Atheists in Foxholes
Occasionally updated and edited. Copyright © 2011

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There are no atheists in foxholes, the saying goes.

Of course there actually are atheists in the military, but that supersedes the point being made: When faced with imminent death stubborn atheists sometimes cry out to God.

That may be true. But what does it prove?

I can't imagine a more stress-filled circumstance than facing enemy fire on a battlefield. The sounds of artillery, the screams of dying and wounded comrades and utter helplessness compound to focus the mind on death. The mental anguish is beyond comprehension.

And that's where God comes in.

When the mind is unstable and emotion driven, it concocts concepts of God. The notion of no atheists in foxholes, then, does nothing to prove his existence. Rather, it serves to confirm that belief in God is the outcome of irrational thinking.

-- September 3, 2011