>>That’s not who we’re talking about.
You and I know that. But they do not know that. To them, one “Sky Fairy” is the same as any other. Like all humans, they feel a pull towards something that they interpret as religion, because a body of faith rules is all they can comprehend because of a missing sense that they lack.
Remember that I already distinguished between the Anti-theists who are angry that there is a God and the true atheists who cannot feel his presence any more than they can feel the presence of Zeus, Gaia, the Force, or some Hindu god.
I’m trying to describe the absence of something like the sense of smell or taste. You and I can’t turn it off, but the person who doesn’t have it just assumes that everything smells and tastes the same. My father hasn’t has the sense of smell or taste since 1963, but he “likes” some food and doesn’t “like” others. We finally found out that it is because of texture. So, he can detect food, but can’t taste it, yet his mind makes him “dislike” some foods based on texture alone. That is the person who does not know God but can sense a greater power in the universe.
To perceive truth is not in the same category as smelling, tasting, touching, seeing or hearing. It’s a higher function than these. Perception of truth is what we’re dealing with here.
The only difference between those who acknowledge God’s existence and those who refuse to acknowledge it is the latter perceive deception to be wisdom. They don’t understand this is like perceiving blindness as sight.
All can see their folly—visible in their pretense. They pretend to be what they are not, and they hide their wrongdoing.
But most of all, we can see their error in the way they lie to themselves. This is the first lie they tell, and the last.