Reason vs Faith

This morning I was sitting around thinking about why it’s so hard for theists to see that their beliefs are nothing more than culturally motivated myths. When I speak of theists in this article I am specifically addressing Christians, because that is the religion that I am most acquainted with. Why is it that no matter how much evidence you show them to the contrary, they still cling tenaciously to their shaky beliefs?

Believe it or not I think that Adolf Hitler knew the answer to this question better than most. He is quoted as saying: “It is always more difficult to fight against faith than against knowledge.” Nothing could be further from the truth! When it comes to arguing about religion it is always a battle of faith versus reason. It has been my experience from countless arguments and debates with theists online and in person that their reason is tainted by faith. Faith knows no reason; it only knows that it must conform.

William Lane Craig a noted apologist and Christian philosopher stated: “Should a conflict arise between the witness of the Holy Spirit to the fundamental truth of the Christian faith and beliefs based on argument and evidence, then it is the former which must take precedence over the latter, not vice versa.” This quote comes from a book ironically entitled ‘Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics’ and clearly demonstrates the mindset of a dedicated and devoted theist to his/her beliefs.

For practical purposes I would like to define the word reason from my Sage dictionary: ‘The capacity for rational thought or inference or discrimination.’ It seems to me that when one commits themselves to the tenets of faith they tend to lose their ability to reason. The few times that they try to reason it is always within the confines of their faith and they are restricted by their preconceived beliefs. The battle against faith in my view is like the unwinnable war against drugs, it is an exercise in futility.

Most former theists who have become atheists have done so on their own because they dared to think. You hear time and time again that all it takes to become an atheist is to read the bible in its entirety, if that does not do it then nothing will. No evidence presented, no demonstration of biblical contradictions, nothing will convince the faithful of how erroneous their beliefs may be. They employ every trick in the book to hold on to their inane faith.

This reminds me of the slogan coined by the NRA: “I’ll give you my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.” Lol This is the attitude that most fundamentalist have about their faith and their beliefs in the invisible guy in the sky. Let’s just repeat this slogan to make it more suitable for the theist: “I’ll give you my bible when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.” Too funny but true!

When it comes to battling faith it’s like trying to fight an uphill battle while wearing roller skates! But for the sake of human progress and the betterment of society as a whole, we atheists have an obligation to keep our feet planted firmly on the ground and defend our freedoms. We are not going to let our rights be trampled by faith or have those ridiculous beliefs turn this nation into a theocracy. Remember, the last time that happened did not work out too well, and those times are known today as the dark ages.