Atheists see God not, God sees Them [1]
Fr. Cheriyan Menacherry CMI
Even in many Christian countries atheism is growing! Even many Christians carry the contradiction of theism and atheism within themselves! Many Christian families suffer from the burden of atheism among their family members. In some so called Christian countries, it is not only many adult Christians but also some children, even school children, who say with full conviction: ‘I do not believe in God. That is why I have nothing to do with the church, no interest in it, and so I do not come to church at all’.
This atheistic attitude of the children is a shock for many grandparents. And how do some parents react? Often they are indifferent, they just don’t care!! Their only concern is that their children must learn well at school, do a lot of sports and games and cultivate some hobbies. Religion? That’s not important.
Atheistic tendency is growing among the new generation. It is not just a doubt in the belief in God. Every believer has some doubt about God. The atheistic tendency is the radical negation of the existence of God; these children may soon say with arrogance and conviction: there is no God!
Many are atheists in their hearts, but are afraid to confess their atheism publicly because of social or family complications. Others, however, not only dare to say that they are atheists, they are also proud that they do not believe in God, because they consider belief in God is old-fashioned.
Some children do not believe in God, but they blindly believe some scientists who assert that the world was not created by God, but was created by the Big Bang. But who created this Big Bang? To continue this thought is too much for children, but also for some adults.
What can the small minority of genuine believers do in the face of growing atheism? Let us visualize a scenario in the Colosseum when Christians were persecuted: In the Colosseum’s arena, a lion comes to attack the Christians. What does the small group of Christians do? Resolutely, they gather in the middle of the arena to pray together. What do the emperor and the audience do? They are having fun and laugh at the prayers of the small Christian community. People amused because they think the Christians are cowards. For, they do not defend themselves and overcome the lion. The Christians only pray to whom? To their God, who was helplessly crucified on the cross!!
For what does the small Christian community pray for in the middle of the arena? They are not praying to escape from the mouth of the lion. They pray to Jesus Christ their Lord and ask Him to open the eyes of faith in the hearts of the people, as he often made the blind to see. Jesus “spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva and spread the mud on the man’s eyes” (Jn 9:6): God’s creative act to give the human being eyesight. God gave us eyes so that we can see everything that God has created. With our eyes we can see the world, the universe and everything. But with these eyes can one see the Creator, the God who created all these? Jesus said, “I came into this world… so that those who do not see may see, and those who do see may become blind.” (John 9:39).
Through the miracle effected by Jesus, the man who was born blind could see. He can see everything: his surroundings, his family members, his neighbours, his friends, and all other people and things. He sees also the man Jesus. But, in spite of everything he does not recognize God, God in Jesus, Jesus as God. He looks Jesus directly in the eyes and says to Jesus, “…who is he, sir? Tell me, so that I may believe in him.” (Jn 9:36).
This strange phenomenon seeing and yet not seeing, atheism, is unfortunately present in many Christians: they see Jesus, but they do not see Jesus as God.
Here the important question is not, when did the blind man begin to see the world and the people, but when did he begin to see God? The blind did see God in Jesus only when he revealed himself as Son of Man to the blind: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” (Jn 9:35) “You have seen him, and the one speaking with you is he.” (Jn 9:37). Only as Jesus revealed himself to the blind man, did he believe Jesus as God: The blind said, “’Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped him.” (Jn 9:38).
The hope is there that one day Jesus will reveal Himself to every person so that people can see God. In the context of the growing atheism, the worry may be that the atheists are not seeing God. But one thing is for sure: God sees them. Some Pharisees asked Jesus: “Surely, we are not blind, are we?” (Jn 9:40).) Jesus answered them: “If you were blind, you would not have sin. But now that you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” (Jn 9:41). The healed blind man says: “’Lord, I believe.’ And he worshiped him.” (Jn 9:38).
[1] Cheriyan Menacherry, “Atheists see God not, God sees Them’, Myopia of Humanity: Engaging the Words of Jesus. Mauritius: Blessed Hope Publishing, 2021, pp. 20-22.