I will also add that I believe I will gain access to venues where you will likely be heard by many people should you wish to become involved. I can discuss the details with you privately. There are some notable Christian ministries which have expressed interest in this campaign I am starting.

I wrote about 95% of the above cited atheism article. As you can tell I am a Protestant. I am starting a campaign among Protestant Christians to stepup up the public refutation of atheism. My atheism article cited above is ranked #7 by Google and it likely will rise higher. the article is part of the campaign I am starting.

Since Orthodox Christianity suffered greatly under atheistic communism, I would like to have the Orthodox Community be a part of the anti-atheism campaign. Also, there are many Orthodox Christians. Perhaps you could provide me useful feedback in relation to the above article. Also, perhaps you could help me gain the contributions of Orthodox Christians to the anti-atheism campaign.

I decided to start this campaign partly due to the the New Atheism that has reared its head as of late.

Please let me know if you are interested in any of the above. You can contact me at jgreen7171@gmail.com

I looked it over and it seemed very fair and balanced (to coin a phrase). The largest missing element, for me as an Orthodox priest, is that most of the Christian arguments are from a Protestant, and Enlightenment position, rather than from the much older thought of Eastern Christianity, particularly in the sense that it sees God in a way the Eastern Church would probably not be entirely comfortable with. But that becomes a lengthy subject in itself.

Please correct me if I am mistaken here, but it seems that Christ and the Apostle Paul would be in agreement with many atheists in saying that morality is a human creation. “Everything is permissible,” in the sense that, even as beings with the power of choice, you and I cannot do anything to alter the work of God, or the laws of nature. I think the statement also implies something about a metaphysical idea of “right and wrong” – but I won’t get into that. “But not everything is beneficial,” and we experience the truth of this statement whenever we grieve over injustice, or feel a strong sense of remorse for hurting someone, or regret being irresponsible. I know several atheists and agnostics who do not rely on any knowledge of God to perceive this reality.

What atheism lacks, however, is an ultimate motivation for adhering to morality. The “common good” is the usual reason; humankind has created ethical systems to preserve the species in peace and order, so we follow these rules because we feel the responsibility to our fellow man. Or maybe we live a moral life because we know that, while it is challenging, it is ultimately fulfilling. In this case, “Do unto others as you would have them do,” is a universal rule, not particular to any worldview. Still, none of these motivations for morality nullify the fact that we are beings of choice. I personally find that the most wonderful thing about being human is that, while I know right from wrong, while I understand the value of being peaceful and practical and responsible and loving, I still have the power to go against my convictions. I can do what is wrong and pleasurable; I can do what is difficult but noble; I can do whatever I choose to do out of spite or disregard for the law, and it will not change the fact that I am going to die, that the planet will eventually spin out of control and be incinerated by Sol.

Belief in an afterlife does provide the motivation for good behavior; however, as someone pointed out already, the practical value of a belief does not make it true. I wholly agree with this statement, although I would add that the fruits of a life well lived can be compelling evidence of the precepts by which that life is lived. I came across a great quote by St. Ignatius of Antioch last night: “Whenever Christianity is hated by the world, what counts is not power of persuasion, but greatness.” It may be an exercise in futility to argue for the existence of God in rational terms. One thing I learned as a philosophy major is that reason can make two sides of an argument equally persuasive. I even learned how to prove with symbolic logic that “A is not A.” But I know what I have been shown through mystical experience, through meditation and quieting of the mind; and these are things that are most difficult to express in words. So, instead of attempting to persuade people based on my experience, my focus as a Christian is to live that life of “greatness,” which consists of loving my enemies, praying for those who persecute me, laying down my life for my friends (and enemies), helping the poor, visiting the sick… and yes, even occasionally speaking up when I think that someone’s version of morality, be it atheist or religious, is having a negative effect on those around him.

“I believe in Christ as the definitive revelation of God and accept the Orthodox Church as that Church which Christ founded and am obedient to its teachings and the Living Tradition that continues within it. So compassion and the decision to love my enemy, though I certainly have free will in these matters, is also incumbent upon me because they are in fact the teaching of the Church in obedience to the teachings of Christ. I’m not in a situation in which I have an opinion on what Christ taught and what is important. As an Orthodox Christian that is a settled matter. What remains is for that to become a living reality in my life…”

Is it the paradox of the cross, or is what the atheist, together unfortunately with very many Christians, experiences as a crushing constriction of mind and spirit, we Orthodox feel to be profoundly liberating? Again,

‘I…am obedient to the teachings of Christ.’

‘I’m not in a situation in which I have an opinion….” and,

“that is a settled matter….”

If only those of you outside the Church could know the grace that comes from the stance that issues from these strange-sounding forbearances.

I’m having trouble getting my notes to post tonight. I’ll put something up tomorrow. In a nutshell – good to hear from you again. We are working out of very different understandings – my account of history includes the Eastern Church which is a completely different experience than you have known or mention when you speak of Christianity’s treatment of science, etc. That’s like blaming England for something done in Thailand. It’s beside the point.

But I believe what I beleive, not because I read the Bible and thought this was the best approach (non violent, etc.) but because as an Orthodox Christian I have received the teaching of Christ which has continued in our midst since the beginning. I don’t think it – it is my life.

So there are some apples and oranges in our conversation. But all the more reason to converse.

That being said, I find the atheism expressed on the posts here to be far more attractive than any form of western Christianity. Fr. Stehpen is correct though when he says that many atheists are not rejecting God, but the false God with which they have been presented. Unfortunately, they fall into the dicotomous trap of neo-Platonic dualism by assuming that it is either that false God or no God. They rightly reject one falsity only to replace it with another which ironically gives more meaning to the falsehood they reject than the one they embrace.

They refuse to consider for a moment that there might be a real God somewhere, like at the heart of their own being, calling to them to open their hearts and let Him in. They do not undertake the third metamorphsis of the spirit commanded by Zarathustra as Nietzche had him speak: to become as a little child and utter the scared yes of creation. The very same words that the Holy Theotokos spoke when she said in utter humility: “Let it be done unto me according to your word.”

I would say that one thing you lack, as do most in the West, is any knowledge of Eastern Orthodox Christianity or the cultures in which it grew and flourished. It has a decidedly diffeent history from the West – from Roman Catholicism and the Inquisition to Protestantism and its improper use of Scripture.

We understand God differently, to one degree or another. I believe in Christ as the definitive revelation of God and accept the Orthodox Church as that Church which Christ founded and am obedient to its teachings and the Living Tradition that continues within it. So compassion and the decision to love my enemy, though I certainly have free will in these matters, is also encumbent upon me because they are in fact the teaching of the Church in obedience to the teachings of Christ. I’m not in a situation in which I have an opinion on what Christ taught and what is important. As an Orthodox Christian that is a settled matter. What remains is for that to become a living reality in my life (which is continuing, life-long struggle.

Modern Atheism, Philosophy and Science are a creation of the secularized Protestant world to a large extent. Many of their assumptions are, in fact, the same as those of secular protestantism. Some of that is because we simply grew up in that tradition.

Have British philosophers been beneficial to the world around them – probably to a degree, but mostly because they existed in a society that had made much earlier decisions that created the matrix in which they did their thought. I’ve often said that if you were to be colonized by someone, the Brits are the guys you want to colonize you. I’d take them over the Germans any day.

But again, I think this has to do with certain cultural decisions that long predated modern philosophy.

I live in what is probably the most science oriented city in America, with the possible exception of Los Alamos (I live in Oak Ridge, TN). Science is not an abstract here, but our livelihood. We have plenty of scientists who are believers. Some who are not – though I suspect the believers outnumber the others. Science is not the realm of atheism it’s the realm of science.

Religion is not science’s enemies, and did not find itself opposed by the Orthodox Church. Again, we’re not Rome or the Protestants. Very different tradition.

On the other hand, if you or I are genetically predisposed to belief in God, it would seem rather strange for us to be so predisposed and there not be a God. I can think of almost nothing else for which are predisposed that does not exist.

Nonetheless that is not where my faith lies, but rather in the living participation I have in the life of God through Christ. What can I say? I know Him and He knows me. He calls me to be His own and I have said yes. He is my life.