally change anything. Rather, it needs individual transformation, a radical transformation of the human heart. Only Jesus Christ offers that possibility if I am willing to surrender my life to him.
I have only one atheist friend that I know of and in my brief moment the other morning I made the effort to point him to the fact that Jesus himself was also anti-religion. He regularly clashed with the religious leaders of his day because he saw empty religion as powerless, damaging, and enslaving. Ultimately that stance led to his crucifixion. I've never surveyed any other believers in Christ, but I can well imagine that most cannot talk about suffering and evil, pain, and violence, without talking about the example of Jesus, one to whom violence was done. His example has inspired millions if not billions of Christians to give sacrificially, to love their neighbors, to engage in peace making. I still remember one of the most power examples of my lifetime is the Amish School Shooting in 2006. Not only did the families of the victims publicly forgive the perpetrator and offer pastoral support to his family, they set up a trust fund to help the wife of the shooter, who had killed himself too. Without embracing the total Amish religious thinking, in my opinion, Jesus Christ is the only One who offers the transformative power that makes that kind of choice possible.
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