"Atheism is so senseless and odious to mankind that it never had many professors."
- Sir Isaac Newton
The irony of the above quote from Newton is that, as information has become more widely accessible, atheism has even become senseless and odious to many atheists. There are still many who are brave enough to say "there is no God" (or, as Dawkins' famous bus ad puts it, "there's probably no God, now stop worrying and enjoy your life"), but it has become increasingly popular to attempt to merge atheism with agnosticism.
At present, the standard dictionary definition of atheism is something along the lines of "the belief that there is no God". Let's look at a few examples:
"1. the doctrine or belief that there is no God.
2. disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings." - Dictionary.com
"the belief that God does not exist" - Cambridge
"Atheism is the belief that there is no God." - Collins
Unfortunately, even though these are standard definitions found in dictionaries, and are indeed the common use of the term "atheism", many self-identified atheists still try to overcomplicate things by defining atheism as the "lack of belief" in God, even to the point of insisting that the dictionary definition is a "straw man". Because, you know, who wants a level playing field? Equivocation for the win!
For purposes of today's article, however, either definition is sufficient. I will grant the "lack of belief" definition, because it actually helps to show that, in spite of the general tendency for atheists to belief they are intellectually superior, atheism as a whole requires very little intelligent thought.
Now, first, as a disclaimer, I am not saying all atheists are idiots. Woe betide the fool who makes that straw man. What I am saying is that the worldview itself takes little intelligent thought.
Let me ask you a question: How difficult is it to deny something? Anyone who has ever been a toddler knows the answer to this. The least intelligent person on this earth can deny something. It's as simple as saying the words "I don't believe you". And you can do that all day. In fact, I'm quite fond of playing a game with atheists I meet online where I ask them to prove their own existence. Then, all I do is crank my scepticism up to 100%.
A: Well how could I be talking to you if I don't exist?
C: You could easily be a bot.
A: Well here's a photo of me.
C: Ever hear of photoshop?
A: Then let's meet up.
C: You could be a hallucination.
You can deny anything all day. You can even use an atheist's own standards to deny the most reasonable conclusions in the world. Which, let's be honest, Theism is.
See, contrary to popular belief, we are not the end result of Evolution. Our brains were quite intelligently designed for the purpose of reasonable thought. Because of this, we recognise design when we see it. If we see something as simple as a mouse trap, we know someone designed it. Denying that it was intelligently designed not only requires little thought, it is actually insane. This is why atheism has always been so senseless and odious to mankind. It may be intellectually easy, but it is also intellectually bankrupt.
Because of this, atheism has always been a minority, whereas Theism has always been dominant. Humans recognise design in nature, and no matter how much you fold your arms, turn up your nose, and stomp down your feet, design = designer. Because of this, Theism is an instinct that must be buffed out of you.
There are even scientific studies that bear this fact out. One of them was performed by Dr Olivera Petrovich, who compared the responses of British and Japanese children to questions on the causal origins of various man made and natural objects. In Japanese culture, speculation into the supernatural is heavily discouraged, and the dominant religion, Shinto, does not have a concept of a creator god. Yet, the children were more than willing to speculate that God is the originator of all things, and there was no disparity between the British and Japanese children in this regard.
So, atheism is thoughtless, but realistically, so is Theism. Theism is so easy, a child can grasp it. It's as easy to say "God did it" as it is to say "there's no evidence God did it". So, is philosophy just a redundant field, with atheists being in denial, and Theists just going with their natural instincts? Let's go back to the mouse trap.
We all know someone made the mouse trap. It takes little intelligent thought to accept or deny that. But there is one question that takes some thinking: who made the mouse trap? Now we get to specific questions requiring intelligent thought to answer. We need to assemble possible candidates. It probably wasn't the mouse, as it lacks both the means and the motive. The cat has a motive, but not the means. I have the means, but not the motive. So we start asking how do we find out who made the trap? And it might be impossible. Maybe you just found the trap sitting on the side of the street, and your quest ends before it started. But what if it has a branding on it somewhere? Well, that would allow us to search up the company that made it, at least. That's something.
Without getting too deep into how you would find out who made a specific mouse trap, you see already how the specific question "who is the designer" requires more thought than the denial or acceptance that there is one. This is why Christianity requires more intelligent thought than atheism, or Theism in general. You actually have to think about what Christianity is, and weigh up the evidence regarding it.
But Christianity is more than that. It's not just a truth that requires thought, but a truth that can be applied. Once you acknowledge the truth of Christianity, you actually alter your relationship with God. Once you know He exists, you also find out that you have sinned against Him, meriting death. Yet, in His love for you, He gave His Son, so that if you believe in Him, you will receive eternal life instead. Repent of your sin, confess Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, and you will be saved. That will be the most intelligent choice you ever made.