What Aren't There In Foxholes
I�ve been thinking (again) about what truth the phrase �there are no atheists in foxholes� might hold. I know what it�s like to believe in God and I know what it was like to gradually dismiss this belief. There were points in my life where a version of this phrase could have been applied to my experience, but those versions didn�t include the word �atheist�--they applied to a pre-atheist label.
Maybe it's There are no lapsed Christians in foxholes.
For a long while I identified as Christian without any intention of attending church. I believed Jesus was a good example to live by and still entertained the idea of the resurrection. In retrospect, it�s an odd state to be in to only kind of believe Biblical miracles. They are so outside the realm of our experience that I�d think belief in them should be all or nothing; either have complete faith in your indoctrination or soberly dismiss magic in a nonmagical world.
During this time I met the periodic hardships of life and, occasionally, prayed. It was a half admission of helplessness from someone who was too stubborn to be helpless. My �foxholes� came in the form of untreatable pain whether it be personal injuries that medicine couldn�t treat fast enough or, more often, my Christian Scientist mother hurting and unwilling to use medication in the first place. I was further disillusioned by the lack of results from my prayer. I could see this stage in my life lasting longer or even re-upping my Christianity if my prayers were coincidentally answered or I was less aware of probability. Luckily, I knew what confirmation bias was before I knew what it was called. Instead, I dropped the Christian label and moved on to a non-committal religious opinion.
Or how about There are no agnostics in foxholes.
It can be argued that we are all agnostics in that none of us know whether or not a god exists, but it�s clear that some of us think we know. Commonly, agnostics admit that they don�t know and are even unsure of their own belief one way or the other. In that way, I can see the agnostics trying prayer during �foxhole� moments. At this point in my life I really had no expectation that prayer would work, and I don�t recall ever praying as an agnostic, but I also had a �why not� and a �it couldn�t hurt� attitude toward other people praying. If Pascal�s Wager ever had an application, it would be for an agnostic in a dire situation, but to cover his or her bases, he or she should pray to every possible God.
Which brings us back to atheism. What truth does the phrase �there are no atheists in foxholes� hold? Not much. The gut reaction for the uninitiated to agree with the line is a misunderstanding of terms. The dismissal of gods in a society that largely believes in them isn�t an emotional decision, it�s an intellectual one. Likewise it will take an intellectual enterprise to alter that decision, the emotional fear of the unknown need not apply.
Disclaimer: Of course, I can�t speak for all atheists. I can imagine, for instance, that self-proclaimed atheists with little reason behind their atheism outside of a rebellion against their theistic parents may be moved to alter their beliefs by emotional stress. To theists I can only say that you are considerably less qualified to speak for atheists than I and to claim �there are no atheists in foxholes� is to universally do just that.
Maybe it's There are no lapsed Christians in foxholes.
For a long while I identified as Christian without any intention of attending church. I believed Jesus was a good example to live by and still entertained the idea of the resurrection. In retrospect, it�s an odd state to be in to only kind of believe Biblical miracles. They are so outside the realm of our experience that I�d think belief in them should be all or nothing; either have complete faith in your indoctrination or soberly dismiss magic in a nonmagical world.
During this time I met the periodic hardships of life and, occasionally, prayed. It was a half admission of helplessness from someone who was too stubborn to be helpless. My �foxholes� came in the form of untreatable pain whether it be personal injuries that medicine couldn�t treat fast enough or, more often, my Christian Scientist mother hurting and unwilling to use medication in the first place. I was further disillusioned by the lack of results from my prayer. I could see this stage in my life lasting longer or even re-upping my Christianity if my prayers were coincidentally answered or I was less aware of probability. Luckily, I knew what confirmation bias was before I knew what it was called. Instead, I dropped the Christian label and moved on to a non-committal religious opinion.
Or how about There are no agnostics in foxholes.
It can be argued that we are all agnostics in that none of us know whether or not a god exists, but it�s clear that some of us think we know. Commonly, agnostics admit that they don�t know and are even unsure of their own belief one way or the other. In that way, I can see the agnostics trying prayer during �foxhole� moments. At this point in my life I really had no expectation that prayer would work, and I don�t recall ever praying as an agnostic, but I also had a �why not� and a �it couldn�t hurt� attitude toward other people praying. If Pascal�s Wager ever had an application, it would be for an agnostic in a dire situation, but to cover his or her bases, he or she should pray to every possible God.
Which brings us back to atheism. What truth does the phrase �there are no atheists in foxholes� hold? Not much. The gut reaction for the uninitiated to agree with the line is a misunderstanding of terms. The dismissal of gods in a society that largely believes in them isn�t an emotional decision, it�s an intellectual one. Likewise it will take an intellectual enterprise to alter that decision, the emotional fear of the unknown need not apply.
Disclaimer: Of course, I can�t speak for all atheists. I can imagine, for instance, that self-proclaimed atheists with little reason behind their atheism outside of a rebellion against their theistic parents may be moved to alter their beliefs by emotional stress. To theists I can only say that you are considerably less qualified to speak for atheists than I and to claim �there are no atheists in foxholes� is to universally do just that.
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