BLOG FAITH: I was thinking the other day about atheists and believers. At first, they seem as different as night and day. And yet, the most intense atheists and the most intense believers might have more in common than one would think. The path between them could be called the Bridge of Discomfort. Very often, believers who take their faith seriously go through deep periods of doubt and discomfort about God. And all but the most simple-minded atheists are uncomfortable too. Uncomfortable, certainly, with the notions of God as commonly expressed in our churches, but with the idea of an absolute nothingness also. Arguably, both groups are tending towards the grey zone of agnosticism, admitting that we just don’t know. But agnosticism is a cop out. Of course we don’t know; God isn’t a science. Perhaps the best thing to say is that we are uncomfortable. From discomfort comes response, from response comes movement, and from movement comes journey.

Personally, I’m looking for a church of the uncomfortable. I’d much rather hang out with an uncomfortable atheist than a comfortable Christian (or Jew or Moslem or Hindu or whatever). But personally, once again, I still find grounds for faith. Even if those grounds are not always very comfortable in this world of pain and trouble.

SIDENOTE: I recently looked at Everclear’s web site (www.everamericana.com) after hearing a catchy little tune that they recently put out, “Volvo Driving Soccer Mom“. At present, the site has a really neat video-like splash page showing the band in concert with the words to ‘Volvo Mom’ rolling across the screen. (For you non-rock and roll fans, ‘Volvo Mom’ is a young man’s lament that female porno film stars eventually turn into suburban soccer moms. I think this is a part of the current male trend towards neo-chauvinistic parody, exemplified by the Man Show on Comedy Central. Hey, I don’t have cable, I just read about it in the social trends column in Atlantic Monthly).

Anyway, when you get inside Everclear’s site, you see that they offer some MP3 downloads from their concerts. So I recently listened to a song called “Why I Don’t Believe In God“. Hmm, talk about discomfort. Before you even hear the lyrics, you know this wasn’t one of Everclear’s better efforts. Perhaps rock is a good vehicle for neo-male chauvinism (perhaps rock has always been a matter of male chauvinism, e.g. what would a band like the Crue be without it), but it hasn’t done so well with atheism yet. By contrast, on the side of faith, there’s Peter Gabriel’s “Salisbury Hill” and maybe Rod Stewart’s cover of “People Get Ready”. I could be wrong on this, being more of a scientist than an artist, but true artistic inspiration seems to live more easily with themes of faith than with non-belief. I can’t think of many great paintings or sculptures inspired by atheistic notions, whereby there are countless works that express at least a yearning for a greater power. I wouldn’t call that clear-cut evidence for the existence of God, but it is something to think about :^| in the midst of one’s discomfort.