[Pearls Ep 166: Answering atheism Tuesday.]
In this Thursday’s upcoming Pearls of the Interior Life, we’ll be delving deeper into Easter and Christ’s resurrection as all-important to even the most “ordinary” aspects of our life. St. Paul teaches that everything depends on the Resurrection. Jesus even says He is the Resurrection.
That’s why the deniers of Christianity go right after the Resurrection. The “New Atheists” (e.g. Richard Dawkins and Sam Harris) blatantly scoff at anyone believing people rise from the dead (of course, they can’t explain Keith Richards).
That said, the New Atheists and their ilk are rather clownish and easily brushed aside. That’s not to say they aren’t doing serious spiritual damage in the world, but true believers aren’t going to be sidetracked by their scoffing and mockery.
There’s a subtler, more pernicious form of Resurrection-denial that we must contend with – the lingering doubts and cynicism that reside in each of us. St. Teresa of Avila, speaking of the mansions of our soul, notes that the outer mansions are still infested with “poisonous creatures.” What are those poisonous creatures if not doubts (as well as pride and attachments)?
Our response to the Resurrection can be one of those poisonous creatures. To some degree (sometimes to an alarming degree for the duo writing this) we tend to be schizophrenic in our disposition to the Resurrection. At some level we believe it. But on a different level, that same Christ who we proclaim to be Lord of life and death, we make powerless -or worse yet irrelevant – to different aspects of our own life.
“Sure, He rose from the dead, but there’s no way He can do anything about my schedule today – do you know how busy I am?” Or, “Yes, He created the universe and He can forgive my sins. But there’s nothing He’s going to do about this broken relationship, or my challenges at work, or what-have-you.”
So let us always be vigilant against that slithery, deceptive type of atheism – lack of belief in the power of the Resurrection over our everyday life. The Resurrection has dominion over every aspect of our life, at all times. When we give ourselves over to Him, Christ is always at work to revive, renew and transform us – especially at those times when it seems He is doing nothing.
More to come on this…
Easter blessings –
Steve and Karen Smith
Interior Life