From a seminar at grad school I attend now called
"Epistemology and Religion", I have learnt this
thoughtful insight from the instructor Dr. Paul Moser
(this is only an incomplete abstract of his thought):
Atheism is not only an issue of lack of empirical
evidence of God, strict arguments disclaiming the
existence of God, science not apprehending God etc.
Atheism is also a volitional issue, a fact which is
not very often debated in philosophy, theology or
natural science. Whether you believe in God or not has
to do with your will to believe in God. Seemingly this
is a simplification of a complex matter, but that is
exactly what Moser is at. It is an assumption of
theism that, at least, the atheist (or anyone else)
could want to believe in God. If he doesn't, and never
will want to believe in God, he would probably kill
himself if he met God, or if sufficient evidence for
God's existence was provided (as one Moser's atheist
friend's claimed).
I find this idea very compelling, for if it is true, a
lot of people probably aren't atheists after all.
Now, remember that this is not an accurate account of
Moser's idea, but it is sketchy outline.
Bjorn Moller
Grad student of philosophy
Loyola University, Chicago
e-mail: dj_mic20@yahoo.com
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