Maybe it all boils down to this: Some people fundamentally think there’s got to be someone in charge; and some people shudder at that idea.
Let’s set aside for a minute our squabbles over the specific ways a certain deity (starts with “Y”) is described in certain scriptures (starts with “the B”), and ponder the more general question of why would someone be inclined to believe or not believe in a God in the face of fuck all evidence one way or the other? My hunch is it comes down to a mash-up of two things:
- What makes more sense, intuitively, to you: A universe where someone is in charge, or a universe where no-one is in charge? [and]
- What is more comforting to you: A universe where someone is in charge, or a universe where no-one is in charge?
Maybe those two things are one thing, I dunno.
As a starting point for me, it sorta seemed like somebody’s got to be in charge. I grew up in a world well-ordered by my parents. They were in charge–authoritative, but not authoritarian. That makes an imprint. But then I studied history and I realized at that scale, nobody is in charge. And I looked at the amount of misery in the world, and–being inclined toward depression anyway–figured if someone is in charge, they’ve got a lot to answer for. And no answers were forthcoming, at least none that I could stomach. So to me, today, it makes the most sense, and is most comforting, to assume nobody is in charge of this universe.
But I can see the other view: No design without a designer. And if no-one is in charge, we have no assurance of better things to come; if a benevolent being is in charge, we can be assured of better days ahead.
Questions:
- If you’re an atheist, what would be the implications for you if someone were in charge?
- If you’re a theist, what would be the implications for you if nobody was in charge?
- What’s Al Haig got to do with it?