Atheism for Advent

Grounding your belief

Eric Sentell
Backyard Church

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Photo by Myriam Zilles on Unsplash

The Christian philosopher Peter Rollins runs a program called “Atheism for Lent.” Participants engage with the most famous arguments for atheism, by atheists, as a way of renewing their faith, of determining what they believe and why.

Advent is a time of hope and joy for Christians. We anticipate the birth of Jesus Christ, itself an anticipation of his death and resurrection. Life, death, renewed life — the organizing principle of the universe, our remembrance of the principle overlaid on the seasons of creation.

But what if we tried atheism for advent?

Why should we believe in God, or whatever higher power or “ground of being” we call God? Why should we believe in the metaphysical? And why should we believe Jesus was the son of God, that his birth and death were any more special than another’s?

Maybe the Metaphysical Is Physical

I’m reading a novel in which a main character finds “anything metaphysical” impossible to believe. To him, God the Father is unlikely and the Holy Spirit “absurd.”

But what if the metaphysical is actually physical? Meaning, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit might be our metaphors for a physical entity in the universe that exists in a way we can’t normally or easily observe, experience, or interact with. It’s so apart, we call it metaphysical. It’s like the gravitational waves and neutrinos that pass through us all the time without our awareness, or the infrared and ultraviolet spectrums of light that we can’t see with our eyes alone.

If we believe God exists and interacts with creation, then we believe in something that has at least some mysterious, as yet undetectable physical element. A truly metaphysical God, an immaterial spirit if you will, must be able to bridge the material. Thus God must have some material aspect. This wild speculation may give some comfort to us in our darkest doubts.

We’re Here. Why Not Divinity?

In my moments of darkest doubt, I rely on the fact that we’re here at all.

How plausible is it that a higher power exists for no apparent reason? About as plausible as the universe existing for no apparent reason. Yet we’re here.

Jesus Lived

Jesus was a real person. His crucifixion was recorded by a Jewish historian, Josephus.

Of course, “Jesus was a historical figure” is a far cry from “Jesus is the son of God.” I’m merely saying, if we’re trying atheism for advent, at least we know Jesus existed, stirred up “good trouble,” and died on a cross at Roman hands.

And if the metaphysical is physical, it’s hardly crazy to think God’s spirit manifested in the body of Jesus. Or that the Spirit resides in us, a kind of quantum entanglement of souls.

Belief Is Desire

Belief always has an element of desire.

I do not mean that we believe what we want to believe. I mean that evidence takes us only so far when we’re dealing with moral and spiritual beliefs, values, and ideals.

At some point, we have to take the leap of faith to choose to believe, to trust, in something. That something appeals to us somehow. We want it to be true.

We can try on doubt as a way of discovering what we want to believe and why.

Check out my newsletter, Saving Faith, where we rebuild a faith that works one 2-minute read at a time.

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