I was listening to National Public Radio a couple of days ago, and was stuck by a story on the show All Things Considered. The piece described Camp Inquiry, a summer camp for children who would describe themselves as "free thinkers" or "skeptics" (if you want, you can read the transcript here). I was all but dumbstruck as 12- and 14-year-old kids proudly declared that their world was "a beautiful mistake or something."
In another example, parented of a camper were interviewed. The father, who is an atheist but married to a Catholic, has allowed his children to be raised in that faith, but just wanted "the chance for rebuttal." He said "As soon as they read Richard Dawkins, I win." How do you "win" in that situation? He is spending his life competing with hiswife, two different world views at odds with each other. That seems to be like partners in a three-legged race who are facing opposite directions.
The only time the campers had nothing to say about their belief* was when they were asked by the reporter what happens if they die. A couple of quotes from the article:
"It's a scary thought, not existing. But it's not anything I can stop, so I'm going to use what time I have to do everything I can and would like to do,"
"I'm terrified of not existing...I'm kind of stuck there. I don't know what else to think."
There is one thing that everyone who has ever been on this planet has gone through, or will gone through (save for a few exceptions; see Gen. 6:24, 2 Kings 2:11-12): death. It's inevitable. Everyone will experience what happens after this life is over. If your worldview can't give some account for it, then I would recommend re-evaluating it. If the best that you can come up with is that after this life, you are gone, nothing...then it doesn't matter what you believe, now does it?
I doubt that there are any skeptics or atheists, or even agnostics who are reading this. But if there are, please respond to that last question. If, after this life is over, there is nothing, then what does it truly matter what you believe? (I moderate comments, so only well thought-out responses, please.)
*An atheist would correct me, and call it "non-belief"; I'm sorry, but stating that there is no God is a belief, and takes much more faith than I have.
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Last night, we went to Valleyfair, a local amusement park. It was a fun evening, for the most part. There were a few sprinkles of rain, but we used that as an opportunity to rest. The other shadow on the evening was an incident while we were waiting in line for the ferris wheel. Behind us in the queue were two teenage boys, who, evidently, were not raised with proper manners. At one point, their language went from merely boorish to foul. I decided that I wasn't going to allow this in front of my family. I turned around, turned up the intensity in my "daddy voice" a few notches, looked them in the eyes and said "Watch you language. There are kids here." That was enough, although one of them tried to save face in front of his friends by stating that when he had kids, he would let them swear.
In the end, it was over in a minute, and nothing else happened. I saw them a couple of times later, but there was no further exchange. In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but thing of this.
Labels: Responses to Our Culture
