Atheism is still Faith

I realize the title can be somewhat inflammatory, so let me say these things at the outset.

First, I have no particular quarrel with atheists. I respect atheism as much as any other faith, and will fight tooth-and-nail for your right to make that choice yourself rather than have it forced upon you by parent, pariah, priest, or Parliament.

Second, I am in fact a Christian. I am not a young Earth creationist, or any of the labels you might be familiar with as "standards." My faith is mine - it is unique, and it is personal, and for the sake of this argument it is not relevant.

Third, along the lines of that respect, I am a firm believer in polite discourse. If you can maintain a level head, I am always happy to discuss my faith, your faith, other faiths, etc. I don't mind. Right up until it becomes a battle of insults, but that is not a fault of the discussion, but rather the people involved.



My argument is very simple: atheism is a religion. It is not science.

To be fair, atheism seems to generally reflect a belief, a faith -in- science. I am simply stating that it is not in itself a science. There is as much faith involved as with any other religion.

My evidence is very straightforward:

I believe that God created the universe, perhaps through an event like the Big Bang, perhaps not.
You assert that the Big Bang simply happened, and the laws of physics did not apply beforehand.

I believe that evolution was guided through a set of basic lifeforms and diversified as time passed.
You believe in abiogenesis, that life can spawn from nothing, and yet also contend that it only does so in immeasurably rare circumstances.

I believe the absence of physical, measurable proof of the existence of God is simply a lack of ability on our part to quantify a thing on that scale - a fair comparison would be to prove color to the blind.
You believe the absence of directly measurable scientific evidence for the cause of the Big Bang, abiogenesis, dark matter, and many other things, is simply a symptom of our not-yet-fully-developed sciences.

In any case, I mean no disrespect. You have every right to assert that God does not exist.
What you do not have is the right to tell me my belief is barbaric and yours is scientific, when in reality we each are required by our beliefs to have faith. Your faith is in man, in science, or in whichever thing you have chosen in absence of God - perhaps even in nothing. Mine is in God.

It is that simple. I respect your religion, all I ask is that you respect mine by accepting that what you believe -is- religion - and not any more fact at its core than any other belief system, even if your belief is in fact.

- C