Response to a Bitter Atheist

A person had vented on reddit. He was exasperated about “snake-oil salesmen” in Christian circles, or about being told what to believe “just because.” And yet he longed to know for certain if God existed or not.

After reading his lengthy rant against the corruption and struggle he was going through, I wrote the following response. I wrote it to show how one can truly search out God for today, despite all the cacophony of so many people having different worldviews. I wrote it with the risk that God would rather have a person struggle in this manner to search Him out, than to blindly take one person’s word for it.

I refer to the phrase “humidifier/dehumidifier/same-room”; this is my own brand of phrasing, and it’s from an old Steven Wright joke: “For my birthday, I got a humidifier and a dehumidifier. So I put them in the same room and let them fight it out.” I use this to mean our need to read and understand contrasting views on a particular issue, and to apply discernment and logic to both. Can both views co-exist? Where can one find the wrong?

I reprint this here, with the hope that if you, or somebody you know are struggling with faith, this is a detailed approach as to how to go about it.

My Response

Dear sir,

There are stages of belief.

The first stage is to believe that there is a Deity (or “Deities”) of some sort. The proof is all around you, and in you (biologically). The level of intricacy/creativity/sustainability in all aspects of this world, this universe, even the human body, with nary a single example any other place in the known universe, dictates that there was a Grand Designer. And the more one studies science, the more one can realize that this was no mere accident.

The second stage is, okay, there’s a God (or gods)… why Christianity? Or better… why Christ, over Buddha, Mohammad, etc.? And it is here that you look at the unique history of Christ (and other religions, if you care to, and it looks like you’re already there). If you want to humidifier/dehumidifier/same-room this thing, you’d read both the testimonials to AND from Christianity. If an issue is raised in one group, you should be honest and see how it is answered in another.

You don’t want snake oil? You don’t want to believe just because? That’s how it’s done.

The third stage is then, why Catholicism, over all the other denominations. And again, humidifier/dehumidifier/same-room it. Read testimonies of those who converted. Read testimonies of those who left. Compare the two. Put these to the test.

And lastly… and whoo boy is this a biggie… at some point you’re just gonna have to put it all to the test. And that means, ultimately, entrusting your life to Christ. Trusting He will hear you. Trusting His Mother Mary will mother you. Trusting He is alive in the Eucharist. Trusting there is wisdom in His teachings, and the teachings of the Saints. Living so to not sin, as how sin has been consistently defined through the ages. Wrestling with the hot potatoes, but not abandoning the fight.

This is a slow process, but God would want you to be as honest as you can. Listen to those who wish to share, and pit their stories against each other, with the hope that you might have to do the same.

Ultimately, Christ simplified the entire Gospel message with the Greatest Commandment: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (and then love your neighbor as yourself). Each of those four elements carry with them particular challenges. To love with your whole heart means that nothing–not fame, not money, not success, not your significant other, not power–nothing takes God’s place of precedence. To love with your whole soul implies that you are in the Sacraments, and that you desire to be fed and cleansed by Communion and Reconciliation. To love with your whole mind means you keep challenging it and learning–it didn’t stop when you got confirmed. To love with your strength means obedience to Christ, to love in action. And loving your neighbor, once you really apply these first four aspects… really takes on a new dimension as you begin to change into the person God Always Wanted You To Become.

Does this help?

Thanks for reading. If this moves you, feel free to share this post to those who most need it.

Also, I have a chapter on sharing the Catholic Gospel in the book 24 Unique Ways to Upgrade Your Catholic Youth Group. Read a chapter for free.