I recently watched a discussion between Alex O’Connor, an atheist, and Dr. Francis Collins, an Evangelical Christian and former Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on YouTube. You can watch the video here:
I have heard countless discussions, debates, arguments, and brawls over the existence of God. Eighteen years in, I’m no longer interested in the “God debate.” I have heard every possible defense of or “proof” for the existence of God. Many of these arguments try to establish the existence of a creator God, a generic deity of sorts that they posit is found in every culture and religion. Such discussions are largely philosophical masturbation, for which I have no interest. I will, at times, engage Evangelicals when they try to claim and prove that the generic deity I mentioned is actually the Christian God of the Bible. Such arguments miserably fail. Why? They rely on the Bible as proof for their claims. (I am using the words proof and prove in a colloquial sense. I know proof is a mathematical term, not a theological/philosophical one.) As a former pastor and theologian, I still enjoy discussing the Bible and theology, though I no longer have the stomach for WWE-style wrassling matches over minute points of dogma. That said, I have yet to have an Evangelical make a compelling argument for their peculiar God’s existence.
Even within the framework of the Bible, there are numerous gods, beginning with multiple deities in the book of Genesis to the insurmountable differences between the God of the Old Testament and the Son of God in the New Testament. There’s no such thing as a singular Christian deity. One could argue that there are more Christian gods than we can count, with each believer shaping his or her God in their own likeness. That’s why, when talking to Evangelicals about the existence of God, the first question to ask them is “How do you define God?” What are his qualities and attributes? Typically, no two Evangelicals will give you the same answer.
During O’Connor’s discussion with Dr. Collins, one idea came up several times; that the most important question any of us can ask is “Does God exist?” I suppose in atheist-Christian debating circles this might be true, but, for me personally, and I expect for many of you who read this blog, answering the question “Does God exist?” is not at the top of your list of important questions to answer. In fact, I suspect, for those of you who have always been atheists or deconverted years ago, the God question rarely crosses your mind, that is, unless a Christian zealot is in your face trying to get you to pay attention to his God and the importance of getting saved lest you die and end up in Hell.
The only time I even think about God is when I am writing an article for this site. Otherwise, God rarely crosses my mind unless I just stepped on a Lego left on the floor by one of my grandsons, leading to me uttering “God dammit” or “Jesus Christ.” I sure hope the Lord appreciates my worship. 🙂
Pondering deep philosophical questions is largely the domain of white, affluent westerners who have time and money to sit around pondering God’s existence and the meaning of life. For most people, their lives are focused on more pressing questions such as earning a living, providing for their family, renting/buying a home, putting food on the table, and making sure they have a running automobile or reliable transportation to get where they need to go. By the time working-class/middle-class people sit down at the end of the day, the last thing on their minds is the question, “Does God exist?
How about you? Is the “Does God exist?” question important to you? Or do you find such discussions boring, reminders of the endless chattering about theology during your days as a Christian? I wonder if I am alone with my indifference towards this question. I have reached a place in life where I simply no longer care. I have far more pressing issues that vex my soul, especially matters concerning my health, family, and economic well-being. Please share your pithy thoughts in the comment section.
Bruce Gerencser, 67, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 46 years. He and his wife have six grown children and sixteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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