Penn Jilette gave his reasons why he is an atheist on Redeye (Nov 9, 2010). He started out by saying that he just doesn't believe. Fair enough. Belief in God requires faith and you have it or you don't. But, then, he went on to give really bad reasons why he is an Atheist.
He doesn't believe because his mother suffered when she was dying and he can't believe in a God who lets people suffer. I couldn't believe in a God who deliberately makes people suffer either. But I don't believe in that God. I believe in a God who made a world that requires suffering for the world to work. We eat animals to live and that requires suffering of the animals. In order for life to happen, death also has to happen. Death requires the breaking down of our body. God doesn't make suffering happen because he likes it. Suffering happens as the result of the normal and natural process of dying. Pain is required so that we know when our bodies are broken or to keep us from doing things that will hurt our bodies. This same protective force also creates suffering. I wish I could fly but gravity prevents this from happening and makes it hurt when I fall down. Gravity also keeps the Earth revolving around the Sun. In order for life to happen on Earth, I can't fly: In order for my body to be protected from injury, I must suffer pain when it breaks down. God created a world that worked, there are some bad things that happen as a result.
God could make all deaths painless and beautiful, negating the natural and normal processes. Perhaps you would like God to make us all get hit by the No. 5 bus or freeze to death ( a very peaceful death )? That would be nice but that would negate the need for faith. If, suddenly, at the end of life, all normal natural processes were suddenly suspended, wouldn't everyone believe in God? Isn't that really the whole deal with God: belief? How can we have free will to love God, if God uses a sledge hammer at the end of life to change all we know about the world?
Penn also brings out the old "there is not enough evidence" argument. This is the weakest of all arguments of atheism. All of us goes through life believing very important things with no evidence at all. Penn wants proof on the very thing which absolutely requires faith. How many of us have had a DNA test to know for sure if our parents or siblings are actually our parents or siblings. Wouldn't you want to know if your children are your children? Yet, almost no one actually requires proof. Almost everything important we believe in life can be proved, yet I am sure that Penn does not go out of his way to actually get that proof. Why the different standard for God? He requires proof of God because he simply doesn't believe it. Why does he have to muddy the waters with this pseudo intellectual argument? So, Penn, until you start requiring proof of everything you believe, can you leave God out of it?
Penn then says that if we need a God then we don't have enough love on earth. Wow, I don't know about you but I don't really feel a lot of love from God everyday. I don't know a lot of believers who do. Anybody read the Book of Job? The love Penn says he received from his parents, I see as the love of God, channeled through his parents. Atheists always believe we can live in this world with morality alone, not understanding how unloving and cruel the world is without the Judeo/Christian God. Can Penn name one civilization he would have wanted to live in as a normal, average person with a Pagan or even Athiest world view? I can't. Not today and certainly not in the past. We Love because we believe. Penn is living off the leavings of a believing Judeo/Christian people.
Penn, if you don't believe, then don't. But these are weak arguments for atheism.
Link to Penn Jillette's comments here. http://fxn.ws/aqBJVy
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