2024 #3
Twitter. There’s a part that’s good. There is a part that is bad, and there is a part that you wouldn’t believe. Twitter, along with other social media platforms can be used for good. But, there are a lot of things you can find on Twitter’s Christian circles that are not that good. Perhaps you have seen comments on social media that are contrary to the Christian worldview. I’d like to take a look at those statements and comments to see if we can give an answer.
Atheism is not a worldview.
The writer of this particular quote believes that atheism does not fit into the category of a worldview. This could be an attempt to stop a conversation which might lead to a critical examination of his atheism. To make that examination, we need to give several definitions.
The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a standard reference work on the subject, defines atheism in philosophical terms as,
“…standardly used to refer to the proposition that God does not exist (or, more broadly, to the proposition that there are no gods).”
So, when asked, the atheist is making a statement about reality: There is no God or gods.
What about the word “worldview?” Christian philosopher Ronald Nash spoke of a worldview as,
“…a conceptual scheme by which we consciously or unconsciously place or fit everything we believe and by which we interpret and judge reality.”
So when we talk about a worldview, it is like speaking of a pair of glasses. A pair of corrective lenses helps a person see the outside world. He then interprets reality through what he sees through those lenses.
A worldview answers questions about reality. All worldviews answer those questions. What kind of questions?
· Origins – How did I get here?
· Meaning – How do I find meaning in life?
· Morality – How do I find out what is right or wrong?
· Destiny—What happens when this life ends?
Atheism gives answers to the major worldview questions. Look at these worldview answers and quotes from prominent atheists.
· Origins – Mankind appeared after a long process of evolution from a common ancestor with the rest of the animal kingdom.
“Today the theory of evolution is about as much open to doubt as the theory that the earth goes round the sun.” – Richard Dawkins
· Meaning – There is no objective meaning in life. Meaning must come from within.
“It’s about knowing myself and actualizing what I deeply desire.” – Sheng-Ta Tsai
· Morality – There is no objective morality. Right and wrong are derived from personal opinion and enforced either by mutual agreement or superior force.
“We (atheists) act in good conscience because we believe in moral principles, not because we expect a reward in Heaven.” – Margherita Hack
· Destiny – At the end of life, each of us dies, our bodies decay and become dust. There is no afterlife.
“I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” – Stephen Hawking
These are the natural and logical outgrowths of atheism. It is difficult to say why atheism does not constitute a worldview since it does provide answers to the great worldview questions.
Again, the writer of the Twitter note does not believe that his atheistic views do not constitute a worldview. One wonders how he views the world and what conclusions he draws to answer the big questions of reality.
Mark Riser - Apologist 