Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Why He Doesn’t Believe in a Higher Power

By Sarah Elliott [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
By Sarah Elliott [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
For Neil deGrasse Tyson, the suffering and misery in the world are proof that there is no God.

Neil deGrasse Tyson revealed in an interview that he does not believe in God. Although he did not specifically use the word atheist, it was obvious from his words he did not believe in any higher power. For Neil deGrasse Tyson, the suffering and misery in the world are proof that there is no God.[/tweetit]

Neil deGrasse Tyson Explains Why He Doesn’t Believe in a Higher Power[/tweetthis]

Aired on CBS’ Sunday Morning, the interview threw light on why Tyson says he refuses to believe in the idea of higher power. He said the more he looks at the universe and sees how it works, the lesser he is inclined to believe that there can be a God. An astrophysicist, Tyson’s observations of the stars and planets are highly sought-after and is considered to be one of the world’s foremost authorities in this field. He adds that there are many things that make life miserable on earth in nature, such as diseases, birth defects, natural disasters, volcanoes, hurricanes and causing, death and suffering. When he sees these things, he finds it hard to believe that an all-loving God could let these things happen.

Tyson insists he has absolutely no problem with “God.” He added that even if one day we were to discover God using technology, that wouldn’t be a problem for him. However, he says that there is no point of believing in a God right now because there is absolutely no proof of his existence. He also observed that religions are collectively called “faiths” because they are based on faith, which is nothing but the “absence of evidence.” He added that if religions were based on facts, they would be called as “evidences” instead of faiths. According to him, the very fact that religions are called “faith” is a sign that there is no concrete evidence of God, even with the religious and devout.

Comedian Stephen Fry had given a similar answer during an interview in 2015. According to him, the God of the Bible was a selfish God if he has created the world as it is now. He even added that he would prefer the 12 Greek gods over the Biblical God any day. He insisted that God who created suffering and pain could not be a loving God at all because he failed to see any purpose in suffering at all.

Resources

Follow the Conversation on Twitter