Does Herod live on CUF?

[LA Ute]

A Catholic priest, Father Robert Barron, put up an interesting post at Real Clear Religion, Why So Many Atheists on CNN Belief?

The Gospels tell us that Herod Antipas arrested John the Baptist because the prophet had publicly challenged the King. Herod threw John into prison but then, we are told, the King loved secretly to listen to the prophet, who continued to preach from his cell.

St. Augustine formulated an adage that beautifully sums up the essentials of Christian anthropology: "O Lord, you have made us for yourself; therefore our hearts are restless until they rest in you." A basic assumption of Biblical people is that everyone is hard-wired for God in the measure that everyone seeks a fulfillment that cannot be had through any of the goods of this world. Long before Augustine, the psalmist prayed, "only in God is my soul at rest."

My wager, as a person of faith, is that everyone — at that includes Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher, and Richard Dawkins — implicitly wants God and hence remains permanently fascinated by the things of God. Though the fierce atheists of today profess that they would like to eliminate religious speech and religious ideas, secretly they love to listen as people speak of God. This goes a long way, it seems to me, toward explaining their presence in great numbers on religious blogs.

I thought this might be fodder for an interesting CUF discussion.

[Indy Coug]

A Catholic priest, Father Robert Barron, put up an interesting post at Real Clear Religion, Why So Many Atheists on CNN Belief?



I thought this might be fodder for an interesting CUF discussion.

If true, it's probably buried in too many layers of self-denial to be determined with any accuracy.

[Jacob]

A Catholic priest, Father Robert Barron, put up an interesting post at Real Clear Religion, Why So Many Atheists on CNN Belief?



I thought this might be fodder for an interesting CUF discussion.

It may explain the presence of some atheists on religion blogs (I don't think it does, not even a little) but it doesn't explain the vast majority of non-believers who are not "evangelical" atheists. Most atheists and agnostics don't care about religion or God (neithter do many believers), so his theory doesn't explain much of anything. Father Barron should try again.

[UtahDan]

Troublemaker.

[Solon]

Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great, in case that lessens the blow for anyone.

[lambdacoug]

My wager, as a person of faith, is that everyone — at that includes Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher, and Richard Dawkins — implicitly wants God and hence remains permanently fascinated by the things of God.

So let me get this straight, according to this guy, you can only be fascinated by the things of god, if you implicitly want god [in your life, to exist, etc...]?

How would one explain the many atheists that are not fascinated by the things of god? Even one counter example would shoot this premise out of the water, since he states that "everyone...implicitly wants god".

[UtahDan]

Herod Antipas was the son of Herod the Great, in case that lessens the blow for anyone.

We need an atheists of the Book of Mormon thread. Someone get on that.

[LA Ute]

So let me get this straight, according to this guy, you can only be fascinated by the things of god, if you implicitly want god [in your life, to exist, etc...]?

Where do you see him saying that?

How would one explain the many atheists that are not fascinated by the things of god? Even one counter example would shoot this premise out of the water, since he states that "everyone...implicitly wants god".

He seems to be saying that it's a basic human yearning. Unprovable, IMO, but also impossible to disprove. (So good luck trying to blow it out of the water.) He's trying to explain the presence of so many atheists on religious websites. The question is a fair one: Why do they care?

[lambdacoug]

Where do you see him saying that?

My wager, as a person of faith, is that everyone — at that includes Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher, and Richard Dawkins — implicitly wants God

He's trying to explain the presence of so many atheists on religious websites. The question is a fair one: Why do they care?

I agree, its a fair question. His conclusion that everyone of us are there because we implicitly want god is problematic.

[UtahDan]

He seems to be saying that it's a basic human yearning. Unprovable, IMO, but also impossible to disprove. (So good luck trying to blow it out of the water.) He's trying to explain the presence of so many atheists on religious websites. The question is a fair one: Why do they care?

I wonder how many of those people are formerly religious. I have a hunch it is most of them.

[Northwestcoug]

Is the priest trying to say that even the famous atheists want to believe in God, and by extension, an afterlife? If so, I would agree. I doubt the most hardcore atheist wouldn't be happy to be proven wrong of a meaningful existence after death.

I think I posted this around the time of Hitchens' passing. Allahpundit of hotair.com is also an atheist, and I thought what he said was rather poignant:

"Hitchens being Hitchens, I wonder which he anticipated more eagerly — the end of the pain or finally knowing if he was right about you know what. I suspect he was right. I hope we’re both wrong."

[LA Ute]

I agree, its a fair question. His conclusion that everyone of us are there because we implicitly want god is problematic.

Agreed, it is problematic, and I do not have a testimony that it is so (), so I won't push that point in such absolute terms. I'll nit-pick a little, though. You said:

according to this guy, you can only be fascinated by the things of god, if you implicitly want god

I asked where he said that. In support, you quote this:

My wager, as a person of faith, is that everyone — at that includes Christopher Hitchens, Bill Maher, and Richard Dawkins — implicitly wants God

He didn't make the argument as you phrase it (in the bolded text). So I think you put up a straw man. A very small, niggling, inoffensive straw man, to be sure; but I was in a niggling mood when I read your post.

I wonder how many of those people are formerly religious. I have a hunch it is most of them.

I share your hunch.

[LA Ute]

Is the priest trying to say that even the famous atheists want to believe in God, and by extension, an afterlife? If so, I would agree. I doubt the most hardcore atheist wouldn't be happy to be proven wrong of a meaningful existence after death.

I think I posted this around the time of Hitchens' passing. Allahpundit of hotair.com is also an atheist, and I thought what he said was rather poignant:

"Hitchens being Hitchens, I wonder which he anticipated more eagerly — the end of the pain or finally knowing if he was right about you know what. I suspect he was right. I hope we’re both wrong."

Allahpundit sounds more like an agnostic to me.

[Northwestcoug]

Allahpundit sounds more like an agnostic to me.

How about an agnostic atheist or atheistic agnostic?

I think he was allowing his agnostic side to show when Hitchens passed. I believe he refers to himself as an atheist.

[LA Ute]

How about an agnostic atheist or atheistic agnostic?

I think he was allowing his agnostic side to show when Hitchens passed. I believe he refers to himself as an atheist.

"There are no atheists in Foxholes. (Plenty of hopeful agnostics, however.)"