I’m not an atheist, but how does the author know an atheist cannot console in a time of grief, explain love, or sigh in happy wonder at life’s endless surprises?
I wouldn't know, really.
A matter of opinion, a matter of faith.
A little of both.
Just curious - what consolation could an atheist offer when a loved one has died?
>>I’m not an atheist, but how does the author know an atheist cannot console in a time of grief, explain love, or sigh in happy wonder at life’s endless surprises?<<
It is simple. It is their core “what is life” paradigm that eliminates the possibility of being uplifting during such times.
Utterly and completely impossible - unless they are not being true to their own beliefs.
But then, I’ve never met a real athiest. I’ve met plenty that claim to be, but when questioned further, every single one of them backpedaled and admitted they were really more “agnostic”.
Wanna see how a REAL atheist would act? Rent Natural Born Killers.
Pretend my child just died. Now, from an atheist's point of view, console me in my grief.
Having been an atheist for some time before becoming a Christian, I think I can answer this. Atheism tends to be very reactionary against religious thought, especially in times when people tend to turn to their religion. So sickness, death, and other times of grief are seen as dangerous areas for an atheist that he must contend with. Some atheists reach for a sort of empty pantheism to help, bestowing godlike anthropomorphisms to the universe as a whole. Others are far more mechanical in their approach and tend to sidestep the whole issue.
On the last point, however, the author seems to overreach. Atheists are fully capable of expressing happy wonder at life's surprises, even with a mechanical worldview. They believe they have better insight into the world and human nature than religious people, so they take prideful joy in "tearing back the curtain" with many happenings that they experience.