One day, I was roaming the house and thinking about what to write. It was as though there was nothing to put down and my mind was in a state of tabula rasa. I told myself I must invoke my imaginative dexterity but what came to mind with alacrity was the above topic: the shadow of atheism. You might be tempted to ask what thought is etched in the heart of a philosopher who is now a philosophical theologian? The above topic is about the dark side of atheism which belongs to the world of the atheistic community. Yet, everyone is entitled to their belief and the aftermath of the consequences.

In this article, several arguments will be postulated as regards the shadow of atheism. All questions and answers will be included in this write-up, and I will attempt to answer them. Where I am unable, there would be a comment section for you to share your opinions. Kindly follow each line meticulously so that at the end there would be a realistic picture on your mind. If your mind won’t comprehend this topic, you might be confused about your territorial mindset like a city:

As she pens down what is on my mind, she hopes to be justified in her exegesis since her mantra of sailing might be short-lived. However, she sees this mood as an opportunity to enunciate what is within. Every time is a privilege to learn and memorize your mistakes; not for the essence of weighing yourself but as an avenue to be strong and stand firm. Yet some things are not just right.

Like a desert that has no water, I hope one day a natural one would gush hastily. She asked, what is the propensity of this incident? In a place where hope is not obtainable, shouldn’t grace be ready to assist? Consequently, this should lead us to see some comments about atheism before raising counter arguments.

1. The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser; a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully. – Richard Dawkins.

2. A God who kept tinkering with the universe was absurd; a God who interfered with human freedom and creativity was a tyrant. If God is seen as a self in a world of his own, an ego that relates to a thought, a cause separate from its effect. he becomes a being, not Being itself. An omnipotent, all-knowing tyrant is not so different from earthly dictators who make everything and everybody mere cogs in the machine which they controlled. An atheism that rejects such a God is amply justified. – Karen Armstrong

3. Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? – Epicurus

4. I’m a polyatheist – there are many gods I don’t believe in. – Dan Fouts

5. If it turns out that there is a God, I don’t think that he’s evil. But the worst that you can say about him is that basically he’s an underachiever. – Woody Allen

6. A lie is a lie even if everyone believes it. The truth is the truth even if nobody believes it. – David Stevens

7. Men rarely (if ever) manage to dream up a God superior to themselves. Most Gods have the manners and morals of a spoiled child. – Robert A Heinlein

8. I refuse to prove that I exist,” says God, “for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing. – Doug

9. “What I don’t like about bible thumpers or any cult for that matter, is the arrogance exhibited with impunity by them as they perform their socially accepted public displays of schizophrenic indulgence with the goal of influencing weak-minded individuals, mostly young impressionable children, to join in activities that brainwash them into thinking a certain way to restrict their ability to freely reason, to police their thoughts and become willing slaves, to not take responsibility for their actions, and to be unquestioningly subservient to the will of a silent invisible entity whose thoughts and wishes are supposedly passed down through the overly exaggerated, un-provable, inconsistent, babblings of an old book that can only be deciphered correctly by someone who claims to be in direct contact with this entity, and who is undoubtedly either the most schizophrenic, or the most deviant member of the group. I see religion, all religion, as evil, and its minions as zombies.”-Steve Pinkson

10. “Better to be unborn than untaught, for ignorance is the root of all misfortune.” –Plato

11. “I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other gods you will understand why I dismiss yours.”–Stephen Roberts

12. “We must question the story logic of having an all-knowing, all-powerful God, who creates faulty humans, and then blames them for his own mistakes.”-Gene Roddenberry

13. “Indifference to religion, due to thought, strengthens character,”- W.T. Root, Prof. of Psychology at Univ. of Pittsburgh, after examining 1,916 prisoners.

14. “Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth, more than ruin, more even than death. Thought is subversive and revolutionary, destructive, and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man.” – Bertrand Russell

Although there are thousands of quotes geared toward atheism, I only gleaned a few to awaken our minds. I am not here to fault what they have propounded, a good argument shouldn’t be one-sided except if the truth can’t be contended.

For many years atheists have battled with the issue of God’s existence and his inability to evacuate evil even though he ought to be good and all sufficient. In their minds, they have contemplated using methodical doubt like Rene Descartes. To them, it is discriminatory to make some people rich and some people poor, how would a good God do that?

If God is sufficient and benevolent, then, the world would have been a better place to live; not a world that is covered with evil and deception. Hence, this negates the existence of a sky daddy who has created this world for his purpose leaving mankind to its free will. For them, no God intervenes in the affairs of men. Man lives all by himself without prejudice.

WHAT THEN IS THE SHADOW IN ATHEISM?

In this context, shadow means the incongruous aspect of atheism or the dark or bad side of this notion. Howbeit, one must applaud all atheists for an immense justification. Now, let’s begin to examine the counterarguments in atheism.

If life and death are in existence, who created life and death? This is an extraordinary creation that cannot be fully comprehended. If we subscribe to the belief that life and death can be traced to a scientific source, how come science cannot create a living man in such a way that science must possess the power of life and death? Or how is it ordinary for a woman to carry a baby or multiple babies for nine months before childbirth? Should we say it is normal to give birth without a God or special being dictating the systematic production? Should we say there is no God? This is something we should be pondering about and if there is no afterlife then, there is no need to die. Life in us has a root in a being who we haven’t seen but his presence is noticeable.

Another vital thing that keeps me thinking is the notion of language and how we have different languages. Can the word language create itself in different parts of the world just like that? If that should be the case, there should be only a being that understands the way these languages work. Only he knows what he created, therefore saying all things just happened by the Big Bang theory negates the existence of many things. Remember, a cause must be triggered for an effect to take place. How then can we explain it? You know words exist but when you speak them you only hear the sound of the pronunciation but have you ever marvelled at how this works? Who is responsible for this activation? I know some atheists might be tempted to nullify this argument by saying science and technology would explain it. Let us think about this- are science and technology not spiritual?

This ontological debate is still on about whether the true God would come back or not or if he has neglected mankind to face his wrath all by itself. Existence wasn’t created for nothing. If nothingness exists, then, our existence is something.

When you say God doesn’t exist and you are an atheist, that negates your belief. How? If X conceives that there is no God. It means that they know that God exists but chose the part and path to follow so that no gods or God will intervene in their affairs because freedom is a smart way to turn their back against their creator. In the process of trying to seek contentment, they become bewildered, and their questions lead to doubt and thus, birthing the origin of atheism.

What consolidated the obstinacy of atheism is the way the world is structured and the consistent penetration of evil in our contemporary society. Before some became atheists, they may have previously clamoured to God to do things for them. They believe that God heard but did not do them, so they became members of the nonexistence of God. Should that be sufficient reason to deny one’s creator? What then is the aim of this belief?

To me, it is just like a person who was given all from infancy. Even how he came to this world is still a mystery. He was humble and loyal, and people admired his sincerity but one day he conceived in his heart that he needed his free thoughts and sovereignty. During this process he forgot his source and those who contributed to his success. He created his religion and tagged his belief in it, which has influenced a lot of people. What is the purpose? Is it to make people deviate from their creator? Or is the free will given to them not enough? Kindly relate the above expression in bold words to yourself to know how it feels to be betrayed. How about that?

Again, I wish I could just continue to give different instances on the shadow of atheism. This belief (atheism) is just an avenue to establish room for myriads of ideas to move away from the creator. The question is, if there is no God, why are you here?