Atheism People in this age eat their food without washing beforehand. Monks break their vows of celibacy. Cows are kept alive only for their milk. Water is scarce. Many people watch the skies, praying for rain. No rain comes. The fields become barren. Suffering from famine and poverty, many attempt to migrate to countries where food is more readily available. People are without joy and pleasure. Many commit suicide. Men of small intelligence are influenced by atheistic doctrines. Family, clan and caste are all meaningless. Men are without virtues, purity or decency. (Visnu Purana 6.1) jito dharmo hy adharmeNa satyaM caiva anRtena ca jitAz coraiz ca rAjAnaH strIbhiz ca puruSAH kalau sIdanti ca agni hotrANi guru pUjA praNazyati kumAryaz ca prasUyante asmin kali yuge sadA Religion has been overthrown by irreligion and truth indeed by that which is false, kings have been overpowered by thieves, males have been subdued by females, the worship of fire is dying out, respect to superiors is being destroyed and maidens are becoming mothers - this is what always happens in the age of Kali. (Parasara smriti 1.30-31) These are examples of many Vedic descriptions of our current age. Among its many symptoms is always mentioned the prevalence of atheism (anisvara, BG 16.8). Why? Because atheism is the root cause of the pitiful condition of this age. If the knowledge of higher reality is lacking, there is no question of life in harmony with the universal order (dharma). And dharma being neglected, all the above (as well as other) symptoms of decline appear as a reaction. History and Analysis of Atheism Atheism is known since the Vedic times when its main proponent was philosopher Carvaka. His lokayata philosophy (BG 2.26 p.), analogous to Greek hedonism, is a version of buddhism - everything is void but lets enjoy it! Nowadays propounded by Rajneesh Osho. Also later Buddhist philosophies are atheistic. Buddhism represents vikalpa, rejection of the world and materialism propounded by Carvaka represents sankalpa, enjoyment of the world. These are simply dualities of the mind lacking any substance. The various Vedic philosophies start beyond this point. The first of six Vedic philosophical systems, Nyaya (logic), offers three proofs of the existence of God: 1. existence of order in nature and man (teleological argument) It establishes intelligent design but it is not clear how many beings were involved in creating the order and if they were supreme or not. 2. existence of different conditions for different living beings (different karma of individuals must come from higher intelligence) This argument is used for example by King Prthu in SB 4.21.27: My dear respectable ladies and gentlemen, according to the authoritative statements of sastra, there must be a supreme authority who is able to award the respective benefits of our present activities. Otherwise, why should there be persons who are unusually beautiful and powerful both in this life and in the life after death? 3. existence of revealed scriptures which basically speak about the same topics and one God The scriptures say that the existence of God can be inferred neither from sense perception (pratyaksa) nor from logic (anumana) but it can be understood from the revealed scriptures (sabda): Supreme Truth is neither established nor refuted by logical argument. (Vedanta-sutra 2.1.11 paraphrased) Vedanta-sutra refutes various atheistic and semi-theistic philosophies and establishes the supremacy of Brahman. Brahman is understood either as impersonal brahmajyoti in schools of Advaita Vedanta, person Bhagavan Visnu/Krsna in Dvaita Vedanta, or both in Acintya-bhedabheda-tattva philosophy of Gaudiya Vaisnava Vedanta. Vedanta-sutra also mentions teleological argument: Within the effect (world) the cause (Brahman) can be seen just as cobweb makes one [intelligent person] think of a spider. (Vedanta-sutra 2.2.15 paraphrased) Also according to Vedanta-sutra 2.2.1,2,8 matter cannot cause creation because it cannot be shown how and why the passive dead matter started to act. The real evidence is however present on the countless pages of Vedic scriptures. In the Western philosophy there are atheistic doctrines known since the Greek civilization. Atomist and hedonistic philosophy of Democritus, Epicurus and Lucretius is their typical example. Christianity from its beginning formed a strong opposition to atheistic philosophies. St Anselm claimed that existence of God is better than His non-existence; better to be just and happy than unjust and unhappy. Counterargument comes from Gaunilon in his Lost Island: His existence is logically possible but still can be doubted. St Anselm refutes it saying that real existence is unlimited; there is eternal omnipresence (God). His ontological argument: God is that which no greater can be thought of; God cant be thought not to exist - mind is limited. St Thomas Aquinas offered several arguments: 1. argument from motion (cosmological argument): Everything moving needs to be put in motion; primary mover (or efficient cause) is God. 2. argument of possibility and necessity: Everything existing began to exist only through something already existing; if at one time nothing existed, even now nothing could exist (ex nihilo nihil fit, nothing comes out of nothing). Every necessary thing has its necessity caused by other(s) so there must exist a thing having its own necessity an causing necessity of others (God). 3. argument of gradation: Things are compared to ideal or maximum; cause of perfection is God. St Thomas Aquinas and William Paley formulated teleological argument (design argument): Things in nature act for an end designedly, by will and power of God (example of watch and watchmaker). David Hume disagrees with teleological argument on the basis of existence of evil. He lists four circumstances of evil: 1. existence of sukha/duhkha (happiness/distress). God is not benevolent. 2. duhkha comes from the laws of nature - human attempts to control them materially (karma) brings more duhkha... If God needs rules He is not perfect. 3. great frugality of powers/faculties distribution to jivas. God is not magnanimous. 4. defects in natural phenomena (dualities as drought/flood, heat/cold etc.) suggest lack of higher supervision. God is imperfect. Three responses to the problem of evil: St Augustine: presence of evil is not a limitation of God but a result of mans fall (objection by F. Schleiermacher: if perfect creation goes wrong it is Gods fault) Irenaeus: in this imperfect world there is a gradual creation of perfected humanity Theodicy (or process theology): theo - God, dike - (Greek) righteous God is either not all-good or not all-powerful because He is unable to stop the evil - Himself is subjected to natural laws. Universe is uncreated, it involves God. (Objection: this view doesnt mitigate the suffering). Good is impossible without evil; finally it prevails. The problem of evil does not arise in the Vedic (and other Eastern) philosophies because it is related to the linear one creation, one life paradigm introduced by Judeo-Christian tradition. One variety of atheism is called anthropomorphism. Hrdayananda das Goswami in his article State and Society in ancient India (ISKCON Communications Journal, June 1995, page 61) refutes it: We may note here that mere resemblance between God and men proves nothing since one could just as easily claim, as Bible does, that men are made in the image of God, or the gods. The resemblance then proves the opposite point. If one argues, along with Xenophanes, that people seem to depict their gods with features similar to their own, and that all of these various views of the divinity cannot be simultaneously accurate, the following can be said in reply: due to CONDITIONED, INDIVIDUAL PERCEPTION, people tend to see many real, objective items in various ways. For example various artists may depict the same mountain in a variety of styles, or even colors, but the mountain is one. Similarly, perception varies, NOT THAT THE OBJECT OF DIFFERING PERCEPTIONS DOES NOT EXIST. In fact, although philosophers argue, that it proves nothing to say that billions of people through the history have claimed some sort of awareness of divine reality, these same philosophers do not hesitate to claim that we are justified in believing in an objective physical world since so many people believe it to be there [this is a logical fallacy called an argumentum ad numeram: it consists of asserting that the more people who support or believe a proposition, the more likely it is that that proposition is correct]. But this is not the place for an extended discussion of meta-epistemology. Suffice it to say, that Rau is dreaming if he thinks that he is being rational or scholarly when he simply declares that the gods are everywhere made in the image of men. If, say, in the field of biology, one affirms or denies the claim of a biologist, then one thereby claims to have a knowledge of biology. Similarly, to affirm or deny the claim of a historian is to claim knowledge of history, and ones own right, thereby, to evaluate historical assertions. Exactly in the same way, TO AFFIRM OR DENY RELIGIOUS CLAIMS IS TO CLAIM FOR ONESELF A KNOWLEDGE OF RELIGIOUS MATTERS (...). If one doesnt know even this material universe, how can he claim there is no God inside/outside of it? Viable philosophy must include theory (sambandha), practice (abhidheya) and goal (prayojana) which is eternal happiness. Vedanta-sutra describes sambandha in its first two chapters, abhidheya in third chapter and prayojana in fourth. Contemporary philosophies and religions usually lack two latter items. Another criteria is evaluation of the source and goal of philosophy. If we are to analyze the outcome (judge by the results) we can say that: 1. The nature of atheism is degrading: its practice leads to bondage and suffering (duhkha) because of an attachment to matter which degrades (entropy). Matter cannot be a source of anything higher - order, development, or life (which cannot appear by chance). 2. Happiness through atheism is impossible as it is not in harmony with the nature of person, society, universe, and God (dharma). Still, people choose to become atheists as much as they choose to become theists. And no matter how strenuously some may try to deny it, atheism is a belief system. It requires faith that God does not exist. All atheists are not alike. They argue differently depending on what it is that grounds their unbelief. Here are two ways in which atheists attempt to explain and defend their atheism. They can be called offensive atheism and defensive atheism. (The rest of this article has a form of hypothetical debate with Western atheist. Therefore only argument of pratyaksa and anumana type are used.) Offensive Atheism In a debate concerning the question, Does God exist? atheists frequently assert that the entire burden of proof rests on theists. This, however, is a false assertion. As philosopher William Lane Craig has stated, when an interrogative such as Does God exist? is debated each side must shoulder the burden of proof and provide support for what they consider to be the correct answer. This is unlike debating a proposition such as God does exist, where the burden of proof rests entirely with the affirmative side. It follows then that when debating the question of Gods existence, both the theist and the atheist are obligated to provide support for their position. The theist should insist that the atheist provide proof as to Gods alleged nonexistence. This, however, leads to a logical bind for the atheist. By definition, atheism is the world-view that denies the existence of God. To be more specific, traditional atheism (or offensive atheism) positively affirms that there never was, is not now, and never will be a God in or beyond the world. But can this dogmatic claim be verified? The atheist cannot logically prove Gods nonexistence. And heres why: to know that a transcendent God does not exist would require a perfect knowledge of all things (omniscience). To attain this knowledge would require simultaneous access to all parts of the world and beyond (omnipresence). Therefore, to be certain of the atheists claim one would have to possess godlike characteristics. Obviously, mankinds limited nature precludes these special abilities. The offensive atheists dogmatic claim is therefore unjustifiable. As logician Mortimer Adler has pointed out, the atheists attempt to prove a universal negative is a self-defeating proposition. The theist should therefore emphasize that the offensive atheist is unable to provide a logical disproof of Gods existence. This point can be forcefully emphasized by asking the atheist if he has ever visited the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The library presently contains over 70 million items (books, magazines, journals, etc.). Hundreds of thousands of these were written by scholars and specialists in the various academic fields. Then ask the following question: What percentage of the collective knowledge recorded in the volumes in this library would you say are within your own pool of knowledge and experience? The atheist will likely respond, I dont know. I guess a fraction of one percent. You can then ask: Do you think it is logically possible that God may exist in the 99.9 percent that is outside your pool of knowledge and experience? Even if the atheist refuses to admit the possibility, you have made your point and he knows it. I dont believe in God because there is so much evil in the world. Many atheists consider the problem of evil an airtight proof that God does not exist. They often say something like: I know there is no God because if He existed, He never would have allow all those atrocities in history to happen. A good approach to an argument like this is to say something to this effect: Since you brought up this issue, the burden lies on you to prove that evil actually exists in the world. So let me ask you: by what criteria do you judge some things to be evil and other things not to be evil? By what process do you distinguish evil from good? The atheist may hedge and say: I just know that some things are evil. Its obvious. Dont accept such an evasive answer. Insist that he tells you how he knows that some things are evil. This way he is forced to face the illogical foundation of his belief system. Then point out to him that it is impossible to distinguish evil from good unless one has an infinite reference point which is absolutely good. Otherwise one is like a boat at sea on a cloudy night without a compass (i.e., there would be no way to distinguish north from south without the absolute reference point of the compass needle). The infinite reference point for distinguishing good from evil can only be found in the person of God, for God alone can exhaust the definition of absolutely good. If God does not exist, then there are no moral absolutes by which one can judge something (or someone) as being evil. More specifically, if God does not exist, there is no ultimate basis to judge the crimes. Seen in this light, the reality of evil actually requires the existence of God, rather than disproving it. At this point, the atheist may raise the objection that if God does in fact exist, then why hasnt He dealt with the problem of evil in the world. You can disarm this objection by pointing out that God is dealing with the problem of evil, but in a progressive way. The false assumption on the part of the atheist is that Gods only choice is to deal with evil all at once in a single act. God, however, is dealing with the problem of evil through His justice system (dharma-karma-samsara). If the atheist responds that it shouldnt take such long time for an omnipotent God to solve the problem of evil, you might respond by saying: Ok. Hypothetically speaking, lets say that at this very moment, God declared that all evil in the world will now simply cease to exist. Practically every human being on the planet would simply vanish into oblivion. Would this solution be preferable to you? The atheist may argue that a better solution must surely be available. He may even suggest that God could have created man in such a way that man would avoid evil altogether. This idea can be countered by pointing out that such a scenario would mean that he would no longer have the capacity to make choices, free will. This scenario would require that God create robots who act only in programmed ways. If the atheist persists and says there must be a better solution to the problem of evil, suggest a simple test. Give him about five minutes to formulate a solution to the problem of evil that (1) does not destroy human freedom, or (2) cause God to violate His nature (e.g., His attributes of absolute holiness, justice, and mercy) in some way. Dont expect much of an answer. Defensive Atheism Many sophisticated atheists today are fully aware of the philosophical pitfalls connected to offensive or dogmatic atheism. Prominent atheists such as Gordon Stein and Carl Sagan have admitted that Gods existence cannot be disproved. This has led such atheists to advocate skeptical defensive atheism. Defensive atheism asserts that while Gods existence cannot be logically or empirically disproved, it is nevertheless unproven. Atheists of this variety have actually redefined atheism to mean an absence of belief in God rather than a denial of Gods existence. For this more moderate type of atheism, the concept of God is like that of a unicorn, leprechaun, or elf. While they cannot be disproved, they remain unproven. Defensive atheisms unbelief is grounded in the rejection of the proofs for Gods existence, and/or the belief that the concept of God lacks logical consistency. An appropriate rejoinder at this point is that defensive atheism is using a stipulative or nonstandard definition for the word atheism. Paul Edwards, a prominent atheist and editor of The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, defines an atheist as a person who maintains that there is no God. Atheism therefore implies a denial of Gods existence, not just an absence of belief. It should also be stated that defensive atheisms absence of belief sounds very similar to agnosticism (which professes inability to determine whether God exists). The theist should ask the defensive atheist to show just how his (or her) atheism differs from agnosticism. Does he know or not know that there is no God? The Inadequacy of Atheism Whether offensive or defensive, there are a number of reasons why atheism is inadequate as a rational world-view. First, atheism cannot adequately explain the existence of the world. Like all things, the world in which we live cries out for an explanation. The atheist, however, is unable to provide a consistent one. If he argues that the world is eternal, then he is going against modern science which states that the universe had a beginning and is gradually running down. If the atheist affirms that the universe had a beginning, then he must account for what caused it (which of the remaining tattvas - jiva, prakriti, kala or karma?). Either way, the atheist cannot adequately explain the world. Second, the atheistic world-view is irrational and cannot provide an adequate basis for intelligible experience. An atheistic world is ultimately random, disorderly, transitive, and volatile. It is therefore incapable of providing the necessary preconditions to account for the laws of science, the universal laws of logic, and the human need for absolute moral standards. In short, it cannot account for the meaningful realities we encounter in life. The theistic world-view, however, can explain these transcendental aspects of life. The uniformity of nature stems from Gods orderly design of the universe. The laws of logic are a reflection of the way God Himself thinks, and would have us to think as well. Let us now examine a way in which the theist can offer evidence for Gods existence, thus illustrating the rationality of theism. Cosmological Argument Nearly everyone, at least in their more reflective moments, has asked some simple but deep-seated questions such as: Where did the world come from? Why is there something rather than nothing? How did the world come into existence? The asking of these elementary but profound questions has led to the formulation of a popular argument for Gods existence known as the cosmological argument. It derives its name from the word kosmos, the Greek word for world. While there are several variations of the argument, the basic point is that God is the only adequate explanation for the worlds existence. This argument was first formulated by the Greek philosopher Aristotle. Its most famous presentation was given by the medieval Christian philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas. Just how do we account for the universe? How do we explain the existence of the world? Logically speaking, there are only a few options and only one of them is rationally acceptable. Our starting point in discussing the world is to assume that a real world of time and space does in fact exist. There are some who would dispute this assumption, arguing rather that the universe is simply an illusion. However, most atheists, being materialists who believe that all reality is ultimately matter and energy, will be willing to accept this starting point. (If the world was an illusion, there would be no good reason to believe that we would all perceive the world even remotely the same way. But we do, generally speaking, experience the world the same way and can even make accurate predictions [science].) How do we account for this real world? The first option is that the world somehow caused or created itself. This, however, is an irrational conclusion. For something to create itself, it would have to exist before it was created, and that is completely absurd. Something cannot both exist and not exist at the same time and in the same way. Concluding that the world created or caused itself is simply not a rationally acceptable alternative. A second suggested explanation is that the universe came from nothing by nothing. Some atheists do, in fact, argue this way. This, however, is also irrational because something cannot be derived from nothingness. An effect cannot be greater than its cause - and in this case the cause would be nothing. One of the basic laws of physics is expressed by the Latin phrase ex nihilo, nihil fit, from nothing, nothing comes. Its a tremendous leap of faith to believe that the world emerged from nothing. Remind the atheist that he is not supposed to have any faith. Our third option is that the universe is simply eternal. It has just always been here. This alternative, however, is also doomed to failure. First, the world that we live in shows signs that it is contingent (dependent for its continued existence on something outside itself, ultimately something uncaused and absolute). The fact is, no single element in the universe contains the explanation for its existence. Therefore this chain of contingencies we call the world necessitates the existence of a noncontingent or absolute ground of being. Further, the concept of an eternal universe directly contradicts the prevailing view of contemporary science which teaches that the universe had a specific beginning (Big Bang) a finite period of time ago. Worse still, it contradicts the scientific fact that the world is gradually running out of available energy (Second Law of Thermodynamics). If the universe was always in existence (i.e., eternal), it would have already run down. Additionally, if the universe was eternal, then it would have an infinite past (i.e., an infinite number of days, weeks, months, years, etc.). This, however, leads to a logical contradiction. By definition one can never reach the end of an infinite period of time; nevertheless, we have arrived at today, which completes or traverses the so-called infinite past. These points make an eternal universe theory scientifically and philosophically untenable. Seeing that these other alternatives have failed, the only truly rational alternative is that the universe was caused by an entity outside space and time that is by definition uncaused and ultimate. And, because this Being created other beings who possess personality, He must also be a person (the effect cannot be greater than the cause). This argument brings the atheist to the idea of a deity with many theistic attributes. It does illustrate that theism is rational and in this case the only rational alternative in explaining the universe. Hare Krishna ...
Posted on: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 16:50:45 +0000
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