Between Atheists and Believer
What do you believe?
Blooms are mixed —
some roots in ancient scriptures,
twisted of the rich soil of gods and spirits,
while others stretch out in the open air,
seeking nourishment from sunlit spaces of skepticism and science.
Atheists, they say, find their church in the cosmos.
A sanctuary and humbling,
where laws govern, not by command,
but through the beats of nature.
They worship, perhaps not deities,
but the relentlessness of questions,
the kind that peels back layers of the universe
as one might peel an orange, spice flaring as the truth is exposed.
Believers hold their candles against this same cosmos.
Each flame is soft against the dark,
to pass from trembling lips to eager ears,
a chain of faith unbroken by doubt.
Their light finds mystery not in the cold equations,
But in shared prayer,
every “amen” seems to make the community tighter.
Between these worlds, conversation falters.
Heartbeats and synapses.
Yet, look closely — see the atheist reading of Narnia at a child’s bedside, where lions rule kind and
a concession that truth is within fiction.
And there, by the hospital bed, a believer prays with a scientist,
each understanding that hope, like dark matter,
fills unseen spaces, binding us tighter than gravity ever could.
This is both flat and narrow.
It has hills and valleys, and each crest has a different view.
From atop one hill, the atheist looks out,
seeing a horizon edged by Occam’s razor, sharp and clean.
Below, the believer kneads the earth,
planting flowers in Solomon’s soil,
believing every petal holds a parable.
We are all wanderers.
seeking our place between the stars and the soil.
Let us pause, exchange,
and find communion, not in our conclusions
but in our shared probe for meaning.
May we not be what divides us,
But what ties us together —
the awe that comes from gazing at the stars is huge.
Whether viewed through a telescope,
the hopeful lens of the human heart is strong.
Are there beliefs you hold without question?
What could you learn from someone who sees things differently?
Thanks for taking the time to read. I’d like to hear your perspective.
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