Free from What to What?

Everyone knows there are atheists -- people who claim to believe that there is no God. Some of them are more at "anti-theist" -- militantly against the concept of God. There are those who believe it is their duty to try to remove religion from society, with a special eye toward Christianity. Now, that may be because Christianity is the dominant religion of the United States, but it seems that Christianity is the real offender to many of the anti-theists. You will rarely find them over on a Jewish chat room or a Moslem forum debating the stupidity of their beliefs. It is almost exclusively the Christians who have their ire. There is even an organization called the Freedom From Religion Foundation whose apparent goal it is to eliminate all religion in the public arena.

What I'm wondering is what, exactly, the anti-theist is trying to free us from and to? I actually don't get either side of the question. Here's what I see. People of faith have a belief that there is a higher being that sets the rules, governs their actions, demands moral behavior. They believe that this higher being offers rewards for doing good and punishments for doing bad. They believe that this system of beliefs also offers hope in this life and the hereafter. In the present, the existence and operation of this higher being brings comfort when difficult circumstances occur because they are not random or meaningless. In the hereafter, if you meet the requirements of this higher being, you will be rewarded with an eternity of comfort or some such. These are all basic ideas to people of faith, whatever their faith may be.

It would appear that the anti-theist would like to free you from all that. We don't need morality. That's not to say that anti-theists are immoral. It's just that the basis for being good is removed. It is purely subjective if there is no source other than self. It is pragmatism. Do that which works best. Logically (in most cases) it works best if you're a nice person, so be nice. But others may disagree and, without any source, there are no grounds to suggest they are wrong. But apparently pragmatism is perfectly suitable rather than morality. And all that comfort stuff ... what do you need that for? It's much better if you realize that difficult circumstances are basically random and meaningless. Get over it. And since there is no hereafter, live for today. Stop thinking there will be rewards for being good or anything like it.

Is this better somehow? It feels like someone rowing about in a sinking boat calling to the people in the luxury liner, "Come on in! The water's fine!" Frankly, if I actually believed that life was as meaningless as that and there was no meaning or purpose as is the only conclusion from that line of thinking that I can find, I suspect I'd have to shoot myself and put me out of my misery. Why not? I'm just a biochemical bag of stuff that will decay into nothing when I'm gone. What difference does it make?

Now, I need to be absolutely clear here. I am not a theist because the alternative is too horrible to contemplate. Nothing can be deemed true simply because its alternative is awful. If the truth is awful, it's awful. No point in mitigating it. I am a theist because it makes sense to me from the evidence I see and the logic I follow and the arguments I've examined. But I'm frankly glad to be a theist because the alternative is awful. If I were to be convinced that there is no God, I would not consider it freedom; I'd consider it death.

It's a funny thing. We've all heard, "There are no atheists in foxholes." I know that's an over-generalization. But it is interesting how many times those who have strongly opposed anything religious come running to religion when times turn bad. I wonder how many funerals are performed by pastors who never knew the person they are helping bury. One may stand bravely against the night, but when faced with death, it seems that we intrinsically hope there is something more. So I can't figure out why it is that some people spend so much time and effort trying to convert people of faith to despair and hopelessness. Doesn't seem like much of an offer to me.