by Mary Ann Caldwell

Created on: June 01, 2008

Faith as a Natural Human Behavior

Wait a moment there, Mr. Cantrell. Mr. Cantrell took a gigantic leap from his defining of atheism and theism to castrating theists for their use of faith in choosing to believe in God. He quotes from the Bible, Hebrews chapter 11, verse 1, "Faith as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen". He is quick to consider the use of faith as a path to erroneous and false thinking, lacking logic, reason or rationality. He suggests that theists, by choosing to believe in God, are more likely to find themselves in dangerous situations. I truly doubt I can impress Mr. Cantrell into changing his opinion but I hope you will consider my thoughts expressed herein.

Faith, as a substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen, is not limited to theism. Faith permeates our natural human behavior. Do atheists carry umbrellas when the weatherman says it will rain? Would it be faith in the weatherman's ability to correctly evaluate the heavens and conclude rain is coming that causes the atheist to pick up the umbrella? Do atheists eat in restaurants? Doesn't the atheist's faith that the cooks and servers will provide him with a sanitary and tasty meal take him into the restaurant? Do atheists need astrological facts to know that the sun will rise again tomorrow? Ok, so those are just little things, trivial, without real importance.

I would wager there are atheists who chose their marital partners based on faith. Faith that the one they marry cares about them in a way that they cared for no other. Faith that their partner will take their side in a fight, that they will keep them safe, and help them when help is needed. An atheist will say he evaluated his potential partner's behavior and came to the conclusion based upon that evidence, what he saw that partner do and say, that he could logically predict safety in that relationship.

Safety is what Mr. Cantrell wants. He clearly said so. Choosing atheism is the safe choice based on facts and reality. The reality is that atheists get divorced just like theists. And they use faith to make choices. They choose not to believe in god. But that doesn't make them smarter, safer, or more logical than a theist. It is human to make choices about what we will believe and what we will have faith in. Believing in God is no more extraordinary than believing that the person you love loves you back.

Mr. Cantrell, it wouldn't surprise me at all if you don't believe in love either.

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