The Rationalist Presents: A Pondering On Christian Beliefs: An Atheist Reply To A Popular Christian Argument
The Rationalist Presents: A Pondering On Christian Beliefs: An Atheist Reply To A Popular Christian Argument
People hold strong beliefs which are very important and personal to them, I really respect that. But we are called 'Homo Sapiens', that's what our specie (man) is called. 'Homo' is an ancient Greek word meaning 'man' and 'Sapien' comes from an old Latin word meaning 'Wise'. Thus, we humans are perceived, expected and are supposed, to be 'wise'.
We are supposed to apply logic, wisdom, ration, or simply put: good thinking, in all we do. Not just because we call ourselves Homo Sapiens though, but also because good thinking brings solutions to the most of our problems, it leads us to doing the right things and getting the right results. It is through good thinking that we have made use of natural resources to create every great thing we have and enjoy today from spoons to phones to cars to rockets - everything!
So good thinking is really important. It is on this note that I don't shy or cower away from trying to apply good thinking to every topic of life. It is on this note that I try to apply good thinking to every single thing we do in life and it is on this note that you too should accept that good thinking be applied to everything.
There is this popular Christian argument that have been going around for ages now. I think I first saw it in 2010 or thereabouts, I'm not sure anymore but it has been a very long time though. It is in form of a circulating article and a video saying the same thing. It has been circulated very widely and this should surely be because most people agree with the logic in it.
It is a short story of an atheist barber who made an atheist argument while cutting the hair of a Christian. I bet a lot of you must have come across it by now but if not here is a brief run down of what it completely entails:
A Christian sat at a Barbershop getting a haircut. The atheist barber strikes a conversation saying there is no God, that if there was a God there wouldn't be all these evil and suffering going on in the world, look at the famine, wars, diseases, etc.
The Christian played the wise and quiet listener and didn't say a word. After his haircut, he left and outside the babershop he saw a lot of homeless people with long and unkempt hair. So he returned to the barbershop and told the atheist barber that there are no barbers. The atheist barber laughs and asks what that makes him. The Christian now says, if there are barbers why are there people with long and unkempt hair in the streets.
The barber says that's because those people do not come to the babershop. The atheist now says there you go, that's the same case with God, people suffer because they do not come to God. And the barber is impressed with the logic so much and is dumb founded. The end, a victory for the Christian thought.
Now, no matter how brilliant and convincing this argument may sound, it is fallacious and invalid.
Because this is one of those cases where Christians forget that they preach God not to be a man but yet give God certain human limitations.
Apart from the fact that Christians who "come to God" still suffer and die from illnesses and a lot of problems, the God the Christians preach about is being said to be "omnipresent", meaning he is everywhere. You do not go-to him because you are in his presence 24/7.
Secondly, God owes these humans so they do not have to come to him in order for him to pay his debt. The barber on the other hand, do not owe the homeless people a haircut because frankly speaking they are not his responsibility. They are not his children whose needs he created by giving birth to, he did not make them homeless or poor either, neither does he make their hair grow unkempt.
Meanwhile the Christian God is being said to have created these humans who are suffering with these needs. He brought them into the world of his own accord and for his own personal pleasure. And he made them have needs and be susceptible to diseases. Thus, being the one who brought them here of his own accord and for his personal pleasure he owes them care. When you owe a debt you don't wait for your creditors to "come to you", you pay up if you're honourable, kind and in love with your creditors as dearly as the Christian God is said to be. Especially when you constantly see your creditors are languishing and suffering and crying from the lack of what you owe them.
And as an extra; this Christian God is being said to be so powerful, and it wouldn't take him anything to speak the word and all the humans he created would be better taken care of and comfortable in the world he brought them to. In sharp contrast with the barber, if the barber is to go around giving haircuts it would take a lot of time and energy. And the barber might even lose money. Meanwhile it will take God a second and no losses.
**OTHER POSTS BY THE SAME AUTHOR FROM THE SERIES "THE RATIONALIST PRESENTS"**
