Oct 07 2009
No Atheists in the Football Huddle
Yesterday evening while cooking I listened to a television program, “NFL Live.” During the broadcast one of the talking heads made this comment about Brett Favre admitting to praying before his big game:
It’s interesting how pressure will make you pray.
Precisely.
You have no doubt heard the expression, “there are no atheists in foxholes.” While there may be an iota of truth to this — an iota — I think people attribute the wrong meaning to it.
Believers may tell you that by turning to a god and praying “when the chips are down” people are revealing their true nature. Whether in a foxhole or on a deathbed. However, it seems to me that all these type of phenomena may reveal is that when truly desperate people will resort to any means for aid, no matter how far-flung and irrational.
In my opinion, far-flung hopes and irrational wishes do not provide a good basis for belief in a god.
