Mikelah Carlson Taylor

The great thinkers of modern atheism constructed a multifaceted critique against religion, decidedly pronouncing that faith is a thing of the past. Kant looked at Judeo/Christian beliefs and wrote about how the uncertainty and the “unquantifiability” of God points to the impossibility of the existence of God as a known fact. He saw religion as possibly useful throughout history, but irrational and thus irreconcilable to reality, except as a code of ethics. Other thinkers like Nietzsche, Feuerbach, Hume, and Freud echoed Kant’s atheistic skepticism and brought forth their own thoughts to add to the critique. They saw religion and faith as projections and illusions that were holding mankind back from personal and societal enlightenment. With this song set of critiques in the playing field of religious thought, Rudolf Otto, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Martin Buber step in to mount their individual and collective defenses of the Judeo/Christian beliefs. Each theologian examines the critiques presented by modern atheism while injecting their own new thoughts and evidences in favor of religion.

Rudolf Otto came from a strict Lutheran background that allowed for little freedom and pleasure. He brought this background into his work as he found true freedom and life in religious thought. He desired to stir up some life in the religious world and defend faith against its atheistic critique. He argued there is an innate condition in man called the numinous, which allows man to desire and experience that which is greater than the rational world; a mysterium tremendum et fascinans. This is caused by the reality of a wholly other. He argued there is something about the religious experience that always resists being explained away. The religious experience is something that cannot be quantified, but Otto resists Kant’s conclusion of a thus lack of existence of God. The numinous, says Otto, does not contradict or obliterate rationality, but rather complements it. Otto argued there is something (God) that is set apart and holy, inciting a response within a human that is both awe-ful and fascinating, as well as fearful trembling-evoking. This is the mysterium tremendum et fascinans Otto refers to, and it is something that cannot be contained by the rational world-it is an overabundance. Otto argues this holy experience was not included in Kant’s a priori critique, and thus remains uncontested.

Bonhoeffer’s thoughts on faith walk hand in hand with Otto’s defense of faith. Bonhoeffer lived in a time of great turmoil, and the World Wars of his generation left people wounded by the church and its feeble apathetic response to the evil in the world. He wrote much of his work from prison, in an uncomfortable and scary condition. He defended the Christian faith with four arguments: faith as polyphony, faith as a world come of age, faith as living before God as if there were no God, and faith beyond religion. Bonhoeffer likened faith to a polyphony — that which, due to one constancy, can be multidimensional. He argued faith allowed mankind to reach its fullest multifaceted potential, like the beautiful symphony of voices in Les Mis’s “One Day More,” with a variety of different notes and words, all bound by a common strand of music. With faith, Bonhoeffer says, man and society reach their full potential.

He continues in his defense of faith by seeing faith as a world come of age, as before God, and as beyond religion. Unlike the atheist claim religion is the opiate of the masses that keeps society from thriving, Bonhoeffer looks at faith as a means to more fully understand the world. God is not a machine or an answer to the misunderstood, but rather that by which we further our knowledge of the world. Science and faith happily and effectively coexist in the world that has shown many mysteries can be solved by science. Faith is no longer a mind-numb religion bent on condemning and avoiding the advancements of the world (retreating into adolescence, as Bonhoeffer says) but rather an accompaniment to technology and science. Faith is now about living out the Word of God, showing belief through example. Christians are now Shalom-bearers, bringing universal flourishing, wholeness, and delight, as our friend Dr. Cornelius Plantinga says. Faith allows man to realize his full potential and create a world striving toward fruitfulness and wholeness. Bonhoeffer takes faith out of the context of antiquated, oppressive religious stereotypes and reveals its inspiring power and freedom.

Buber points as well to the freedom and wholeness that come from faith. He argues there are two types of relationships in the world: the I-it and the I-Thou. He argues mankind longs for, and is made for, the I-Thou relationship of encounter and personhood over the I-it world of experience and objectification. The external Thou that is the greater being/force/entity (God) allows man to fully understand himself (I). When man sees the world in the I-Thou perception, as Buber says is intended to be, he achieves a greater self-knowledge and self-capability. It “unlocks” relationships from the modern utilitarian, objective constraints and allows man to engage in genuine, honest relationships with others and with the world around him. Buber defends against the critique religion keeps man from his full self potential and understanding, arguing religion is the lens we best see the world in an I-Thou manner, thus resulting in a deeper and more sincere reality. It is through faith man can be the best and most true self he can be and it is faith that allows him to see the Thou, as the imago dei, the personhood of his fellow man.

With their beautiful, intricate, and thoughtful defenses, Otto, Bonhoeffer, and Buber level their attacks on the modern atheistic critique of faith. Their works are realistic arguments in support of faith and cause the atheist to be challenged and the believer to be inspired. Their works lead the reader to a greater and deeper sense of faith, holiness, and mystery, and challenge the believer to deepen his thoughts on what he believes. Bonhoeffer in particular inspires believers to live out faith rather than contain it in the wooden pews of a stone church. He challenges the modern Christian to bring Shalom to the world and “to live in the light of the Resurrection.”