Paul Vieira

A few weeks ago I received some emails from different people warning me about an up and coming film called The Golden Compass. The fantasy film stars Nicole Kidman and it is scheduled to be released on December 7. The film is based on the first book of Philip Pullman`s His Dark Materials trilogy of children`s books.

Concerned Christians are beginning to make this the next target of fear and censorship on literature. We bought the trilogy for our oldest son for his birthday, before we heard any of these negative reviews. Opponents of Pullman are saying that he is an atheist who has written this series to bash Christianity and promote atheism among children. My wife always reads a book before letting our son read it. We are concerned about adult themes including violence and sexuality. However, we don`t keep our son from being exposed to other world views. I certainly teach my children what I believe about the world and God, but I understand that they must discover the truth for themselves. Sometimes that journey means being exposed to other ideas, even ideas that challenge our own. This is part of life and we try to teach our kids how to navigate through all this information being thrown at them.

I`m not opposed to letting our son read a book by an atheist. My son knows what he believes and we`ve taught him to appreciate literature and enjoy it`s entertainment value. His faith is strong and not easily shaken. It`s good for him to encounter the writings of others who see life from a different perspective. Having said this, we will still read the book first, before giving it to him.

This brings me to another topic that I wanted to talk about. I did some research on Philip Pullman to find out what he actually thinks about God and religion. This is a direct quote from him:

“The religious impulse, which includes the sense of awe and mystery we feel when we look at the universe, the urge to find a meaning and a purpose in our lives, our sense of moral kinship with other human beings, is part of being human, and I value it. I`d be a damn fool not to.

But organized religion is quite another thing. The trouble is that all too often in human history, churches and priesthoods have set themselves up to rule people`s lives in the name of some invisible god (and they`re all invisible, because they don’t exist) and done terrible damage. In the name of their god, they have burned, hanged, tortured, maimed, robbed, violated, and enslaved millions of their fellow-creatures, and done so with the happy conviction that they were doing the will of God, and they would go to Heaven for it.

That is the religion I hate, and I`m happy to be known as its enemy.”

I can`t say that I disagree with Pullman. I hate this kind of religion too. I sympathize with atheists. Religious people in general, and historically, have failed to show the world an image of God that is faith-worthy. Maybe what many atheists and agnostics are saying is that they don`t believe in the version of God that has been presented to them. Let`s be honest, God`s reputation in our society has been stained by those who act in His name.

In my most recent issue of Rolling Stones magazine, several public figures are interviewed to predict where they think the world is going over the next few decades. The topic of religion came up often and it wasn`t seen in a positive light.

“People are finally catching on that religion is childish and dangerous. One out of five college-age people are now atheists or agnostic. Europe is over religion; they`re religious in name only. So the older, wiser continent, they`ve moved beyond that. This is the issue of the day, and people are beginning to understand that religion is the problem.”
Bill Maher

“It`s possible people will come to their senses and realize that organizing humanity around competing religious certainties is suicidal. And Islam may undergo the same transformations that we in the Christian West have. After all, we were burning heretics for five centuries, so there have been changes made in our religiosity.”
Sam Harris, Author of The End of Faith

“Obviously, there is a source of all things, however big or small it is. But if you give it consciousness, it just gets smaller. If you give it concern for us, it gets smaller. The world and the universe are far more wonderful if there`s not a puppet master.”
Dave Matthews

I love Dave Mathews` music; however, his philosophy leaves me wanting. I do understand why people don`t want to believe in a personal God. I really do. In my once narrow mind, I used to think all atheists were trying to reject accountability for their morality. If there is no God to answer to, then I can do what I want. This is a cynical way to look at people. This may be true for some, but my experience has taught me that many atheists that I know are very kind and concerned for their fellow man. Einstein believed in God because of the wonder of the universe that he dedicate his life to understand. However, he didn`t believe that God was personal, that he really cared about us. The idea is that God set this whole thing in motion and then left. I can understand why people believe this. I think all of us, if we were honest, have wondered why God stays so silent in the face of such evil in our world. People do claim to experience God, but it`s not obvious to all or plain to see. It`s like He hides Himself in creation or the human experience.

I feel for atheists and we all may be one tragedy away from becoming one.

If Dave Matthews is right, and the creator doesn`t really feel or care for us, then to me, our existence is really meaningless. If a large meteor hit this planet and ended all life, no one in the universe or beyond would even care. Our existence as humanity would have lasted only a milli-second in the life of our universe and no body out there would have even known about us. We wouldn`t be missed, and our existence wouldn`t matter to anyone. This idea takes me to a dark place. It`s a feeling that is worse than being disappointed by God. It`s an emptiness that says, “There is no purpose in your existence. Your creator doesn`t give a shit about you. You have no destiny. You really don`t matter. There is nothing for you. You are nothing.”

On the surface, atheism is a sensible way to interpret the disappointment with religion or a lack of recognizing the workings of God in creation. However, if you follow this line of reasoning to it`s end. For me, it takes me right into a black hole. It`s very dark. I don`t always understand what God is doing or even who He is, but my heart tells me to believe. Perhaps, the human heart was programmed by God Himself to cause us to reach out to Him. I`ve decided to let me heart lead me on this one.