VIII The Atheistic Interpretation of Religion

VIII The Atheistic Interpretation of Religion M odern thinkers are not willing to admit any such source of knowledge as is established through the intervention of God. Atheism holds the demands of religion that people should believe in something beyond their perception to be not only illogical but indicative of the non-reality of its premises. Were this not so, human access to it would be a possibility. Since religion and its followers have always existed in history—in spite of Auguste Comte’s (1798-1851) prediction that with the spread of science they would disappear— atheists are forced to find an explanation for this phenomenon. To be convincing, they have to allude to events, which have certain elements in common with religious happenings, this being more easily understandable by the common man. Poetry, with its resounding metaphors, is one of the richest sources of such parallels, and, having cited them, they proceed to pronounce religion to be nothing more than a kind of neutral mental activity. According to Toynbee there are two ways of perceiving the truth. One is the scientific method, which is based on observation and experiment. The other is the poetic method, which springs from within. The first method yields scientific truth and the second poetic truth. He observes: “On the poetic level of the subconscious psyche,