A Critique of Atheism (Part 3)

This Critique of Atheism series comes from an essay I turned in for my philosophy class last summer. Read part 1 here and part 2 here.

If the burden of proof lies in the hands of the theist to substantiate God's existence, then naturally, the atheist has the burden of proof to explain the existence of the world apart from a creator. The atheist must remove all supernatural understanding when interpreting the origin of life. This task is rarely understood by the atheist as a requirement for his philosophy. Atheism is thought of more in terms of disproving rather than proving. Atheists will give reason after reason for why they do not belive in God, but when confronted with difficult questions such as "how do you and I exist?" they will attempt to dodge the issue. They are more likely to give the impression that it si not their responsibility to answer such questions. They desire simply to argue against the solutions that others purpose.

Smith confirms my understanding when he says, "the theist who asserts the existence of a god assumes the responsibility of demonstrating the truth of this assertion; if he fails in this task, theism should not be accepted as true." He goes on to say,"when the atheist is seen as a person who lacks belief in a god, it becomes clear that he is not obligated to 'prove' anything" (Smith). It may sound strange that an atheist does not feel any responsibility to provide solutions which answer questions regarding the origin of life. One would question the absurdity of living life in such a way. What is the point of arguing, if the questions remain unsettled? It is the skeptical mindset that the atheist thrives upon as the scapegoat for providing a response to any interrogation. Skepticism prizes doubt not theory. Rather than propose any theories of their own the skeptic is content with judging the theories that others propose. They may come off as noble and wise, but in reality they are left with the same questions to the meaning of life that everyone else faces.