Richard Dawkins is perhaps
the world’s most renowned Atheist today. He is an emeritus fellow of New
College, Oxford, and was the University of Oxford’s Professor for Public
Understanding of Science. He is a senior editor of the Council for Secular
Humanism’s Free Inquiry magazine, and has been a member of the editorial board
of Skeptic magazine since its foundation. In his 2006 book, The God Delusion,
Dawkins argues that a supernatural creator almost certainly does not exist and
that religious faith is a delusion - “a fixed false belief.” Interestingly, just
a few weeks ago in London, while Dawkins was on a live radio program with the
former dean of St Paul’s Cathedral, the antagonistic Atheist was mocking the
Christian believer by making the comment that most Christians could probably not even name
the four Gospels. Thoughtfully, the dean proposed the question, “Richard, you
are a great defender of Charles Darwin, aren’t you?” Without hesitation, Dawkins
replied, “Of course I am!” to which the dean reminded him that The Origin of
Species was not the full title of Darwin’s book. Dawkins snidely remarked, “I
know that.” The dean pressed farther by asking, “Can you name the full title of
Darwin’s book?” Confidently, Dawkins said, “Of course, The Origin of Species...
uh... uh... uh... (pause)... Oh my God!?” (Silence) And a bewildered look came
over his face. Perhaps the old bumper sticker is true: “As long as there are
math tests, there will always be prayer in the schools”. In other words, here
was an avowed atheist who could not remember the classic textbook for modern
Atheism... and he actually called upon the name of God, whom he didn’t believe
in, to help him remember this most famous book. We can laugh at the irony of
that real conversation; however, if we are honest, all of us are occasionally
just that fickle when it comes to our faith in God.
In the Gospel of Mark,
chapter 4, we read about when Jesus fell asleep in a boat out on the Sea of
Galilee with a group of fisherman. (Remember, they were the experts in making
their living
out on the water; Jesus’ day job was on land.) When a sudden wind storm arose,
the disciples became panicked, woke Jesus up, and they sarcastically accused him
of not caring about their lives as the boat rocked violently upon the waves. In
verse 39-40, we read, “He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea,
“Peace. Be still.” Then the wind ceased and there was a dead calm. He said to
them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” Here were a group of men
who had spent a considerable amount of time with Jesus witnessing his profound
teachings and astonishing healings, but, at that moment of crisis - their crisis
- they underestimated who was in their boat. One might even say, at some level,
they lost their faith in God.
Sometimes in our lives,
when we are at the end of our rope with nothing else to say or do (like
Dawkins), we cry out to God because we don’t know where else to turn. Other
times, when we hit a crisis (like the disciples), we lose our heads and
underestimate God’s presence (and power!) to overcome our challenges, but still
cry out to God for help. In both responses, faith in God wells up from
situations of desperation. This event on the Sea of Galilee is a remarkable
reminder that even with Jesus in our metaphorical boat, there will still be
storms in our lives. A peaceful journey is not the life voyage we travel on;
however, a peace-filled journey, with Christ always present, is. Wherever you
are in your life this week, may you be humble (and desperate) enough to cry out
to God in faith to give you peace.
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