Sárospataki Füzetek 14. (2010)
2010 / 1. szám - TANULMÁNYOK - Byl, John: Világnézetek háborúja: a keresztyénség és kihívói.
War of the Worldviews only alternatives. That is, the choice we are tacitly left with is between a “scientific” approach, as represented by one or another of the current versions of “materialism”, and an “antiscientific” approach, as represented by Cartesianism or some traditional religious conception of the mind.20 This suggests that, at heart, the commitment to materialism is driven by a deep, religious motivation. The strong appeal of this irrational factor is voiced quite frankly by naturalist philosopher Thomas Nagel: I am talking about...the fear of religion itself. I speak from experience, being strongly subject to this fear myself: I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief. It’s that I hope there is no God! I don’t want there to be a God; I don’t want the universe to be like that.... My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and that it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time. One of the tendencies it supports is the ludicrous overuse of evolutionary biology to explain everything about life, including everything about the human mind.21 The feared alternative is theism, particularly Biblical theism. Thus, at bottom, at least some naturalists own up to being driven by a deeply entrenched desire to avoid God, even if that commits them to an irrational, self-refuting worldview. Post-modernity What about post-modernity? Post-moderns, professing to attach tittle weight to rationality, might simply shrug off any charges of irrationality. The influential postmodern philosopher Richard Rorty, upon being interviewed on his views on religion, commented: I do not think that Christian theism is irrational. I entirely agree...that it is no more irrational than atheism. Irrationality is not the question but rather, desirability.22 Post-modern man, tike his modern predecessor, is propelled by the burning desire to avoid paying tribute to his Creator. Man wants to reinterpret the universe in terms of his own standards, no matter what the cost may be. We saw that materialist William Provine lamented, “the universe cares nothing for us...there is no ultimate meaning for humans”.23 Post-modernity is, if anything, even more pessimistic and disillusioned. The existentialist Jean-Paul Sartre complains: 20 Searle, John: The Rediscovery of the Mind. Cambridge, MA, MIT Press, 1992. 3-4. 21 Nagel, Thomas: The Last Word. New York, Oxford University Press, 1997. 130-131. 22 Cited in Louthan, Stephen: “On Religion — A Discussion with Richard Rorty, Alvin Plantin- ga and Nicholas Wolterstorff’, Christian Scholar’s Review XXVI, 1996/2:178. 23 Provine, 70. SÁROSPATAKI FÜZETEK 39
