Atheism and joy

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Atheists have a higher suicide rate than theists.[1] Please see: Atheism and suicide

As far as atheism and joy, there is considerable amount of scientific evidence that suggest that theism is more conducive to mental and physical health than atheism. (see also: Atheism and health and Atheism and depression and Atheism and suicide). See also: Atheism and happiness

In December 2003, the University of Warwick reported:

Dr. Stephen Joseph, from the University of Warwick, said: "Religious people seem to have a greater purpose in life, which is why they are happier. Looking at the research evidence, it seems that those who celebrate the Christian meaning of Christmas are on the whole likely to be happier.[2]

Ex-atheist C.S. Lewis: Surprised by Joy

The ex-atheist C. S. Lewis, photographed in 1947. Lewis wrote the book Surprised by Joy. See also: Atheism and happiness

See also: C.S. Lewis

The ex-atheist C.S. Lewis in his book Surprised by Joy, wrote:

Joy, must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and Pleasure. Joy has indeed one characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again...I doubt whether anyone who has tasted it would ever, if both were in his power, exchange it for all the pleasures in the world. But Joy is never in our power and Pleasure often is.[3]

The article C.S. Lewis and Joy indicates:

In C. S. Lewis’ autobiography, Surprised by Joy, he tells of experiencing an other-worldly joy ─ a specific Joy that defies our modern understanding. This idea of Joy is not a satisfied desire but an unsatisfied desire ─ a deep longing for God, a hungry pursuit of God’s heart that never ends and is more satisfying than any earthly happiness.

Lewis recalls three seemingly trivial and disconnected events with a common thread: he experienced a sudden, piercing pang of longing ─ a bittersweet ache and yearning for something far-off, other-worldly, and unnamed during each event.

He would later recognize these sudden aches of longing: a deep spiritual hunger for God ─ not just for an intellectual knowledge of God, but for a real relationship with Him. These deep longings in Lewis’ life ─ these stabs of Joy ─ worked as flashing sign-markers pointing him down the path toward Christ.[4]

In a private letter, Lewis wrote concerning joy: "It jumps under one’s ribs and tickles down one’s back and makes one forget meals and keeps one (delightedly) sleepless o’ nights. It shocks one awake when the other puts one to sleep. My private table is one second of joy is worth 12 hours of Pleasure. I think you really quite agree with me."[5]

Atheism, Soviet Union and higher joylessness

See also: Soviet Union

According to the University of Cambridge, historically, the "most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power."[6] See also: Atheism and communism

Russia was recently under about 70 years of Soviet Communist rule. The Russian taxi company Angel Taxi indicates: "Strangers smiling at you are still considered as someone unusual while in Soviet years it triggered even suspicion."[7]

The article The Soviet Paradise indicates:

The bloody attacks of Bolshevism into Europe were always accompanied by wild agitation that claimed that the Soviet Union was the “paradise of farmers and workers.” In reality this was propaganda, and all the cultural, social and technical advances that Bolshevism claimed were nothing but a deceptive facade that concealed the gray misery of daily life under Bolshevism. This is illustrated in the next room of the exhibition. In its center, there is an original Bolshevist monument mass produced from plaster on a wood frame. One was found in every city. Because of their poor quality they quickly began crumbling, a true example of Bolshevist culture. Such monuments intensify the dirty and miserable atmosphere that all Soviet cities share, interrupted only by a few prestige buildings that display technical weaknesses. They are built for propaganda purposes, and to deceive travelers from abroad.

These facades, built only for propaganda reasons, are the mark of all Bolshevist cities. Model streets in the American style are filled with huge buildings with a thousand deficiencies, which mock the miserable workersOld and New Buildings who are forced even after 25 years of Bolshevist culture to live gray and joyless lives.[8]

Peter Hitchens is the ex-atheist brother of atheist Christopher Hitchens. In an article entitled Britain Needs God Dominic Statham declared:

Peter also wrote of what he saw as the growing public discourtesy and incivility in Britain. When he returned to London, after a five-year absence, he was shocked by the decline in people’s behaviour. He commented, “The rapid vanishing of Christianity from public consciousness and life, as the last fully Christian generation ages and disappears, seems to me to be a major part of it. I do not think I would have been half so shocked by the squalor and rudeness of 1990 Moscow, if I had not come from a country where Christian forbearance was still well-established. If I had then been able to see the London of 2010, I would have been equally shocked.” In many respects, Peter’s book is a warning to people, as to the kind of society they can expect if they continue to reject Christian beliefs.[9]

Joy of Atheism sermon given by Paul Reisberg

See: Joy of Atheism sermon by Paul Reisberg

See also

Notes

  1. Adherents.com - suicide rates
  2. http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2003/A/20037338.html
  3. Summary of C.S. Lewis' book Surprised by Joy
  4. C.S. Lewis and Joy, Bible.org
  5. Unseen CS Lewis letter defines his notion of joy, The Guardian
  6. Investigating atheism: Marxism. University of Cambridge (2008). Retrieved on July 17, 2014. “The most notable spread of atheism was achieved through the success of the 1917 Russian Revolution, which brought the Marxist-Leninists to power. For the first time in history, atheism thus became the official ideology of a state.”
  7. Angel Taxi
  8. The Soviet Paradise
  9. Britain needs God