by guestblogger, BroKen
“Don't judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes.” There is a lot of wisdom in that saying. Lately, I've been thinking about “atheist shoes” and “Christian shoes”.
I have a friend who once wore “Christian shoes” but now wears atheist ones. Recently I've heard him make comments about the Christian faith which are totally unfounded. For example, he once objected that the Christian view of heaven seemed boring to him. WHAT? OK, all that most unbelievers think they know about heaven are angels on clouds strumming harps all day long. But intimate conversation with the Creator of everything could never be boring. A Christian, or one who has been a Christian, should know that. He did know once. I fear that he distorts “Christian shoes” in order to justify throwing them away.
Another atheist friend made snide remarks about the faith expressed in my articles online. This lead to a rather long series of exchanges. His comments about the Christian faith were often erroneous and when I attempted to correct him, he would respond with something like, “I've read the Bible. I know what you believe.” It is hard to explain the faith to someone who thinks they know it better than you do! When someone asked why he was so tenacious in his debates with me, he responded that he found people of faith fascinating even though he didn't understand us at all. I suggested that if he wanted to understand us, then he would have to make the effort to step into our shoes, if only hypothetically, to see how we think and why we think that way. He seems unwilling to do that. We haven't had much contact since.
So, I have a question for all my atheist friends. When I put on “atheist shoes” and walk around a bit in them, it seems that life, the universe and everything is all about me. All I've got is a few decades of life and that's it. There is a big universe, but I didn't make the galaxies and I can't do much for them. There are other creatures, including some humans, but ultimately my interest in them derives from their connection to me. If there is no connection to me, then they don't really matter, right? I am the only one who can decide what is valuable and what isn't, for me at least, right?
Am I missing something? I can see how this fundamental narcissism is a good thing for some. It might be kind of nice if everything were all about me. But obviously I'm not very great. I am really not even all that good. Atheists, do you see the problem I'm having? Do you have a solution? Honestly I don't think there is a solution outside of faith in God. But I could be wrong. What are my “atheist shoes” missing? I really want to know.