Nietzsche and the Marshwiggle

A nice irony is this: Whereas Christianity (and Judaism) can give atheists a dignified place within their own theory of religious liberty, it seems quite difficult for atheists such as Dawkins to assign religious people any place in their own theory other than the loony bin. For Jews and Christians, freedom is so dear to the Creator that He allows free human beings to turn away from him, to reject the granting even of His existence, and to scorn Him and His works. In their refusal of His friendship, He vindicates His love of liberty. Thus, atheists too give witness to His glory.

By contrast, Dawkins in his apoplexy can find no place for believing Jews and Christians except delusion. He thinks of atheism as a place of honor and of religion as a disease; teaching of the latter, a crime; teaching of the former, a way of light, knowledge, and truth.

There is a further irony. Time and again in history, reason has proved to be inadequate to its own defense. Most people most of the time live by passion, sentiment, custom, emotion — many such guides influence them — but few live purely by reason. Even famous philosophers of very high scientific standards have insisted that they did not choose their wives or guide their loves by scientific reason. Reason is but a thin sliver to build a civilization upon.

And the situation is far worse than that. The scientist qua scientist typically writes that the universe was formed by chance. At this starting point, then, there is a fundamental irrationality at the heart of science. There is a superstructure of towering reasonings, but based upon an absurdity — in the strict sense, an utter absence of discernible reason, a surd at the root of the matter. The thorough cultivation of science alone as a philosophy of life, therefore, normally ends as Nietzsche sadly announced, that, in our civilization, it already had: in nihilism.– Michael Novak, NRO

Novak pinpoints the base irrationality of atheism, the foundation upon which others are thereby constructed. To pretend that reason rules where it manifestly does not, to fly under a moral flag that is not – and in most cases cannot be – reached by reason, these are mere quotidian irrationalities. Perhaps some dim awareness of this self-delusion accounts for the rage of so many atheists when confronted by the ironic reality of their lives. They say they laugh, even as their foam-flecked lips spew curses.

It does not bother me in the least that many call me a fool or an idiot for my faith. But then, I believe in the biggest absurdity of all; that an all-powerful Creator God would deign to become Man, that He might save His creation from itself. Embrace the rational nihilism of the Void if you choose, as for me, like the Marshwiggle, I will hold to the fairy tale.