There is no god

I read a sweet but meaningless column by Maureen Dowd this morning. She trotted out her favorite Catholic priest to tell us why god allows suffering to exist in the world. Though a lovely-sounding piece, it said nothing more than this: people can help at such a time. And somehow this is supposed to mean that god is present. Christian apologetics are never pretty and they make no sense at all. If there was a god, innocent children would not be murdered. Christians dodge and weave around this obvious truth, not really knowing what to say. This column is just more of the same.

But in the comments I found this:

I have been a nurse for 34 years and I have seen every imaginable form of death--quiet deaths, raging deaths, frightfully fearful deaths, utterly cruel deaths. At nearly age 66, they continue to traumatize me. I was once a conservative Christian but, over time, became an atheist, and I am now content. Like all the rest, when I die, I will weave my matter and energy into the fabric of the universe, for the universe is oblivious to me. However, because of my beliefs, I struggle more and more valiantly to provide the kind of nursing care that promotes life, however near death a person is. I am not sidetracked by transcendental delusions. We are here, at the far end of evolution, for but a short time, after the universe we know has been blazing away for 14.7 billion years or so. We will be replaced. It thus behooves us to live this singular life [with] passionate purpose. Live, Live for what IS.

Yes. What he said.