Regardless of the object of our faith, there is a sliver within each of our souls that cries out, “I believe; help my unbelief!” in moments of trial or suffering. (Mark 9:24) This doubt is a byproduct of faith and the human condition because faith itself is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1) Both articles, “The Blessings of Atheism” and “Saint Manuel Bueno, Martyr,” present the thoughts of individuals who struggle to have faith in god. The author of “Blessings of Atheism,” Susan Jacoby, finds solace and peace in abandoning faith in god completely – “to be free of what is known as the theodicy problem.” Don Manuel, whose life and faith are relayed secondhand in “Saint Manuel
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She confesses that she essentially refused to believe in a benevolent god at a very young age when her close friend succumbed to polio. This process of formulating her faith based upon what she sees leads her to be a committed atheist by the age of 18. Jacoby begins her article in exasperation that faith in god is presented as the only consolation for those devastated by the Sandy Hook shooting. This author seems to revere Robert Ingersoll, “The Great Agnostic.” She quotes his words of solace offered to parents at the funeral of their child: “The dead do not suffer.” From acquaintances I have personally known whose children have died, their greatest sorrow is from separation. The idea that their child is no longer suffering provides initial comfort, but as months and years go by, the greatest comfort is the assurance they find in their faith in being eventually reunited in heaven. Jacoby admits that when tragedy strikes, atheists “fade or [are] pushed into the background,” quite possibly because of the limited comfort available in this ideology. But while her belief in god decreased due to the suffering she saw, the faith of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who suffered and died in a Nazi concentration camp, was not eroded by his experience. Could that mean that the existence of suffering is not a good litmus for the existence of
She confesses that she essentially refused to believe in a benevolent god at a very young age when her close friend succumbed to polio. This process of formulating her faith based upon what she sees leads her to be a committed atheist by the age of 18. Jacoby begins her article in exasperation that faith in god is presented as the only consolation for those devastated by the Sandy Hook shooting. This author seems to revere Robert Ingersoll, “The Great Agnostic.” She quotes his words of solace offered to parents at the funeral of their child: “The dead do not suffer.” From acquaintances I have personally known whose children have died, their greatest sorrow is from separation. The idea that their child is no longer suffering provides initial comfort, but as months and years go by, the greatest comfort is the assurance they find in their faith in being eventually reunited in heaven. Jacoby admits that when tragedy strikes, atheists “fade or [are] pushed into the background,” quite possibly because of the limited comfort available in this ideology. But while her belief in god decreased due to the suffering she saw, the faith of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who suffered and died in a Nazi concentration camp, was not eroded by his experience. Could that mean that the existence of suffering is not a good litmus for the existence of