Compassionate Atheism?

Speaking at a Memorial service following the murders at Fort Hood last week, President Obama explained that no religious faith approves of such atrocities. Then he reminded us all that the killer will face justice in this life and the next. It struck me as remarkable to hear a political leader confirm the idea of judgment waiting in Eternity.

The man who murdered 13 Americans and injured many more may not actually get justice here. Sometimes our system works, but on other occasions it fails us miserably. Public trials for terrorists sometimes do more harm than good by providing a platform for bizarre and dangerous behavior. But whatever happens here, most of us believe that God will certainly hold this calculating killer responsible in the world to come.

This idea is timely because atheist groups in this country are continuing to press for respect and legitimacy for their un-religion. For almost a decade, they've been attacking Christianity as evil, bigoted, and superstitious. Now they've adopted a new idea: "You don't have to be religious to be moral. Atheists are moral too."

The newest propaganda explains that unreligious people can treat each other fairly because it's a good thing, even if they don't believe in God. Unreligious people can share their wealth with others because they would want the same treatment in a crisis. Unreligious people can refuse to abuse and exploit other people because they don't want to be abused or exploited. Unreligious people can choose a socialistic form of government in which the income is spread around equally.

In theory, all this is true. But in reality, there are compelling reasons why atheistic attempts at morality never last for long. Quite simply, sinful human beings always discover a way to bend the rules and gain an extra share of the treasure. Someone always discovers that it's possible to work less and still benefit from the kindness of others, even while doing selfish or even dangerous things on the side. And whenever one selfish person takes advantage of the glitch in the software, many others follow. The government can never catch all the offenders, so there's a good chance you may be one of those who gets away.

But you'll never escape the justice of God. That's the concept that separates religious people from atheists who face temptation. Why are there so many unbelievers in American prisons and so very few Christians? The atheist has no one to warn him, "This is absolutely wrong, and you'll never get away with it." Sure, we can cook up intellectual models that suggest atheists are no different than other people. But in fact, they are very different for many reasons. And one of those reasons is that they believe they are not accountable.

Then there's that other nagging reality which confirms that compassionate atheism is more about PR than practice. The next time you see a news story about some catastrophic disaster and the rescue and clean up that follows it, watch the relief trucks arriving. You'll see the Red Cross, the Southern Baptists, Samaritan's Purse, the Salvation Army, and various local church vehicles. Don't wait for the American Atheists relief truck to arrive on the scene. Atheists have manged to produce attack books and publicity campaigns, but they have never dispatched a single relief truck or rescue team to a national crisis. So while there's a great deal of evidence for the existence of God, we'll have to take the compelling compassion of atheism on sheer faith.