Alex O’Connor and the Moral Bankruptcy of Atheism

Alex O’Connor is an atheist from the United Kingdom whose ideas have stimulated the minds of thousands of people who have weighed the pros and cons of believing in and worshipping a deity and determined the cons outweigh the pros.

Why are Alex O’Connor’s atheist tactics so strong that people may ignore potential eternal darkness? The answer can be found in his “surrounded” debate with 25 Christians on the Jubilee channel. He casts doubt on the Bible, claiming it was written by people who would deliberately fabricate their writings and that the gospels are contradictory. He casts doubt on the God of the Bible, suggesting he lacks the sorts of perfections that Alex has been cultivating, especially with regard to animal suffering. Alex’s “perfections” may include his decision to be a vegetarian due to the cruelty associated with killing animals for food. Alex laments animal suffering seemingly even more than human suffering since he can see the value of theodicy in explaining why humans suffer. Alex’s biggest desire is in alliance with what many atheists claim is their moral foundation, which is the desire to minimize suffering and maximize happiness or pleasure.

If God exists, why does he allow suffering in the world? Why do bad people exist? Why are some people who claim to be Christians complete hypocrites? Why can’t the world be more like heaven where there will be no tears, suffering, death, or pain? The answer is in our free will. God chose to create a world in which we’ve been given a choice. His angels were also given the choice to align with him or to align with a different god – themselves and Satan. Around a third chose to align against God and our world is populated with angelic and demonic spirits who’ve been assigned to guide each of us. God further implanted a conscience within us so we can know the difference between right and wrong when making moral decisions. We know deep down that justice, fairness, love, benevolence, kindness, charity, faith, and hope are values and virtues, while their counterparts are deviations from what’s right.  These deviations include pride, envy, greed, anger, gluttony, lust, and sloth (laziness).

The simple fact we have a conscience should be enough to inform the atheist that we have a Creator who loves us and desires for us to succeed in this spiritual battle. But when we don’t spend time working on our virtues but rather spend time in a sea of vices, our vices multiply and spiritually blind us.

As Romans 1:18-25 says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men who by their wickedness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse; for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man or birds or animals or reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”

As it says in Sirach 10:12-13, “the beginning of a man’s pride is to depart from the Lord; his heart has forsaken his Maker. For the beginning of pride is sin and the man who clings to it pours out abominations.” It is the sin against the Holy Spirit that if found at the end of one’s life will be the sin that compels the conscience to choose an eternity without God.

Alex O’Connor has something on his side that many of us don’t: time. He’s in his twenties and his chances for living a long life are good. So we can pray for Alex to come to his senses and accept the truth of our existence, which is Jesus Christ.

Jesus explains suffering in this life because he suffered and paid the ultimate penalty for our sins. We can offer our suffering for sins. Suffering is temporary, while bliss, love, truth, and light are eternal.

For a video version of this blog, click here: https://youtu.be/m-EHClmj9JI?si=a5tUd1dhafQ4B-tv