Why I Am Not an Atheist

What this episode covers

Is atheism a belief system in and of itself? It looks like the answer is yes, and, atheism and fundamentalism have more in common than we might expect. What some might think of as a staunch lack of religion is its own committed belief system, complete with a faith-- a faith that there is no God. Atheists claim the tangible, the scientific, the purely rational as the only means for understanding life and the universe rather than belief in a higher power. Today we’ll be talking with popular speaker, artist, and New York Times best-selling author, Frank Schaeffer about why he is NOT an atheist. Atheism attracts people, especially in the more secular times we live in. Some of the main reasons atheism is attractive are parallel to those that draw people to fundamentalism: impatience with gray areas, a need for clarity, and a straightforward set of answers to the questions that hover around human existence. Atheism insists on a purely scientific approach to the world. There's no creator and no mystery. What you see is what you get. Christian fundamentalism, which Frank views as a mirror image of atheism, offers an equally simple Yes. Yes, God exists, and the Bible tells us exactly what God is like and what God wants from us. Frank prefers non-fundamentalist belief systems, Christianity in particular.

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