Suffering, human imperfection and … the desire for God to really exist — the philosopher Andre Comte-Sponville on the reasons why he does not believe in the Supreme Mind.
“How can you, a person so close to the Christian tradition and knowing the gospel canons, say that you do not believe in God?” When I am asked this question, I can give a hundred reasons in response, but three seems to be enough.
The first reason — the most banal, but also the most significant — is the immensity of evil and grief in this world. There is too much horror, suffering and cruelty in it. Is it all man’s fault? No doubt, but it’s not just us.
Nature itself is merciless. The world we live in is ruthless. Is it possible to imagine that God would want to arrange all these earthquakes, terrible diseases, the suffering of children, the infirmity of the elderly? So, either God is unjust, or he is not omnipotent. And if He lacks power or compassion, then He is deeply imperfect — what a God!
My The second reason not to believe in God is human nature itself, more ridiculous and pitiful than evil. I know myself too well and have too little respect for myself to imagine myself a creature of God.
Would He have gone to such lengths for such a mediocre creature? Could a great power give rise to such wretchedness? I try to be a worthy and decent person and, no doubt, do not consider myself much worse than other people. But just to be a decent person — how insignificant, how pathetic!
Any religion is built on the desire to live forever or, more precisely, not to disappear into nowhere after death and the desire to be loved.
Third reasonwhen I talk about her, she sounds absurd. My faith in God is hindered most of all by the fact that I would very much like to really believe in his existence.
Indeed, faith has so many advantages. How wonderful it would be if the Lord would distribute to people fairly, encouraging virtue, punishing evil and helping in weakness! How wonderful it would be if we all felt loved! If love were as strong as death, if not stronger, wouldn’t that be the main good news?
Any religion is built on our most cherished desires — the desire to live forever or, more precisely, not to disappear into nowhere after death and the desire to be loved. And that is why faith is suspicious.
The conclusion suggests itself: faith, built on the most cherished desires, no doubt, was created only to calm, comfort and reassure us — even if only by the promise of the fulfillment of these desires.
This is the essence of illusion, which Freud defines as «faith born of human desires.» To harbor illusions means to take wishful thinking. It is impossible to desire anything more than we desire the existence of God.
Nothing feeds our illusions like faith in Him. And the fact that I — like other people — want to believe in the existence of God, is already reason enough for not believing in Him. God is too beautiful to actually exist.