“A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I’m an Atheist.”
Why don’t you believe in God? I get that question all the time. I always try to give a sensitive, reasoned answer. This is usually awkward, time consuming and pointless. People who believe in God don’t need proof of his existence, and they certainly don’t want evidence to the contrary. They are happy with their belief.
They even say things like “it’s true to me” and “it’s faith.” I still give my logical answer because I feel that not being honest would be patronizing and impolite. It is ironic therefore that “I don’t believe in God because there is absolutely no scientific evidence for his existence and from what I’ve heard the very definition is a logical impossibility in this known universe,” comes across as both patronizing and impolite.
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/...im-an-atheist/
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An (Atheist) Easter Message from Ricky Gervais
Last Christmas I wrote a little essay entitled: “A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I’m an Atheist.”
The Wall Street Journal ran it, and it caused quite a stir. I was even asked to answer some of the comments.
So for Easter I thought I’d do another one. Here it is.
A Holiday Message from Ricky Gervais: Why I’m A Good Christian.
The title of this one is a little misleading, or at least cryptic. I am of course not a good Christian in the sense that I believe that Jesus was half man, half God, but I do believe I am a good Christian compared to a lot of Christians.
It’s not that I don’t believe that the teachings of Jesus wouldn’t make this a better world if they were followed. It’s just that they are rarely followed.
Gandhi summed it up really. He said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
I have always felt this way, even when I believed in God, and in a weird way I feel I am still a pretty good “Christian” who doesn’t believe in God.
So many Christians think that because they believe in the right God, they are automatically good and have a one-way ticket to everlasting life. Dare I say it but I suspect this is their main reason for believing. I’ve heard so many “believers” say, “Well, since there is no way of being sure whether there is a God or not, it’s better to believe in God than not, because that way, if you’re wrong it doesn’t matter and if you’re right you get everlasting life.” Win:win.
This is of course Pascal’s Wager, which assumes that God if he exists would reward blind faith above logic and living a good life as an atheist
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/...ent-christian/
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