IN DEFENSE OF AN ATHEIST
IN DEFENSE OF AN ATHEIST
by John Morgan
When I called attention to an article written by an atheist calling on other atheists to be more
tolerant toward theists (“Rational Atheism,” in the Scientific American , I remarked to someone
that it inspired me to write an article asking that those who believe in God to show more
tolerance toward those who don’t. This is it. My close friend and mentor, George Willard, called
himself a “born again pagan” to get attention, but he was an atheist who believed the problem of
evil did not permit a classical Universalist doctrine of God’s love.
George also was a Unitarian Universalist who probably would not have been accepted into most
religious organizations. I can almost hear him laughing when I state this, but he was also one of
the most godly persons I have known, if by this one means a truly generous man.
I would have a hard time excluding George from anything because of his atheism. He was fond
of saying that the opposite of belief is not unbelief -the opposite of belief is indifference. And
George was hardly indifferent, reading physics, theology, and, yes, he would confide in secret,
even the Bible.
He would then remind me of the words of W.C. Fields caught reading the Bible on his
deathbed. When his friends asked him why, Fields responded: “I’m looking for loopholes. It’s
hard to exclude an atheist who happens to be a mentor and friend. George was more interested
in the life and teachings of Jesus than most Christians. Better yet, he paid attention to the most
needy. Once, when I saw him helping a runaway girl and asked him why, he responded: “Well,
what would Jesus have done?”
Can you be a good and honest person if you don’t believe in God, or life eternal, for that
matter? George certainly was one of the best persons I have ever known. And, paradoxically,
can you live the Way of Jesus without believing he was the son of God? George certainly lived a
life that seemed to me to exemplify what Jesus taught was important. In George’s memory, I
would ask those of you who don’t believe you can be a moral, even spiritual person to think
again. There are a number of reasons for doing so.
First, some atheists have taken God more seriously than some believers and simply decided
they cannot in good conscience affirm what they don’t believe. And some believers, like myself,
have known the dark night of the soul and can identify with others who have felt it, too. Second,
shouting is not a substitute for honest dialog, which is based on listening to one another,
seeking common ground. If we cannot agree on God or the afterlife, perhaps we can still join
forces to save the planet from our greed.
I remember one morning sitting in George’s living room and watching the light stream through a
rainbow prism in a window. “Ah, the rainbow, a sign of God’s promise,” George remarked
quietly as I sat wondering just want kind of “atheist” he really was. George must have suspected
what I was thinking, because without missing a beat he said: “We can always hope, John, that’s
one thing we can hope for together”
John Morgan is a retired UU pastor, a writer, the Herald Contributing Editor.
by John Morgan
When I called attention to an article written by an atheist calling on other atheists to be more
tolerant toward theists (“Rational Atheism,” in the Scientific American , I remarked to someone
that it inspired me to write an article asking that those who believe in God to show more
tolerance toward those who don’t. This is it. My close friend and mentor, George Willard, called
himself a “born again pagan” to get attention, but he was an atheist who believed the problem of
evil did not permit a classical Universalist doctrine of God’s love.
George also was a Unitarian Universalist who probably would not have been accepted into most
religious organizations. I can almost hear him laughing when I state this, but he was also one of
the most godly persons I have known, if by this one means a truly generous man.
I would have a hard time excluding George from anything because of his atheism. He was fond
of saying that the opposite of belief is not unbelief -the opposite of belief is indifference. And
George was hardly indifferent, reading physics, theology, and, yes, he would confide in secret,
even the Bible.
He would then remind me of the words of W.C. Fields caught reading the Bible on his
deathbed. When his friends asked him why, Fields responded: “I’m looking for loopholes. It’s
hard to exclude an atheist who happens to be a mentor and friend. George was more interested
in the life and teachings of Jesus than most Christians. Better yet, he paid attention to the most
needy. Once, when I saw him helping a runaway girl and asked him why, he responded: “Well,
what would Jesus have done?”
Can you be a good and honest person if you don’t believe in God, or life eternal, for that
matter? George certainly was one of the best persons I have ever known. And, paradoxically,
can you live the Way of Jesus without believing he was the son of God? George certainly lived a
life that seemed to me to exemplify what Jesus taught was important. In George’s memory, I
would ask those of you who don’t believe you can be a moral, even spiritual person to think
again. There are a number of reasons for doing so.
First, some atheists have taken God more seriously than some believers and simply decided
they cannot in good conscience affirm what they don’t believe. And some believers, like myself,
have known the dark night of the soul and can identify with others who have felt it, too. Second,
shouting is not a substitute for honest dialog, which is based on listening to one another,
seeking common ground. If we cannot agree on God or the afterlife, perhaps we can still join
forces to save the planet from our greed.
I remember one morning sitting in George’s living room and watching the light stream through a
rainbow prism in a window. “Ah, the rainbow, a sign of God’s promise,” George remarked
quietly as I sat wondering just want kind of “atheist” he really was. George must have suspected
what I was thinking, because without missing a beat he said: “We can always hope, John, that’s
one thing we can hope for together”
John Morgan is a retired UU pastor, a writer, the Herald Contributing Editor.
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