Secular humanism—an amalgamation of a wide spectrum of belief systems ranging from atheism to agnosticism—functions like a religion in our society. The U.S. Supreme Court decreed in 1961 that it should be treated as a religion and should receive the First Amendment protections like all other religions.
Atheists agree that the existence of God is a hypothesis that cannot be factually disproved. The presupposition of atheism, therefore, is founded on a system of belief like other non-theistic religions like Buddhism.
Atheists believe in the existence of a natural law that governs the universe. A law, by virtue of its nature, can only be conceived by a mind that transcends the universe.
Three manifestations of Atheist doctrines:
God may exist, but He doesn’t care about us. If an all-powerful, all-loving God exists there should be no suffering in this world. Therefore even if God exists He is indifferent to our world and hence is of no use to us.
God may exist, but we don’t need Him. We can be good without God and build an ideal society without the divine mandates imposed by religions. Therefore even if God exists He is irrelevant to our existence in the world.
God may exist, but we must get rid of Him. Religious violence pauses an imminent threat to human existence. Therefore even if God exists, we should eradicate Him from public consciousness.
God has put eternity in the hearts of humanity (Ecclesiastes 3:11). A deep longing for immortality and craving for transcendent values haunt all of us, including the atheists. As a result, whenever we try to eradicate religion, it mutates into various forms of new(age) spirituality.
A significant majority of the people that self-identify themselves as "nones" (with no religious affiliation) are not atheists; they are looking for "spirituality" in secular spaces.
Since all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God, it is natural to assume that God presents Himself in human imagination, even outside the sphere of religion.
Scholars have long observed patterns of thoughts instinctual to all humanity, which influence and even shape our cultural narratives—be it philosophy, art or religion. Carl Jung, one of the founding fathers of modern psychology, called them "archetypes of the collective unconscious."
One such archetype is a Christ figure, a symbolic character that exhibits the fundamental nature of Christ’s redemptive work in film, literature, and so on. Christ-figures found in secular imagination can be considered products of the subconscious theological memory of the culture.
Jesus on the cross typifies the ultimate Christ archetype – the best possible human being going through the worst possible tragedy, for the sake of others. Jesus Christ can therefore be considered the historical culmination of these mythical archetypes in the popular culture.
A faction of atheists might still doubt the existence of historical Christ, but there is a general consensus among the scholars that a person named Jesus lived in first-century Palestine, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate crucified him, and His followers claimed that He came back from the dead.
Although Jesus' divinity is disputed, the compelling nature of His humanity appeals to most atheists:
He was a rebel who challenged the foundational structures of organized religions of his times.
He was a moral advocate who championed the cause of the poor, the oppressed and the disenfranchised in the society.
He was a great storyteller who articulated abstract truths in metaphorical language, touching a deep chord of resonance with human heart.
The suffering God on the cross identifies with the ultimate predicament of humanity, including those who do not believe in His existence. Some would even argue that Jesus himself became an "atheist" when he felt separated from God for a brief moment on the cross ("My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" Matthew 27:46).
The humanity of Jesus can thus be considered a missiological bridge to His divinity. According to the "trilemma" theory of C S Lewis, a man who said and did what we read of Jesus should be a liar or a lunatic, unless He is the Lord Himself.
What do you think about the statement: "There are no atheists; only believers and heretics."
What are some of the "mutated" forms of religion in our culture?
What is a Christ-figure? How does it present itself in popular culture?
Why is the humanity of Jesus appealing to an atheist?
What is the trilemma theory of C S Lewis? How can it act as a bridge between Jesus’ humanity and His divinity?
Identify some of the spiritual instincts of your friends who consider themselves as atheists or secular humanists? (e.g. moral advocacy, their craving for afterlife etc.)
Pick a story of your choice and spot the "archetypes" in its narrative arc. Does any of them resemble to a "Christ-figure?"
Identify some of the spiritual instincts of your friends who consider themselves as atheists or secular humanists? (e.g. moral advocacy, their craving for afterlife etc.)
Pick a story of your choice and spot the "archetypes" in its narrative arc. Does any of them resemble to a "Christ-figure?"
