50 Reasons People Give for Believing in a God (31 page)

Since intelligent-design believers are always attacking evolution as
the rival to their god's creation story, it is important to point out that
evolution does not directly address the origin of life. Believers almost
always frame the debate as creationism/intelligent design vs. evolution
but this is misleading because creationism/intelligent design is primarily a claim about the beginning of life while the theory of evolution
only claims to explain how life changes over time. The theory of evolution does not answer how life began on earth. Many believers may be
surprised to learn that most scientists today freely admit that they don't
know how life originated. There are some very interesting ideas under
investigation but, given the time factor of at least four billion years ago,
we may never know with confidence exactly how life got its start.

Another problem with intelligent design is that its own reasoning
works against it. Intelligent design declares that complex things such
as life must have been the work of an intelligent creator. If that is true,
however, it means that the intelligent creator-obviously complexmust have been designed and created by some other intelligent being.
So who is the creator of our creator? Shouldn't believers be more
interested in worshipping this creator instead? After all, creating a god
is far more impressive than creating barnacles, palm trees, and
humans. Of course, believers usually respond to that by claiming that
their god is infinite and did not need a creator. Well, if that is possible,
then maybe life is infinite with no beginning too. Maybe life always
existed and just arrived here on earth from somewhere else.

There are three primary problems with intelligent design that every
believer should consider. First, it has no evidence to support it. Second,
intelligent design doesn't say anything about how life was created.
Third, intelligent design encourages us to give up on seeking answers.
It suggests that some mysteries of life are too complex to have a natural explanation. That is the worst form of antiscience imaginable.

Intelligent-design believers are right about one thing. There really is design in nature. They are not hallucinating and they are not stupid
for stating the obvious. When I look at an ant or a flower, I don't see
a random and accidental collection of cells that were thrown together
by blind chance. I recognize design the same as believers do. What I
do not see, however, is evidence of an intelligent designer. What many
believers may not be aware of is that the theory of evolution does not
claim that life is the random, accidental result of blind chance. This
may be what believers are repeatedly told by preachers and antiscience
activists but it is a misrepresentation of the truth. There is a designer.
But it's not intelligent and it certainly doesn't need to be worshipped.
Its name is evolution.

Brockman, John, ed., Intelligent Thought: Science versus the Intelligent
Design Movement. New York: Vintage Books, 2006. This is a powerful
collection of essays that demolish the claim that intelligent design is science or even sensible.

Brown, Barrett, and Jon P. Alston. Flock of Dodos: Behind Modern Creationism, Intelligent Design and the Easter Bunny. New York: Cambridge
House Press, 2007. I wouldn't recommend this book to more sensitive
believers but many others would find it both educational and hilarious.

Dawkins, Richard. The Blind Watchmaker. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1996.

Forrest, Barbara, and Paul R. Gross. Creationism's Trojan Horse: The Wedge
of Intelligent Design. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. This is
required reading for anyone who believes that intelligent design is science and not religious creationism.

Humes, Edward. Monkey Girl: Evolution, Education, Religion, and the
Battle for America's Soul. New York: HarperCollins, 2007. A good story
about what happens when science and religion collide.

Shermer, Michael. Why Darwin Matters: The Case against Intelligent
Design. New York: Times Books, 2006. Shermer presents a readable
concise case for evolution.

One man's theology is another man's belly laugh.

-Robert A. Heinlein

popular though clearly misguided justification for belief in a
god comes from the notion that there is strength and truth in
numbers. It is understandable how believers fall into this faulty reasoning. The typical Hindu in India looks around and sees that he is surrounded by nearly a billion other Hindus-almost one-sixth of the
world's entire population. Naturally he says, "My religion must be
correct because all these people couldn't possibly be wrong." But the
Muslim looks around her neighborhood, her country, her region, and
sees millions of Muslims. Today more than a billion people worldwide
are Muslims. Meanwhile, the Christian surveys the world and notes
that he belongs to the most popular religion of all with more than two
billion followers. They couldn't possibly all be wrong about Christianity, he thinks to himself. So who is right? Is anyone right when they
make this claim? Can we really tally up the membership rolls and
declare a winner? Or is it perhaps a bit more complicated than that?

One of the reasons that religions have thrived for so long is
because most people are either nearsighted or virtually blind when it
comes to other cultures. Sadly, most people are mostly unaware of
what goes on in other places around the world. Even trying to keep track of international news is not enough to build an accurate picture
of the world. News focuses on dramatic events and interesting people.
It is by its nature a distortion of reality. People in the West may know
there is an Africa and a Middle East, for example, but since they don't
live there or visit, they are nothing more than names heard on television. They are no more real than characters in some TV drama. So
when a typical child grows up in the United States or Mexico, for
example, the religious isolation can be profound. Christianity will
probably be imposed on the kid by family members. The broader culture probably will further reinforce the belief. During all of this, in the
child's most formative years, there is little or no education or discussion about other religious beliefs or about nonbelief. The end result of
this common process is usually an adult who knows very little about
other religions, much less the option of atheism, and is totally ignorant
of how the numbers of believers and nonbelievers stack up globally.
For example, I have found that many Christians are surprised when I
tell them that about 70 percent of the world's people do not believe
that Jesus is a god. They are aware that other religions exist, of course,
but know little about them. Why would they? Most Christians live
with Christians, go to school with Christians, play with Christians,
marry Christians, and work with Christians. They are told both
directly and indirectly that Christianity is the true religion, the real
religion. It is easy to see why many of them end up with greatly exaggerated views of their religion's global acceptance and credibility. The
same thing happens to many Muslims. A typical child born in Saudi
Arabia, for example, is immersed in Islam from birth. No one gives
her an objective assessment of the varieties of religious belief available. There is even less likely to be an unbiased explanation of religious skepticism and atheism provided. From day one the child is told
that Islam is right and by default all other belief systems are wrong. It
is doubtful that anyone will ever tell the child the simple fact that 80
percent of the world's people do not believe the claims of Islam.

The top predictors of a person's religious belief are what their parents believed and where they spent their childhood. This impact of inheritance and geography upon belief is powerful and consistent. It
also explains a lot about how the world's religions survive generation
after generation. This pattern is exactly what one would expect to see
in a world where gods are not real and the continuing belief in them is
the result of childhood indoctrination. The geography of religion, the
fact that we can speak of "Muslim countries" and "Christian societies," suggests that very little comparison shopping and even less
deep thinking is going on when it comes to deciding which god is
more likely to be real and which religion is more likely to be correct.
Rarely is a god chosen based on the weight of evidence, or which
sacred scripture makes the most sense, or which religion has the best
human rights record. In virtually every case, the choice of a god is
determined by family and culture.

There is no guarantee of truth to be found in the number of
believers alone. It does not matter how many millions or billions
believe in a particular god. Millions and even billions can be dead
wrong. In fact we know that at the very least a few billion people are
wrong because it is impossible for the Christians, Muslims, Hindus,
and animists to all be correct. What matters when it comes to assessing
the gods is the quality of the claims for their existence. Good evidence
and powerful arguments can make a strong case, no matter if only one
person believes. Conversely, if everyone on earth believed in Zeus that
alone would not be enough to prove he was real.

Barker, Dan. Losing Faith in Faith: From Preacher to Atheist. Madison, WI:
Freedom From Religion Foundation, 1992. This book reveals fascinating
insights into the journey of a man who was a committed and sincere
Christian preacher but dared to think freely and ended up an atheist.

Warraq, Ibn, ed. Leaving Islam: Apostates Speak Out. Amherst, NY:
Prometheus Books, 2003.

Psychologists have extensively studied the tendency for
people's judgment to be dominated by a single, salient
example when more accurate and representative statistical
evidence is available.

-Keith E. Stanovich

y search for a miracle has led me to a small Florida church.
I've heard about miracles all my life and today I want to see
one with my own eyes. A traveling faith healer is here to work his
magic so there is a good chance I will get my wish. But I have to wait.
Standing with fifty or so believers, I pray and sing for about thirty
minutes. I actually like the singing. The songs are beautiful. Yes, an
atheist can enjoy religious music. I also enjoy Christmas Eve with my
family even though I don't believe Santa Claus is really going to come
down the chimney.

Suddenly, the singing stops and the preacher launches into a
standard, but still scary, sermon. He warns everyone to get right with
God before it's too late. Jesus can return any day, any moment, he
says. If you haven't repented your sins and accepted him into your
hearts before he comes, then you will end up in hell, he declares with
a tone of utter certainty. The people around me seem impressed,
maybe a little worried too. Many of them nod in agreement. I wonder if any of these believers know that many Christians in every generation over the last two thousand years have expected Jesus to return
in their lifetime.

As miracle time approaches, I start to feel a bit nervous. Even
though I prayed and sang just like the believers did, I'm not sure that
I fit in. I doubt they would want me here if they knew I was just a
tourist, just passing through to see the sights. I didn't lie to anyone, of
course. Everyone just assumed that I believe in Jesus. I am, of course,
harmless. I didn't come to mock these people, look down on them, or
disrupt their event in any way. I don't think I'm smarter or better than
them just because they believe in magic and I don't. The only reason
I'm here is because I want to learn something new. I'm just curious.
My subterfuge only goes as far as their assumptions, anyway. All it
would take to expose me is one direct question. I wouldn't lie to them.