Expert: Jeffrey Eldred - 9/17/2011

Question
Ave Maria!
People who go deep into silence say that they can hear something that could be described as the Word of God that is spoken about in the beginning of the Gospel of John. They say that the Word of God is divine silence. Is this a good or bad agument for God's existence?

Answer
Introduction:
You present two concepts here: God as a divine silence and God as a the Word (1 John 1:1-10 seems to be talking about the latter [1]). You seem to use "divine silence" and "word of God" as synonyms, but to me they mean exactly opposite things and I feel exactly opposite ways about them. The experience you described makes a good argument for the existence of meditative peace, but makes a poor argument for a supernatural entity which communicates to mankind through revealed truth.


God as a Divine Silence:
If God is "simply another name for an ineffable bliss that comes to people at the depth of extended meditation", than I believe in this God. Such a God is simply a human emotion that I believe any human, where a devout believer or a staunch atheist, can access by training his or her brain with meditative practices (which may include silence, stillness, fasting, breathing techniques, and trying not to think). This is a very mainstream atheist opinion - Sam Harris has been the most outspoken critic of religion and promoter of meditation [2][3][4][5], but both Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have spoken frankly of an appreciation for Christian art/music/poetry despite their revulsion to taking any of these ideas to be literally true.

The whole business of religion does not really seem to be about the transcendent sense of peace. Rather, it instead is about re-branding the experience as an affiliation with a religious ideology and selling to the public what is available for free. When zealotry replaces tranquility, fear replaces peace, and superstition replaces humility - religion becomes the greatest enemy of God.


God as the Word of God:
If God is "a voice which people can hear in their heads that should be considered unerringly true", than I think whenever this proposition is rejected humanity is better off for it. Adherence to the notion of "divine revelation" is the core of the principle that religious "faith" relies on - that it is a virtue to make (some) assertions without evidence or contrary to evidence. Although it may sound tolerant and open-minded to endorse such possibilities, in actuality holding ideas without evidence prevents a constructive discussion about the actual truth of the matter[6]. New Atheists contend that faith opens the door to promoting any idea, no matter how ridiculous or grotesque, which is disturbing because in the past it has done just that. Other forms of believing without evidence may actually be more benign, but are not any better founded [7].

I discuss revelation in depth in two previous AllExperts, which you might find useful[8][9].

Although there are many examples of revelations that traditional religions claim, the most dramatic contrast between the voice of God and ordinary human sensibilities is told in the story of Abraham and Isaac [10]. This is a foundational story for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that holds obedience to God to be the highest ideal, even when God appears to endorse something cruel. The first reservation that I have about this is that I don't think human beings are able to accurately identify the voice of God. In an in-depth article about the nature of consciousness [11], I reason that the sensations of thinking is marked only by a voice and therefore would be difficult or impossible to distinguish from an external transmission of audio input to the brain. In fact, psychology shows us that the imagined opinions of God are informed primarily by one's own opinions [12]. But even if one could somehow know that the impressive sensations that accompany the voice are supernatural (and not the result of hallucination and delusion [13][14][15]), one still couldn't be certain whether the entity was a benevolent figure to be trusted or an evil trickster to be resisted. But even if I could somehow know that it was the Creator of the universe that was demanding me turn my loved one into a blood sacrifice, I would still refuse. My resolution to the Euthythro dilemma [16] (as well as Austin Cline's[17][18]), is to contend that mankind has an independent ethical sense upon which to judge God. The only alternative is to be willing to blindly follow any instructions on receives (as parodied in this comedy sketch [19]), which permits atrocities (like human sacrifice) and absurdities (like the book of revelation). As I mentioned before[8][9], even committing to the principle of obedience to revelation would lead to contradiction between all the different revelations contained within the various religions of the world.

So considering all that, I actually expect that believers would agree with me if they were put in Abraham's situation. Picking between human sacrifice and resisting voices in your head, being "unfaithful" to God seems like the clear choice. Penn Jillette makes this idea the centerpiece of his new book[20][21], in which he argues that this instance in which the modern Christian would act like an atheism is a microcosm for all religious choices. There is a humanistic and empirical nature in everyone that should permit people to live their life relying on evidence and life-experience and reject any appeals to the word of God that would threaten the things they love. I hope you embrace that side of yourself.


Links:
[1] http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20John%201:1-10&version=NIV
[2] http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/consciousness-without-faith/
[3] http://www.samharris.org/site/full_text/a-contemplative-science/
[4] http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/whats-the-point-of-transcendence/
[5] http://www.samharris.org/blog/item/how-to-meditate/
[6] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T69TOuqaqXI
[7] http://www.atheismresource.com/2010/letter-true-christianity
[8] http://en.allexperts.com/q/Atheism-2724/2009/12/Response-Testimony.htm
[9] http://en.allexperts.com/q/Atheism-2724/2009/12/Best-best.htm (the relevant part comes near the end, after a dashed line and the heading "Argument from Symmetry:")
[10] http://atheistbiblestudy.tumblr.com/post/3494996882/god-tells-abraham-to-kill-hi
[11] http://en.allexperts.com/q/Atheism-2724/2011/8/questions-meaning-purpose-destiny
[12] http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2009/12/01/0908374106.full.pdf
[13] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZmOIlvtw8E
[14] http://asklepios.chez.com/XIX/howden.htm
[15] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd1izjaagO8
[16] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euthyphro_dilemma
[17] http://atheism.about.com/library/weekly/aa061099.htm
[18] http://www.allexperts.com/ep/2724-35947/Atheism/Austin-Cline.htm
[19] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDfoJ29CR4E
[20] http://www.npr.org/2011/08/16/139676171/magician-penn-jillette-says-god-no-to-go
[21] http://www.amazon.com/God-No-ebook/dp/B004G8QTNE/