Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet. Of course, I could have given up my idea of justice by saying that it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too--for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my private fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist--in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless--I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality--namely my idea of justice--was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.

- C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity pp. 38-39.


1 posted on 01/03/2018 10:09:34 AM PST by Heartlander
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies ]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-22 last
To: Heartlander; All

My very bright son-in-law, Bible college graduate, came out as an atheist. I fear he is swaying my daughter (also Bible college grad) to his way of thinking. He kept me up until after 4AM once, peppering me with all the usual atheist arguments. I held my ground, as best I could. Probably could have done better, having a Ph.D. in Theology and all. No chance I would see any truth in his arguments, not so much because of “book learning” but from a lifetime of Christian experience. Not to downplay what I consider to be irrefutable arguments for God’s existence, as pointed out by this quote from a former atheist: “Former skeptical journalist-turned Christian apologist Lee Strobel confessed: ‘To continue in atheism, I would need to believe that nothing produces everything, non-life produces life, randomness produces fine-tuning, chaos produces information, unconsciousness produces consciousness, and non-reason produces reason,” he wrote. “I simply didn’t have that much faith”’”


60 posted on 01/03/2018 7:26:16 PM PST by tjd1454
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]

To: Heartlander

bkmk


68 posted on 01/08/2018 6:53:33 AM PST by AllAmericanGirl44
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies ]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-22 last

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson