Q&A: Lack of Belief in God Due to Traumatic Circumstances
Lack of Belief in God Due to Traumatic Circumstances
Question
Hello Rabbi Michael Abraham, good evening.
If a person goes through physical and emotional hardships in his life, to the point that he is not fully in his right mind, would it be selfish on his part to be an atheist?
Answer
I don’t understand the question. What does that have to do with selfishness? The question is what he actually thinks.
Discussion on Answer
I still don’t understand. If he assumes that if there is a God, then He is supposed to fix his problems, then if the problems are not fixed, his conclusion is that there is no God. Simple logic. What does that have to do with selfishness? He reached an atheistic conclusion.
One can discuss whether his assumption (that God is supposed to fix his problems) is correct or not. But judging a claim as selfish is not a relevant argument. What is relevant here is judging whether it is true or not. In my opinion, it is not.
I understand.
Why, in any case, is his judgment not correct?
Because in my opinion, the expectation that God will fix him is not necessary. There is suffering and evil in the world, and in my view that is not a refutation of God’s existence. You can search here on the site for the problem of evil, human evil, and natural evil.
From his point of view, God should fix his problems, and if not, then He doesn’t exist.
Sorry if I wasn’t clear.