Is Atheism too simple?

[Nessa]

My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust? If the whole show was bad and senseless from A to Z, so to speak, why did I, who was supposed to be part of the show, find myself in such violent reaction against it? A man feels wet when he falls into water, because man is not a water animal: a fish would not feel wet. Of course I could have given up my idea of justice by saying it was nothing but a private idea of my own. But if I did that, then my argument against God collapsed too—for the argument depended on saying that the world was really unjust, not simply that it did not happen to please my fancies. Thus in the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist—in other words, that the whole of reality was senseless—I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality—namely my idea of justice—was full of sense. Consequently atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning.

C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (1952; Harper Collins: 2001) 38-39.

Thoughts?

[Kurieuo]

One of my favourites of Lewis' words.

[crochet1949]

Some good thoughts -- how do we know a line is crooked unless we know what Straight is -- where does evil 'come from' unless we can know 'good'. Where do these concepts come From?! Surely Not from Us. Which points us to a Higher Power / God.

So -- Is atheism too simple? If it Is -- then there are a Lot of people who will end up in hell -- because people tend to choose the easy way and atheism is saying there is No God. But the non-existing God who's given His Word tells us that at some time in the future -- everyone Will acknowledge the existence OF.

[Storyteller]

Nowt to add except I totally agree

[patrick]

I think atheists assume that the source, even if it contains some justice, is largely unjust.

And my answer to that is divine simplicity. Not to toot Jac's horn, but his book on it is the best thing I've read in quite a while.