LIFE WITHOUT GOD: THE IMPLICATIONS OF ATHEISM (PART 5 OF 5)

Inevitably, if we do not worship God, we end up worshipping other ‘gods’.  Think about it.  Our partners, our bosses, our teachers, our friends, the societies we live in, and even our own desires ‘enslave’ us in some way.  Take, for example, social norms.  Many of us define beauty based on social pressures.  We may have a range of likes and dislikes, but these are shaped by others.  Ask yourself, why are you wearing these trousers or this skirt? Saying you like it is a shallow response; the point is, why do you like it? If we keep on probing in this way, many will end up admitting "because other people think it looks nice".  Unfortunately, we’ve all been influenced by the endless adverts and peer pressure that bombard us.

In this respect we have many ‘masters’ and they all want something from us.  They are all ‘at odds with each other’, and we end up living confused, unfulfilled lives.  God, who knows us better than we know ourselves, who loves us more than our mothers love us, is telling us that He is our true master, and only by worshipping Him alone will we truly free ourselves.

The Muslim writer Yasmin Mogahed explains in her book, Reclaim Your Heart, that anything other than God is weak and feeble, and that our freedom lies in worshipping Him:

"Every time you run after, seek, or petition something weak or feeble… you too become weak or feeble.  Even if you do reach that which you seek, it will never be enough.  You will soon need to seek something else.  You will never reach true contentment or satisfaction.  That is why we live in a world of trade-ins and upgrades.  Your phone, your car, your computer, your woman, your man, can always be traded in for a newer, better model.  However, there is a freedom from that slavery.  When the object upon which you place all your weight is unshaking, unbreakable, and unending, you cannot fall."[1]

The next question is: Where are we going? We have a choice: to embrace God’s eternal, unbounded mercy, or to run away from it.  Accepting His mercy, by responding to His message, and obeying, worshipping and loving Him will facilitate our eternal happiness in paradise.  Rejecting and running away from God’s mercy necessitates that we end up in a place devoid of His love, a place of unhappiness—hell.  So we have a choice.  Either we decide to embrace His mercy or try to escape from it.  We have the free will to choose.  Even though God wants good for us, He does not force us to make the right choices.  The choices we make in this life will shape our lives after we die:

"…and when that Day comes, no soul will speak except by His permission, and some of them will be wretched and some happy." (Quran 11:105)

"There they will stay—a happy home and resting place!" (Quran 25:75)

Since our ultimate purpose is to worship God, we must establish our natural balance to find out who we really are.  When we worship God, we free ourselves, and find ourselves.  If we do not, we are forgetting what makes us human (see Chapter 15):

"And be not like those who forgot God, so He made them forget themselves." (Quran 59:19) 

In summary, atheism cannot provide profound answers for our existence, and therefore real, meaningful happiness can never be achieved.  If someone argues that they are happy under atheism, I would argue it is a drunken type of happiness.  They only sober up when they start thinking deeply about their own existence.  Even if they have attempted to find the answers and have settled with not knowing—or being sceptical about the available responses—they will still not achieve ultimate happiness.  Compare the person who knows why they exist and where they are going with the one who does not.  Their conditions are not the same, even if they both claim to be happy.

This chapter has clearly shown the logical implications of denying God.  While atheists are emotionally justified in believing their lives have a sense of ultimate value, hope, happiness and purpose, the point is clear: intellectually they are groundless.  Even Richard Dawkins appreciates the logical implications of naturalism.  He argues that under naturalism, everything is meaningless and based on pitiless indifference:

"On the contrary, if the universe were just electrons and selfish genes, meaningless tragedies like the crashing of this bus are exactly what we should expect, along with equally meaningless good fortune.  Such a universe would be neither evil nor good in intention.  It would manifest no intentions of any kind.  In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication, some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won’t find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice.  The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."[2]

A universe made up of non-rational, blind, cold physical stuff is not concerned with our emotions.  Only God can provide the intellectual justification for the things that define our humanity.

        Last updated 21 May 2019.  Taken and adapted from my book "The Divine Reality: God, Islam & The Mirage of Atheism' - islamreligion.com

PARTS OF THIS ARTICLE

• READ PART 1 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (part 1 of 5)
• READ PART 2 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (part 2 of 5)
• READ PART 3 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (Part 2 of 5)
• READ PART 4 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (Part 4 of 5)
• 
  

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Mogahed, Y.  (2015) Reclaim Your Heart.  2nd Edition.  San Clemente, CA: FB Publishing, p.  55.

[2]Dawkins, R.  (2001) River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life.  London: Phoenix, p.  155.

Fascination with this world

The life of this world is fleeting and is often focused on materialism – it is so easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of it all – but how does that affect our faith?

We all love this life to some extent or another – our homes, our cars, and most of all our family – but what we do not know is just how much of a corruption it can be to our souls when we place so much importance on material things in this life and loving the life of this world. Read on, what you will find may change your entire outlook on how you live your life and what is really important…

Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

Loving this life is the father of sins which corrupts the Muslim’s faith in different ways:

1. Loving this life entails glorifying it, whereas Allah Almighty has despised it. One of the greatest sins is glorifying what Allah Almighty has despised.

2. Allah Almighty has cursed it, detested it, and poured scorn on it, with the exception of the good things in it such as remembering Allah, seeking knowledge, and spreading it. Whoever loves what Allah Almighty has cursed and hated will expose himself/ herself to Allah’s wrath and detestation.

3. When someone loves this life, it becomes his/her ultimate goal. Accordingly, the good deeds he/she performs will eventually be for the sake of this life; and not the Hereafter. That type of love reverses the natural process, invalidates the conventional wisdom, and moves the lover in the wrong direction. In an authentic hadeeth, the Prophet  mentioned that the Mujahid (fighter), the alms giver, and the scholar of Islam whose ultimate goal is this life, seeking an elevated social status and looking for people’s praise, will be the first to be burned into the Hellfire. Those people prefer this life to the hereafter.

4. Loving this life prevents the servant from doing what will be of great benefit to him/her in the Hereafter because of obsession with mundane matters such as money, social status, wife, or children. That type of worldly love might keep a person away from maintaining Iman (Faith), or doing the necessary things in life. The minimal adverse effect of loving this life is making the servant’s heart oblivious to loving Allah Almighty.  

5. Loving this life makes the servant obsessed with it. Anas  narrated that the Messenger of Allah  said: “He whose ultimate goal is the Hereafter will be endowed with richness in their hearts by Allah, will be granted a close-knit, protected familial environment, and will gain as much as they want from this life despite its unwillingness. On the contrary, Allah will make those who are obsessed with this life see poverty in front of their eyes and break up their family ties, and they will not gain from it except what they have been destined for.” [At-Tirmithi]

6. When someone loves something, he/she is tortured by that type of love. Additionally, those who love this life are tortured as they try to gain as much as they can from it, as they hanker after its pleasures, and as they fight other people for its sake. Then, they will be tortured in their graves missing it and suffering the agony of not being able to go back to it. There will be no such better thing that will compensate for the life they have seemingly enjoyed. They will be tortured by this life since they have been its servants and captives which is depicted by the Prophet  “Losers are the servants of the Dinar; losers are the servants of the Dirham,” referring to money. Some scholars of Islam from the past generations said, “They (lovers of this life) suffer the agony of collecting money and their love towards money continues till the moment of breathing their last. They are not even paying the amount of money that Allah has prescribed.”    

7. Whoever loves this life and prefers it to the hereafter is considered one of the most ignorant and unwise people. He/she has preferred the unreal to the real, slumber to wakefulness, and a perishable house to an ever-lasting one. Yunus Ibn Abdul Aa’la said, “This life can be compared to a man who sleeps and dreams of what he likes and hates. Then, he wakes up.” 'Ali  described this life saying, “In this life, the healthy grow old, the sick become penitent, the poor feel sad, and the nouveaux riche are happy. The appraisal is in its permissible practices, and the punishment is in its forbidden practices.”  - islamweb.net

Islam teaches the love of animals

On a recent shopping trip, I happened to pass by a pet shop, where a big monkey in a small cage outside the entrance broke my heart. I gathered up the guts to enter the shop, only to leave in tears, deeply saddened by what I had seen. Poor, helpless animals imprisoned in tiny cages without even enough space to turn around; their sad, pleading eyes haunted me as I fought the urge to set them free, assured that none would be able to explain for what crime they had been incarcerated in such inhumane and unnatural 'habitats'. I wondered if the pet shop owner ever thought about what it would be like to be paralyzed; in the same way as he had kidnapped birds and put them in little cages. Maybe only a fellow animal lover would really understand what I felt that day, yet the importance of kindness to animals is something every Muslim should understand as a part of his way of life.   

It is such a serious matter that one could gain Heaven or Hell due to his treatment of animals. Mistreating animals is considered a major sin in Islam, as explained in the famous Book of Major Sins by Imam Muhammad bin ‘Abdul Wahhab . Certainly, a Muslim is responsible for the treatment of animals, because an ill-treated animal will testify against the one who abused it on the Day of Judgment. Islam forbids branding animals and killing them in vain, such as for sport. The Prophet    forbade people from capturing birds, burning anthills and whipping animals. Even when slaughtering animals for food, Islam requires that the slaughtering be done according to approved Islamic procedures, which are humane and reduce suffering. As Allah’s representatives on earth, human beings have a responsibility towards every living creature. 

As I left the pet shop that day, I felt like a traitor knowing that these animals have feelings just as real as those of humans. I walked away leaving my fellow creatures in their state of oppression. Outside the shop I stepped off the curb to head across the street, when just at my feet lay a tiny newborn kitten, perfectly positioned for a parking car to run over it. I stood there blocking the space from desperate drivers demanding the parking spot, while I motioned for the pet shop worker; I thought he would certainly be someone who cared for and sympathized with animals. He came out, glanced down at the animal, replied: "It’s not ours" and walked back inside. I stood there for fifteen minutes before I was able to get one of the many passers-by to get something with which to pick up the baby kitten to move it to a safe place. Tears streamed down my face as I wondered: "Where are the people of the Sunnah? (traditions of the Prophet Muhammad ) Has Allah plucked the mercy from the hearts of people to make them so cold that they lack an ounce of sympathy for one of Allah's beautiful creatures, although they see it so helpless and pitiful? I remembered Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, a close companion of the Noble Messenger of Allah  who narrated more Hadeeths (traditions) than any other companion. He was known for being very sympathetic and loving towards animals. Though his name was ‘Abdur Rahman, he was known as Abu Hurayrah (meaning father of the kitten) because of a small cat that he used to feed and care for and carry with him everywhere he went.

Cats in Islam

The Messenger of Allah  taught Muslims to have mercy for all of Allah's creation. There are many reports of his love for cats, resulting in their historical acceptance among Muslims. Cats were very common amongst the people during the time of the Prophet  and he said: "They (cats) are not impure and they intermingle with you." The cat is such a clean animal that according to authentic narrations one may make ablution for prayer with the same water that a cat drank from. Yet, it is known that some people nowadays have opposed the traditions of the Prophet by taking up the evil practices of torturing and poisoning cats. Do they think that Allah will not punish them for this? Certainly Allah's punishment for such acts is severe, if we bear in mind the Hadeeth of Allah's Messenger  as reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim regarding a woman who locked up a cat, refused to feed it and did not release it so that it could feed itself. Allah's Messenger  said of her punishment that she was tortured and put in Hellfire.

Dogs in Islam

 There is hardly a domestic animal more ill-treated these days than dogs.  The Messenger of Allah  said: "Purifying a container that a dog has licked (in order for humans to use it) is done by washing it seven times, the first washing being with dirt.” [Muslim]. A Muslim should not keep a dog inside his home since the Prophet  has informed us that angels do not enter into a house where there is a dog [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]. Does this mean that dogs are to be despised or mistreated? Certainly not. Just because one does not keep a dog inside his home and doesn’t drink after it, doesn't give him the right to neglect it, mistreat it or kill it. The usefulness of this creature of Allah is indisputable. No other animal can compete with it in its loyalty to its caregiver, its abilities as a guard and its talent for hunting. 

In fact, in the chapter “The Cave”, the Quran reveals the story of some youths who had faith and trust in Allah, who took refuge in a cave from the persecution and violence of the unbelievers of their day. That these righteous people had a dog with them, and the fact that Allah mentions the dog and counts the dog among them, indicates that dogs are permitted to live among people.  

The Quran says (what means): "And you would think them awake, while they were asleep. And We turned them to the right and to the left, while their dog stretched his two forelegs at the entrance (of the cave as a guard)..." [Quran 18:18]

Thus, dogs may be used for guards as well as for hunting as the Noble Quran also states (what means): "They ask you, (O Muhammad), what has been made lawful for them. Say: ‘Lawful for you are (all) good foods and (game caught by) what you have trained of hunting, animals which you train as Allah has taught you. So eat of what they catch for you, and mention the name of Allah upon it, and fear Allah.’ Indeed Allah is swift in account." [Quran 5:4]  

In two separate narrations by Abu Hurayrah  the Prophet  told his companions of the virtue of saving the life of a dog by giving it water and quenching its thirst. One story referred to a man who was blessed by Allah for giving water to a thirsty dog, the other was a prostitute who filled her shoe with water and gave it to a dog, who had its tongue lolling out from thirst. For this deed she was granted the ultimate reward, the eternal Paradise under which  rivers flow, to live therein forever. [Muslim]

Let us reflect upon this and beware of our duty towards Allah's creatures, which He has put on earth for our use and not for our abuse. When the Prophet  was asked if Allah rewarded acts of charity to the animals, he  replied: "Yes, there is a reward for acts of charity to every beast alive." Let us fear Allah with regard to His creatures, lest we earn His Wrath. Let us go forth in support and love for animals, knowing that Allah, The Most  High, considers such a deed done for His Sake as being worthy of the reward of Paradise.   - islamweb.net

LIFE WITHOUT GOD: THE IMPLICATIONS OF ATHEISM (PART 4 OF 5)

No eternal and meaningful happiness

"And a happy future belongs to those who are mindful of Him." (Quran 7:128)

The pursuit of happiness is an essential part of our human nature.  All of us want to be happy—even when sometimes we cannot pinpoint exactly what ‘happiness’ is.  This is why if you were to ask the average person why they want to get a good job, they would probably reply, "To earn enough to live comfortably".  However, if you questioned them further and asked why they want to live comfortably they would more than likely say, "Because I want to be happy".  If you then asked them, "Why do you want to be happy?" They would be stuck for an answer, because happiness is ultimately an end, not a means.  It is the final destination, not necessarily the journey.  We all want to be happy, and there is no reason why we want to be happy other than happiness itself.  This is why we endlessly seek ways to help us achieve that final happy state.

The journey that people seek varies from one person to the next.  Some dedicate years to adding qualifications and career credentials to their names.  Others work tirelessly in gyms to achieve a perfect figure.  Those who desire the love of family often end up sacrificing their lives to the care of their spouse and children, while some party their weekends away with friends, seeking a release from the relentless cycle of work.  The list is endless.  It begs the question: What is true, meaningful happiness?

To help answer this question, imagine the following scenario: While reading this, you are sedated against your will.  Suddenly you wake up and find yourself on a plane.  You’re in first class.  The food is heavenly.  The seat is a flatbed, designed for a luxurious, comfortable experience.  The entertainment is limitless.  The service is out of this world.  You start to use all of the excellent facilities.  Time starts to pass.  Now think for a moment, and ask yourself the question: Would I be happy?

How could you be? You would need some questions answered first.  Who sedated you? How did you get on the plane? What is the purpose of the journey? Where are you heading? If these questions remained unanswered, how could you be happy? Even if you started to enjoy all of the luxuries at your disposal, you would never achieve true, meaningful happiness.  Would a frothy Belgian chocolate mousse on your dessert tray be enough to drown out the questions? It would be a delusion, a temporary, fake type of happiness, only achieved by deliberately ignoring these critical questions.

Now apply this to your life and ask yourself, am I happy? Our coming into existence is no different from being sedated and thrown on a plane.  We never chose our birth, our parents or where we come from.  Yet some of us do not ask the questions or search for the answers that will help us achieve our ultimate goal of happiness.

Where does true, meaningful happiness lie? Inevitably, if we reflect on the previous example, happiness really lies in answering key questions about our existence.  These include: What is the purpose of life? Where am I heading after my death? In this light, our happiness lies in our inwardness, in knowing who we are, and finding the answers to these critical questions.  If we claim to be happy but have not asked these questions or found any answers, then our happy state is not very meaningful.  It would be like a drunk person who seems to be happy when he temporarily forgets life’s worries.

Unlike animals, we cannot be content by reacting to our instincts.  Obeying our hormones and mere physical needs will not answer these questions and bring happiness.  To understand why, reflect on another example: Imagine you were one of 50 human beings locked in a small room with no exit.  There are only 10 loaves of bread, and there is no more food for another 100 days.  What do you all do? If you follow your animalistic instincts, there will be blood.  But if you try to answer the question, how can we all survive? it is likely that you will, because you will devise ways to do so.

Extend this example to your life.  Your life has many more variables, which can result in almost an infinite number of outcomes.  Yet some of us just follow our carnal needs.  Our jobs may require Ph.Ds.  or other qualifications, and we may wine and dine with our partners, but all of that is still reduced to the mere instincts of survival and procreation.  Meaningful happiness cannot be achieved unless we find out who we really are and search for answers to life’s critical questions.

However, under naturalism these questions do not have any real answers., this is why naturalism can never lead to a meaningful happy state.  Why are we here? No reason at all.  Where are we going? Nowhere.  We will just face death.  We all need to answer the fundamental question of why we are here.  In Islam, the answer is simple yet profound.  We are here to worship God.

But worship in Islam is quite different from the common understanding of the word.  Worship can be shown in every act that we do.  The way we talk to each other and the small acts of kindness we do each day.  If we focus on pleasing God by our actions, then our actions become acts of worship.

Worship is not merely limited to directing our acts of worship to God alone, like the spiritual acts of prayer and fasting.  Worshipping God also means loving, obeying and knowing Him the most.  Worshipping God is the ultimate purpose of our existence; it frees us from the ‘slavery’ to others and society.  God, in the Qur’an, presents us with a powerful example:

"God puts forward this illustration: can a man who has for his masters several partners at odds with each other be considered equal to a man devoted wholly to one master? All praise belongs to God, though most of them do not know." (Quran 39:29) -islamreligion.com

PARTS OF THIS ARTICLE

• READ PART 1 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (part 1 of 5)
• READ PART 2 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (part 2 of 5)
• READ PART 3 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (Part 3 of 5)

Thinks he is physically unable to go to Hajj

Question:

Asalaamualaikum. I was just wondering I am in poor health and wondered since Hajj is coming up if I could perform something like Hajj and still reap the benefits and the closeness to Allah is there anything close to Hajj that I can do instead of the journey? I have a bad heart and do not think I could take the walking running and everything. Please direct me in this matter. Shukran.

 

Fatwa:

 

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad  is His slave and Messenger.

 

If you did not perform your obligatory Hajj and you have a chronic disease and you are unable to perform Hajj because of your disease and it is not hoped that you will become cured from it, and you are financially able to perform it, then in this case you are obliged to appoint someone to perform Hajj and ‘Umrah on your behalf.

 

If the person whom you appoint performs Hajj on your behalf, then you become acquitted from the obligation of performing Hajj. It is by appointing someone to perform Hajj on your behalf that serves as if you have performed it yourself.

 

 

Believing that you may not be able to walk or perfrom Sa’i may have resulted from hearing people talk about the difficulties faced during Hajj. Indeed you may get on a wheel chair (which is available for elderly, sick or weak people) when performing Tawaf or Sa’i and in all the rituals of Hajj. The matter is easy, praise be to Allah. If you are able to get on a wheel chair, then you are obliged to perform Hajj yourself.

 

However, if you had already performed your obligatory Hajj, then you are not obliged to appoint someone to perform Hajj and ‘Umrah on your behalf. Donating the costs of Hajj to the needy may in some cases be better than optional Hajj even though the optional Hajj is in principal better than optional charity donation.

  

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah  said: ‘‘Performing Hajj as legislated is better than the non-obligatory charity donation. However, if a person has needy relatives, then donating to them is better; the same applies if there are people who are in urgent need for this donation. However, if both Hajj and donating in charity are optional, then Hajj is better because it is a physical and financial act of worship.’’

 

Allah Knows best.

 

Fatwa answered by: The Fatwa Center at Islamweb

LIFE WITHOUT GOD: THE IMPLICATIONS OF ATHEISM (PART 3 OF 5)

No ultimate purpose

"I do not know why we are here, but I’m pretty sure that it is not in order to enjoy ourselves."[1]

These are the words of influential philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein.  Like many philosophers, he did not have an answer to the question: What is the purpose of life? But he did indicate that life is not just a game.  Other people, however, have argued that the question is false.  There may be nothing we should be bothered about.  We should carry on living and not worry about why we are here.  The Nobel Prize winner Albert Camus explained this attitude in the following way: "You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life"[2].  Camus was basically saying that the important thing is to live a life that works for you, regardless of any truth behind your existence.

In light of these differing views, we must ask: is it reasonable to believe we have a purpose?  To help answer this question, let us take the following illustration into consideration:

You are probably reading this book sitting on a chair, and you are wearing some clothes.  So I would like to ask you a question: For what purpose? Why are you wearing the clothes, and what purpose does the chair have? The answers to these questions are obvious.  The chair’s purpose is to allow us to sit down by supporting our weight, and our clothes fulfil the purpose of keeping us warm, hiding our nakedness and of course making us look aesthetically pleasing.  Our clothes and the chair are lifeless objects with no emotional or mental abilities, and we attribute purpose to these.  Yet some of us do not believe we have a purpose for our own existence.  Naturally, this seems absurd and counter-intuitive.

Having an ultimate purpose for our lives implies that there is a reason for our existence—in other words, some kind of intention and objective.  Without an ultimate purpose we have no reason to exist, and we lack a profound meaning for our lives.  This is the perspective of naturalism.  It dictates that we merely spring from prior physical processes.  These are blind, random and non-rational.  The logical conclusion of this indifferent view on our existence is that we are riding on a sinking ship.  This metaphorical ship is our universe because, according to scientists, this universe is heading towards its inevitable demise and will suffer what they call a ‘heat death’.  Human life will be destroyed prior to this heat death as the Sun will eventually obliterate the Earth.[3]  Therefore, if this ship is going to sink, I ask you, what is the point of reshuffling the deck chairs or giving a glass of milk to the old lady? The Qur’an represents humanity’s intuitive stance on this issue:

"Our Lord! You have not created all this without purpose." (Quran 3:90)

Nevertheless, various disputes emerge from this discussion.  First, an atheist can argue that the absence of any reason for our existence gives us more freedom to create purpose for ourselves.  To further explain, some of the existentialists have argued that our lives are based on nothing, and from this nothingness we can create a new realm of possibilities for our lives.  This rests on the idea that everything is intrinsically meaningless, and therefore we have the freedom to create meaning for ourselves in order to live fulfilling lives.  The flaw with this approach is that we cannot really escape meaning.  Denying purpose for the basis of our existence while attributing some made-up purpose to our lives is, by definition, self-delusion.  It is no different in saying, "Let’s pretend to have purpose." This is no different from children who pretend to be doctors and nurses, cowboys and Indians, or mothers and fathers.  However, we must all grow up and face the truth that life is not just a game.

Another disagreement consists of the Darwinian claim that our purpose is to propagate our DNA; as the famous atheist Richard Dawkins proposes in his book, The Selfish Gene, our bodies have developed to do just that.[4]  The problem with this view is it relegates our existence to a random accident via a lengthy biological process.  This renders the human nothing more than a by-product, an incidental being that emerged via the random collision of particles and the random rearrangement of molecules.

Islam’s view on the purpose of our lives is intuitive and empowering.  It elevates our existence from products of matter and time to conscious beings who choose to have a relationship with the One who created us.  Atheism and naturalism provide no ultimate purpose for our existence. -islamreligion.com

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Cited in BBC (no date) Radio 4 – in our time – greatest philosopher – Ludwig Wittgenstein.  Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/history/inourtime/greatest_philosopher_ludwig_wittgenstein.shtml [Accessed 1st October 2016]

[2]Cited in Pollan, S.  M.  and Levine, M, (2006) It’s All in Your Head: Thinking Your Way to Happiness.  New York: HarperCollins, p.  4.

[3]Williams, M.  (2015) The Life Cycle of the Sun.  Available at: http://www.universetoday.com/18847/life-of-the-sun/[Accessed 2nd October 2016].

[4]Dawkins, R.  (2006) The Selfish Gene.  30th Anniversary edition.  Oxford: Oxford University Press.

PARTS OF THIS ARTICLE

• READ PART 1 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (part 1 of 5)
• READ PART 2 - Life Without God: The Implications of Atheism (part 2 of 5)