Atheists in Foxholes? Any Old Atheists Out There?
There are no Atheists in foxholes — This is a common saying, often used in times when there are tragedies, or during battles and wars. The saying points to the fact, that Atheists are only so, when no eminent danger is in front of them. Many atheists will scoff at this saying, but I often believe this to be true.
One addendum to this saying could probably be, there are no old atheists. As one grows older, I think one is more in tune with his mortality, and is thus more prone to believe that there is a greater being that must be in control of this entire thing we call reality.
I myself, do not know any atheist closely or personally for that matter, but it has always intrigued me as to how one does not believe in a higher being than himself. But as the internet has connected us in ways that no one could have predicted even years ago, I have found myself crossing paths with a few atheists online.
They have always been courteous with me, and have always extended their kindness, although I often point out our differences during discussions.
In the time that I have been blogging, I have come to observe that many atheists are prone to theology, philosophy, and logic. I’ve even come to some conclusion that books covering these subjects could be their equivalent of the bible and holy books. And Philosophy and Theology in general is their religion.
They have often taken great satisfaction in initiating debates so as to exert their philosophical dominance against ‘the believers’.
It has become their weapon of choice, and many atheists will sometimes resort to the statement, ‘it is not for us to prove that there is no God, it is for you to prove that there is a God’… I’ve often wondered, why not try both?
In the end, I’m no expert in Philosophy or Theology, but I think we all have a Philosopher in all of us, because after all, Philosophy in terms of its Greek root words, essentially means “Love of Wisdom”. If we love and are always seeking wisdom, does that not make us Philosophers in some sense?
To the atheists who read this blog, I’ll tell you beforehand, I am a Catholic, and I am a believer. My faith is my guide and that’s enough for me. I don’t seek your approval and neither should you seek mine. I don’t even seek your understanding, but I do ask for your respect.
And getting back to whether there are atheists in foxholes, I still don’t think there are. Faced with death, I don’t see how one can deny a greater being. But then again, that’s my belief, you’re free to believe whatever you believe, because in this reality, democracy is the referee.
Hi Nick,
I’ve been reading your blog via rss for quite sometime now. I am a Filipino and am an atheist.
To answer your question with regards to atheist in foxhole. Yes, there are definitely atheists in foxholes. For example, recently a general in the US military later apoligize when he blurted the phrase, after the protest by atheist soldiers.
When a conservative blurted the phrase again in the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre, atheist from around the world denounced him (I gave examples of dying atheist at my blog).
@Michael,
Excellent post Michael, I heard about Kurt’s death… a lot of people wrote about it, I didn’t think I would be right to write about such a man who I didn’t know much about.
During the Katrina Disaster in The U.S., I think Matt Lauer blurted out the saying as well, but then apologized the day after.
I certainly do not agree with your belief, but never should we deny the humanity that exists in all of us because we disagree…
Thanks for reading!
“The worst moment for the atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank” – GK Chesterton.
Keep on blogging Nick. Nice GUI with nice posts.
Thanks Brennan, I’m not sure what GUI means, but thank you for the kind words. The posts are always written with passion, it’s the only way I know how to be a true patriot of our country.
Whether or not there are disagreements, the point is that the issues of the day are out there for all Filipinos to hear.
I have to say, I don’t care much for Atheists. They say that they respect other people, but are always quick to judge every religion out there. They are egotistical and think they are above those who believe in a higher being. Prove it, as they say. But this is what faith is all about, but then again, we can’t expect atheists to have faith. They degrade everything that is good and will do anything to put down a society that is based on religion. They do not realize that in a society of atheists, if it were to exist, atheism would be the root of all violence because their morality is always questionable.
@Hindiakopinoy,
I don’t think we can lump and generalize all atheists in this manner, any more than we can say that catholics are responsible for all violence…
I’ve met some really outstanding Atheists online…
To generalize an entire group of individuals and say that they are the root of all violence is irresponsible.
Although I disagree with their beliefs, that is to the extent I will disagree. To degrade a group of individuals based on their belief system is never a good way to enter into a debate.
@Nick
Thanks man.
@Brennan
It is interesting to note that G.K. Chesterton’s friend is George Bernard Shaw, who is an atheist himself.
@HindiAkoPinoy
Despite having no supernatural deity, we too have morals and ethics.
We are all born atheist. One way or another, we are all atheist. Think of how many past gods you don’t beleive in: Zeus, Thor, etc. Here’s a list of gods. Does that mean that because you don’t believe in most of those gods in that list, it also means that you have no morals? Of course not.
The different between us, is I believe in less god than you.
As for your question about society of atheists. There are many countries today with significant atheist population: Sweden & Japan for example.
The United Nations Development Program of societal health through a weighing of such indicators as life expectancy at birth, adult literacy rate, per capita income, and educational attainment. Five of the highest ranked nations in terms of total human development were Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada, and the Netherlands.
All five of these countries are characterized by notably high degrees of organic atheism.
@Nick
Thanks man.
@Brennan
It is interesting to note that G.K. Chesterton’s friend is George Bernard Shaw, who is an atheist himself.
Michael, There you go again trying to convert everyone into an atheist. There is no gray area here, either you believe in God or you don’t, I myself do not have an ounce of atheism in my bones. And your list of countries that you claim are atheists are preposterous. With those studies, there are hundreds more that say that a family based on good religious practices have lower incidences of violence.
To Nick, you say you are Catholic, but how could you capitulate and start kissing the ass of those Atheists who would undermine your religion. You respect them, but do they respect you?
@HindiAkoPinoy
Of course there are gray areas. There is what we call coercive atheism, as professed by Stalin, Pol Pot, Mao etc. This we do not condone.
There are also the organic atheism, this I and many of atheist approved of. An atheism that grows from a society without being coerced by the government. Sweden(85%), Japan(65%), & France(48%), has a high organic atheism.
There are also religion without God, some form of Buddhism for example. Natural pantheism believes that God is not en entity, but nature itself. Deists are those who believe in God, but believe God left us on our own. Agnostics are those who are not sure if there is a God or not.
So clearly there is gray area.
I’m catholic but I’m dating an athiest but he’s very spiritual. Faith is not a hindrance for us. He respects my beliefs and I respect his. Atheism is not a problem here. It’s probably the arrogance of both sides not wanting to accept each other. Same as why other faiths or culture clash, it’s the choice of not accepting other people’s beliefs. Thank you.
@HindiAkoPinoy
Let’s not be hasty with our generalizations. Sometimes, we always eat our words, like I did for almost all my life. Hence, we learn.
@Hindiakopinoy,
I think respect is definitely mutual… Even if I encounter someone that does not respect my religion, I cannot hold an entire belief hostage because of that one person’s actions…
@Issai,
Thank you for your thoughts, acceptance is alway the true path of an understanding relationship..
@Michael,
Thank you, clearly you are educated in your belief, I can only respect such devotion and passion. I look at your definition of Agnostics, and in a sense, maybe we have a part of that in all of us… thus, my faith comes in…
Just wanted to say that I think the world would be a better place if religion was never invented. Yes, religion is invented by barbaric men of long ago who thought that thunder and lightning was a sign from an angry god signaling them to sacrifice a lamb as offering to appease his anger.
Your god and your belief or faith as you call it was passed on to you by your parents and their parents before them. If you had Muslim parent you’d be praying to Alah, if you had Catholic parents you be going to mass on Sundays, if you had Hindu parents you wouldn’t eat beef steak for dinner.
So think about it. The more we keep trying to convince other people that our god is the true god the more it divides us. Pretty soon there will be a war of religion. A war not divided by country. a war that could mean the enemy is your next door neighbor.
If I find myself in a life threatening situation I would try to call for help so I can still make it to the hospital coz if I use my energy to pray to someone that does not exist I would have wasted my chance for survival.
So it is definitely wrong to say; There are no Atheists in foxholes.
Research the origin of your religion, any religion and you’ll find out that everything you thought was true was all made up by some fool a long long time ago. I was born to Catholic parents, studied in a Catholic private school and was even a knight of the altar and was also considering entering the seminary. We Catholic have been fools for more than 2000 years now.