Dinesh D’Souza answers:
If you really look at the motivations of contemporary atheists, you’ll find that they don’t even really reject Christian theology. It’s not as if the atheist objects to the resurrection or the parting of the sea; rather, it is Christian morality to which atheists object, particularly Christian moral prohibitions in the area of sex. The atheist looks at all of Christianity’s “thou shalt nots”—homosexuality is bad; divorce is bad; adultery is bad; premarital sex is bad—and then looks at his own life and says, “If these things are really bad, then I’m a bad guy. But I’m not a bad guy; I’m a great guy. I must thus reinterpret or (preferably) abolish all of these accusatory teachings that are putting me in a bad light.”
In this Lenten season – when we’re supposed to reflect on how we fall short and what we may do to be better people – it is very appropriate, I think, to bring up this observation. You see, the hardest thing anyone can do – the thing non-believers balk at – is the admission of what a bunch of rotters we are. I mean, really, we’re creeps most of the time – but people don’t want to admit to this creepiness, preferring to note that there are worse people and, hey, I’m a pretty nice guy and I don’t think I’m a bad person, yadda, yadda, yadda…meanwhile, said self-satisfied individual spreads gossip, gets angry at those around him who fail as if he never fails, is envious of someone who got the better job, eats to his heart’s content without a thought – while eating – to those who have none, etc, etc, etc.
What people like to do is to tell themselves – and others – that the lousy things they do are not lousy, or are at least excusable. It is easier for us to give ourselves a “Get out of Hell Free” card rather than confront our errors, repent of them and seek to make amends. And for people holding such self-issued cards, the worst thing which can happen is for someone to come along and try to spoil the illusion…such as a devout Christian, Jew, Moslem or what have you pointing out that, really, repentance is absolutely necessary. And thus the battle – not over whether Christ is the Son of the Living God, but over whether cheating on your wife is really all that bad a thing to do.
And now, have at it.
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