Atheists respond to Colorado shooting
July 21, 2012
By: William Hamby
Often, in the wake of tragedy, there is a kind of cultural "pause." As both individuals and a nation, we take a step back to examine ourselves more closely than we normally would. We ask ourselves hard questions in light of the knowledge that our lives may end at almost any moment. We ask questions about our society. Why did this happen? Can we prevent it from happening again? We ask questions about the victims. What can we do to help?
For believers in various gods, there are prayers for the victims, prayers for the nation, and sometimes, recriminations. Christian leaders such as Pat Robertson are fond of blaming tragedies on various scapegoats, whether they be atheists, gays, or backsliding Christians. Pastors pore over their Bibles, and Imams their Korans. How, they wonder, does this fit into the will of a loving and yet apparently cruel god? One of the common answers is that there are too many people who don't believe in gods. Too much godlessness, they shout from their pulpits, is why this kind of thing happens.
Of course, non-believers of all stripes see things a little differently. I set out to discover how non-theists are responding, and what sort of things they think about when tragedy strikes.
First, I spoke with Nancy, an atheist, and a PhD candidate at the University of Georgia. (Nancy is not her real name. She told me she fears even being identified by first name, because "being known as an atheist is not a good idea when you have Christian professors."
http://www.examiner.com/article/atheists-respond-to-colorado-shooting
= new reply since forum marked as read
