The Atheist's View

The atheist’s view is that we don’t need to believe in God in order to explain how we got here.  The atheist apparently believes that the universe has existed all along and that life simply evolved, that organic and biological substances evolved from inorganic substances … that something like lightning struck a pool of primordial soup and the first organism came to be.  From that moment, chemical reactions occurred over a period of millions of years and two- and four-legged creatures eventually came to be over that span of time, including the intelligent two-legged creature, i.e., man. 

As a chemist, I can understand how one can put forth a theory like that.  I have observed many types of chemical reactions that result in many surprising things.  I have put on many a chemical demonstration in front of fifth grade audiences over the years, and I can attest to the many “ooooohhhs” and “aaaawwwwws” that arose.  And who knows what might be possible when the timing for some selected reactions are such that millions of years are required to produce whatever?  We’ve all heard how, on the surface of the earth, conditions are just right to produce life, include the aforementioned creatures – how the Earth is just the right distance from the sun, or how the atmosphere of the Earth is just perfect, and how if there is any small variation in these conditions, life could never have developed – all things that they say are what they are in order for us to be here.

Even highly complex organisms and parts of organisms are often explained this way.  For example, the human eye evolved because there is such a thing as light, and conditions on the earth over millions of years were just right for chemical reactions to take place that resulted in the formation of an organ that is sensitive to this light and, combined with the brain, allows us to “see” and even discern colors.  Or, for example, the ear evolved because there is such a thing as sound, and conditions on the earth over millions of years were just right for chemical reactions to take place that resulted in the formation of an organ that is sensitive to this sound and, combined with the brain, allows us to “hear” and discern different types of sound.  And, the eye, the ear, and the brain are all contained in one “box,” the head, so that hearing and seeing are each processed through the same brain.  But, hold on, we also have food digestion, waste production, sexual reproduction, and all other bodily functions located within this same organism.  Okay, I get it … chemical reactions over millions of years and the adaptation to the earthly environment.

But what about other things – things that have nothing to do with the human body and its evolution – things that have helped us along and help sustain this life?  For example, crude oil and the extraction of fossil fuels and plastics, or cement and concrete and their use in building roads, buildings, and bridges, or electricity, electrical energy and its useful properties, such that we are able to have modern appliances that work for us by simply “plugging them in.”  Yes, we needed to develop our economies so that we can have a life that sustains millions of people.  Where do all these materials come from?  Even the food we eat.  It seems to me that we are surviving every day on a modern-day multiplication of the loaves.  This is where we don’t have a thing like surprising chemical reactions to explain it away.  These things are simply here for us to use.

Oh, God, help us all, in our modern world, to come to the most logical conclusion.  Help us to know that you do indeed must exist.  Amen.