Saturday, September 25, 2010

Atheists ignorant of Theology

A common argument against atheists is that we are ignorant of Theology. I can't speak for other atheists, but I'm happy to plead guilty as charged. I haven't read any of the big names in theology, and I don't intend to. I'm convinced it isn't necessary. If their arguments really had any merit, there would also be some objective evidence they could point to as well. As Christopher Hitchens says: "What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof."

But I wonder if any Theologian has ever written a Theology for Dummies that approaches Theology the way I'd like to see it approached? Consider three possible hypotheses about "god":
  1. The Old Testament is essentially true.
  2. The Old Testament is myth, but there really is a God (unrelated to the God of Abraham) who created the universe.
  3. The Old Testament is myth and there are no gods.
For me to take Theology seriously, all three hypotheses must be addressed with intellectual honesty. I would need to see arguments that show how we could tell which of the three hypotheses best explains the world we can all objectively observe. If a Theologian could do this and make strong arguments that the 3rd hypothesis is the weakest, then that would be interesting.