Richard Dawkins, justly called the Arch Bishop
of Atheism, said:” It’s been suggested that if the super-naturalists really had
the powers they claim, they’d win the lottery every week. I prefer to point out
that they could also win a Nobel Prize for discovering fundamental physical
forces hitherto unknown to science. Either way, why are they wasting their
talents doing party tunes?” With all due respect, that’s a rather infantile
understanding of religion. Most arguments against the existence of God target
myths and legends which surround a prophet: For example: In the light of modern biology, we know that
a virgin birth is impossible and the body decomposes after death. So how can
there be a resurrection or reincarnation? Clearly, an afterlife is a fantasy,
so are heaven and hell. Evolution has proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that
the world was not created in seven days, it evolved over eons so on. In short
the entire atheist argument is focused on the myths associated with religion,
not its teachings, ideas and ideals. No atheist will accept that there are states
of consciousness that only a small number of diligent seekers with pure minds
attain. The two key themes of the Bible – ‘agape, ‘(compassion) and sacrifice
of which the crucifixion is a symbol fall by the wayside. So far as I know, no atheist has talked about
concepts such as ‘Satchitananda’ which are the soul of Vedanta.
Dawkins,
Richard; ‘The Appetite for Wonder,’ BBC 1, November 12, 1996 (Richard Dimbleby
lecture
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