Question and Answer
Since atheists do not believe in God or Satan, what do they think is the cause of all the evil happening in the world today?
A consistent atheist does not consider terrible things (murder, rape, robbery, war, lying, stealing) happening in the world today to be evil. Evil is a moral category that implies an absolute standard. For example, some atheists did not want to consider the September 11 terrorist attacks evil, because that would acknowledge an absolute standard. A consistent atheist refuses to make such an acknowledgment. Since atheists do not believe in God’s existence, they are forced to account for the world in social, cultural, biological, and chemical categories. What is obviously evil is in their minds a deviation from a cultural or social norm; the cause of evil acts may be mental illness or a lack of education or culture. In the atheistic construct of the universe, people have no ultimate value and significance. People are just chemicals. Atheism is a tragic and sad worldview with dire consequences for the people and societies that embrace it. One of the first steps toward Christ that some atheists take is the recognition that evil exists in our world and that people are messed up because of sin. C. S. Lewis is a classic case of an atheist who became a believer.