September 30, 2012:

The Challenge of Atheism

          Atheists are very threatening to some religious people. If the Letters to the Editor in the Times FreePress are any indication, some people feel that atheists are trying to take God out of every part of American life.  That’s nonsense.  Those Americans who are vegetarians have not persuaded the rest of us to give up hamburgers!

          Still, over the past decade or so, a new group of atheists has emerged.  Thoughtful and articulate they present their claim for no faith with great passion and eloquence.

          One of the most noted of these contemporary atheists was Christopher Hitchins.  His 2007 best seller “God Is Not Great:  How Religion Poisons Everything” was a challenge to all thoughtful believers to take a long look at their faith.  It seems to me that much of what passes for religious faith these days is little more than magic and superstition.  Atheists like Hitchins – what an irony – can actually help to promote a more mature faith commitment.

          Hitchins died this past December.  He was 62 when he died of esophageal cancer.  In the last 18 months of his life he reported with little sentimentality or self-pity from a place he called “Tumorville.”  This experience is recounted in his last book, “Mortality.”

          Some religious people dared to suggest that his cancer was a punishment from God.  I wonder what they say to their fellow believers who suffer from cancer?  For Hitchins and for me, the idea of a God who would take revenge on people is cruel nonsense.

          This week is the beginning of Pride Week here in Chattanooga.  The way some religious people have treated folks in the Gay Lesbian Bi-sexual and Transgendered community is an embarrassment to those of us who believe in a God of infinite love and acceptance.  But then, not so long ago, some of these same people felt that Black people were inferior.

          The diversity of Chattanooga can and should be one of our greatest strengths.  We at Pilgrim should be in the forefront of creating a welcome for all people.

        Love,

        Dave