Mrs. Johnson: Dealing with Contemporary Atheism

Mrs. Johnson doesn't believe in God. She is way too educated and enlightened to believe in such things, plus she is progressively liberal in her morals and stubbornly independent. Upon further questioning, I discovered that Mrs. Johnson had no good alternative explanations for the existence of what we experience as reality. Moreover, it appeared that she did not care and was content to never concern herself with such matters. She was of the general opinion that science had explained everything, and therefore God was totally unnecessary. To which I responded that scientists have done no such thing and are no closer to answering any of the questions that really matter. I informed her that science has no explanation for the origin of the universe. No explanation for the origin of the laws of physics. No explanation for the origin of life, and no explanation for the origin of information. Nor were they any closer to solving the hard problem of consciousness.

Upon hearing this, Mrs. Johnson appeared visibly distressed and abruptly went on a rant about all the injustices and evils in the world, and how such injustices and evils made God a criminal and unworthy of her time and consideration. To which I reminded her that it is we that are breaking the commandments and not actually God, and that she had, in her own way, contributed to the breaking of these divine moral principles of right behavior probably every day of her life. At this point, Mrs. Johnson said that she did not have the time for such nonsense and was too busy to indulge in pointless superstitions. After this, she briskly walked away. These days, I encounter Mrs. Johnson everywhere. Her views and prejudices are universal.