Theism vs. Atheism

Yesterday I had the priviledge of reading a discussion between Christopher Hitchens (atheist) and Douglas Wilson (Christian theist) titled "Is Christianity Good for the World." What a read! There are so many points I could attempt to convey to you about the book, but there is one thread through Wilson's writings that stands out to me and that is how on earth does the atheist account for morality? Wilson constantly demands that Hitchens thinking inside his own atheistic "bubble." It seems that atheists want to make statements like "Why does evil exist?" or "Look how many hypocrites there are in the Christian faith!" Wilson combats these seemingly powerful statements by asking the atheist how he defines evil? What does he mean by hypocrisy? How (given his belief that there is no Creator) can he determine what is evil and/or hypocritical? How can he say that a fellow atheist who makes the decision to murder or rape a person is acting wrongly? What standard does he have to tell him such is evil?

I'm reminded of the time I did some work for a woman who told me she was an atheist. After a little while I approached her and asked if she would have had a problem with me greeting her with a slap instead of a handshake? She replied, "Do what?!?!" I repeated by asking again if she would have thought me to be wrong by greeting her with a "hello" and a slap across the face. She said she would think I was crazy, and thus I continued by asking "Why?" Why is it that she would think I was crazy? Was it because she felt it to be un-courteous? But why? If I'm just the product of a "big bang" and so is she, and I wish to convey my greeting with a slap instead of a handshake, how can she condemn me? She may rather have a handshake, but that's nothing more than her preference, in her worldview. Of course, I know why she thinks the slap is not appropriate, there is something deep inside her that acknowledges the existence of Yahweh, the Creator of heaven and earth.

Matthew Janzen