Another Foxhole—Another Atheist

By Marge Mignacca

To a non-theist, religion is mythology. However comforting the gods may be to believers, they are merely a manifestation of our desperate yearning for security, some sort of Force or Deity to help us cope with the stresses of daily existence and to get through the major traumas we all encounter from time to time.

In my view, an even greater reflection (than religion) of humanity’s emotional frailty lies behind the infamous Christian myth that there are, supposedly, “no Atheists in foxholes.” Although the claim is wholly unsubstantiated, it continues to live in perpetuity. It’s perfectly understandable that true believers would, of course, lean on their god in times of crisis, but for them to insist that non-believers have this same need of religion in times of trouble is utterly false and ludicrous. This is why, this ever-popular Christian fib about foxholes must constantly be exposed and refuted! The Christian assumption that non-theists resort to faith every time there’s a rough patch in the road has more staying power than the fables from the Holy Books combined.

As an Atheist who is currently crouched in a foxhole attempting to elude a persistent enemy (cancer), I speak with no small degree of authority when I insist that we Atheists do frequently inhabit foxholes without for an instant wavering in our resolve to favor Reason over Superstition. This was true of a beloved Atheist friend, Catherine Fahringer, when she died in December of 2008. It applies equally to me, and there are countless other Atheists who find religion just as unnecessary when death approaches as at any other time.

Not only do we confront the enemy without resorting to preachers and prayers, but occasionally we even muster a flair for facing crises with humor. In my own case it was disgustingly crude, but effective.

On December 4^th, I had a biopsy of my left neck to determine whether the activity showing up on my latest CT scan signified a return of my cancer. It did. So on December 16th, we met with the ENT doctor at University Hospital to hear his prognosis and consider my options. Since none of the choices offered much hope, my daughter and I felt suddenly defenseless: as if we were being pistol-whipped, with no avenue of escape.

As we pondered all that the surgeon had said and reviewed the limited options, the whole situation struck me as utterly hopeless. We were caught between a rock and a hard place. I turned to my daughter and muttered crudely: “This is like facing starvation, and having a doctor extend one hand with a dish of poop, warm and steaming, and in the other, a bowl of puke; then having him ask: “Which would you like?!”” (The fact that neither “choice” held so much as a scintilla of appeal was immaterial, however, since there were no other options.)

We considered doing nothing at all, simply letting Nature run its course, but the physician warned that if I were to take that path, I would almost certainly be in for far worse suffering than I would by submitting to a rugged operation. (This is major surgery, and so difficult that it prompted one doctor friend to term it “brutal.” Surgery might prove challenging , even risky, yet another round of chemo would be futile.

For as long as I can remember, humor has come to the rescue whenever our family has confronted disaster, and, invariably, it has served us well. Thus, however disgusting my comments that day may have been, at least they provided a healthy outlet for the rage and despair I was feeling. Our clan has dealt with a number of major health issues over the years, so we’ve learned to handle some pretty rough stuff. Consequently, we’ve come to regard laughter as a perfectly normal means of coping. It’s what might commonly be called black humor in that it’s often brutally grim. Yet it never would have occurred to my daughter or me to resort to religion when faced with a crisis. Since we hadn’t been religious prior to our troubles, why would we suddenly find religion a good fit now?!

The Christian conviction that Atheists automatically become believers the instant life presents a challenge is nonsense, and furthermore, I find it grossly insulting. An Atheist is still an Atheist, whether carefree and luxuriating in a state of bliss or crouched in a foxhole fighting for survival. A person’s basic philosophy simply doesn’t reverse itself whenever a crisis presents itself, any more than his love of books diminishes if he chances upon one volume with a misprint.

What bothers me most is why any Christians would even make such a baseless and boldly arrogant assumption about those of us whose outlook on life they cannot even comprehend, much less respect! In the first place, to claim that Atheists reject God-belief only when life is rosy, but then they immediately embrace religion when the going gets rough is such a blatant example of faulty reasoning that it defies description! For a theist to insist that he or she knows the heart and mind of a non-believer is tantamount to a wrestler claiming to know what makes a ballet-master tick. Perhaps it could occur, but it’s highly unlikely!

As I return to my computer in hopes of completing this article, it occurs to me that I’m still very much an Atheist, despite having learned this past week that I may have less than six months to live. When the surgeon made the incision to remove the cancerous nodes in my neck, he made a grim discovery. The cancerous nodes (which had previously been relatively stable throughout several scans) had suddenly grown rapidly, weakening the carotid artery to the point that removal of the nodes would cause a better than fifty percent chance of a massive stroke. The doctor left the O.R. to explain the situation to my family, and it was decided that the best thing to do was to close the incision and not risk further surgery.

For all of us, it was devastating. We were forced to confront the reality that not only will my remaining time be short but that all of the surgeries, radiation, chemo, scans, and other procedures I’ve had over the past couple of years have been futile. I went through one trial after another in a game attempt to buy some time, but all things considered, it’s been a useless struggle; just one extended comedy of errors. There is no light at the end of the tunnel: the Piñata of cancer-cures I have tried has produced no prizes.

It isn’t easy to face all this, especially since the daughter with whom I live has multiple health woes of her own and we have always faced things together. When the time comes that I’m no longer here (and her brother resides in a different state), her situation will be even more difficult than it already is. (For reasons too numerous to list, we have almost no local support group.)

So needless to say, this latest assault has put our family in a terrible bind. This is about as bad a situation as anyone could imagine. But have we turned to religion? Hardly!

In the first place: even if I were a believer, why would I pray to the very god who allowed this hideous disease to invade my body and ravish our future?! If a god had the power to prevent or cure cancer, wouldn’t he do that automatically?! Why would he need our prayers as a reminder that cancer is not a good thing?! And furthermore, what good is prayer? Especially after the fact.

If God exists and is truly a Supreme Being, then he supposedly has complete control over all things, as well as the ability to either prevent or reverse misfortune and misery.

Seems to me that an omnipotent merciful god would protect us from all evil. When I ponder the tragedies which abound in the world, it’s hard to imagine that a caring god is actually on the job! How do we explain the hideous injuries, misfortunes, diseases, natural disasters, and other evils which attack humankind from all sides. Why would any god worth his salt let such horrific disasters befall man, and then demand that we pray to him for relief from our sufferings?!

Why couldn’t god prove his existence by eliminating all Natural disasters? Why must we have tsunamis, quakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, and other such devastating calamities?!

Obviously either he is not the Be-all/End-all of the Universe and lacks the power to prevent misfortunes and suffering, or he simply doesn’t give a rat’s ass, and we’re on our own! Personally, I find it easier to have the kind of outlook which enables me to accept my own situation without pleading to some heavy-handed Deity who appears not to give a whit whether I suffer, live, or die. At least I won’t feel let down by a God who might have saved me, had he only been willing! There are those good Christians who would say that my current plight is the result of my non-belief. To this merciful observation I would add: “Then what accounts for the millions of sufferers in the world who are loyal believers?!” I’d be wealthy if I had even a dime for every true believer I’ve known who has succumbed to cancer or some other brutal condition.

As I type this, the poor souls who survived the massive earthquake in Haiti are still tramping through piles of rubble, attempting to dig out victims who might still have a shot at survival. At the same time, they must walk past the staggering numbers of corpses which, by now, are in an advanced state of decomposition. The entire scene is one of horror, misery, and despair.

And yet, however irrational it seems to those of us who place Reason above Superstition, people are nevertheless still praying to their God for help, and, no doubt, countless Holy Men of all persuasions are presently coming up with nonsensical attempts at words of comfort to the stricken nation. How can they continue to feed their bilge to the hapless victims of such a disaster?! How can the holy men themselves make sense of any of this, much less manage to feed their flocks enough blarney to save their continued belief in a “Loving God.” Men of the cloth must be so inventive!! And how can theists possibly confront suffering of this magnitude without feeling abandoned by their God?!

The Atheist approach, I feel, makes far more sense! As I crouch here in my foxhole—knowing that death is approaching—it seems obvious to me that it pretty much boils down to one simple conclusion: “Shit Happens!”