(The following QA was hosted in Huffington Post, August 26, 2013)
How would you respond to Dr. Stenger?
Victor John Stenger, PhD (1935-2014), was an American particle physicist, outspoken atheist, author, philosopher, and a popular religious skeptic. He published twelve books for general audiences on physics, quantum mechanics, cosmology, philosophy, religion, atheism, and pseudoscience. His 2007 book God: The Failed Hypothesis. How Science Shows that God Does Not Exist was a New York Times bestseller. His last book was God and the Atom. Dr. Stenger popularized the phrase: “Science flies you to the moon. Religion flies you into buildings.”
1. What do you say to someone who comes to the realization that this is all there is, there is no personal God?
Stenger: Deal with it. It’s a fact of life. Look at the bright side. You no longer have to worry about eternal punishment. Your life is now your own, not governed by external forces except for those imposed by the fact that you are a physical being in a purely physical world.
How I would respond to Dr. Stenger is I would go up to him in person and give him a big hug and say you are forgiven!
It’s sad to me that he hadn’t experienced hope of something or someone greater than himself. I’m not even angry reading his response because that’s all he knows and who I am to judge? Just like all I know is of Jesus and his amazing love.
Plus I don’t like politics and science so sorry my response isn’t as “technical”.
1) First of all, I would respond respectfully. Even if some people want to turn these discussions into bitter attacks and denunciations, as Jesus-followers we should resist this.
2) ‘Deal with it’. This would certainly make my pastoral ministry, grief counselling, crisis intervention, etc. easier. Stop grieving, stop worrying, stop wishing for better, stop complaining about injustice… deal with it. Reminds me of the Bob Newhart counsellor sketch, “Stop It”.
3) ‘Look at the bright side!’. This is indeed a bright side. No accountability, no responsibility, no justice. Centuries of brutality and rape and murder (by both religious and irreligious people) all water under the bridge? And hey, so long as you can get away with it, why not join in the fun. ‘Your life is now your own, not governed by external forces…’ I know Dr. Stenger would not say this, but it is consistent with what he says. Can he fault anyone for saying this? That would be accountability, or judgment.
4) ‘A purely physical world’. Has science proven this? What scientific tests were done to conclude this? Seems to me this is a belief or opinion, not a fact, since science can’t prove it either way. In fact, it is a religious belief, a belief about spiritual reality (that it does not exist). And make no mistake, this view is expressed as religiously and hurtfully than any other religious belief.