| Ask Y |
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Where God questions are put to the test  This month’s question… I’m an atheist – what do you say to that? Thanks for even asking what I think. And for giving me the opportunity to ask you a few questions myself. So you are an atheist – a word taken from the Greek and which translates as ‘no God’. And you are not alone. There is no shortage of highly intelligent people who have the same conviction. Which brings me to my first question if I may. Out of all the vast knowledge existing in the universe, how much of it do you personally possess? What do you reckon – five percent, one percent, perhaps only 0.001 percent? Or even less? One thing seems sure. However much you know, it can only be the merest fraction of all there is to be known. Which leads me to other question. Is it remotely possible for God to exist somewhere in that vast area of knowledge that is not yet yours? Let me put it another way, is there a spider in your room right now? I assume you can’t see one, hear one, or smell one. But despite all that, who would be so bold as to say, with absolute certainty, ‘This room has no spider’? Because there might just be one outside the limited knowledge they have. In the same way could, just possibly, God exist beyond your present understanding, knowledge, and experience? What you don’t know is vastly bigger than what you do know – and isn’t it just possible God could be there too? If you are honest to say ‘yes’ then you are not actually an atheist at all but an agnostic – a word that comes from the Greek and simply means ‘not knowing’. And it’s a highly respectable name for anyone to have. There is nothing wrong with saying ‘I don’t know’ – unless you are a man driving and needing directions. So here’s my final question – what kind of agnostic are you? I ask because there are two kinds. There’s the ‘ornery agnostic’ who says, ‘Not only do I not know if there is a God, neither do you or anyone. And nor will you know, now or for ever.’ It’s a kind of open mouth and closed mind approach. In contrast, the ordinary agnostic says ‘I don’t know – but I’m open to knowing, should the right information come my way.’ If that’s you then keep asking the questions and reading this column month by month to see what clues there might be. Peter Meadows is the co-author with Joseph Steinberg of The Book of Y the basis for the eight week Y Course that explores life’s biggest questions. If you have a Y Question relating to issues of faith and God Peter or Joseph will do their best to answer it. Send your question to: challenge @veritecm.com Subject: Y Course We hope to publish their responses in future editions. |
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