David Baddiel’s The God Desire is no argument for atheism
By Chris Witheral l25 April 2023Far from being a convincing argument against the existence of God, much of the comedian-cum-writer’s new book seems to find its natural fulfilment in Christian theism, says Chris Witherall
I love David Baddiel. I like his comedy, his song about football coming home, and the fact
that he’s the only celebrity I’ve ever spotted around London.
But he’s not just a funny man and stirrer of premature sporting hope. Baddiel’s first
non-fiction book Jews Don’t Count (HarperCollins), which was recently made into a
TV documentary, was eye-opening and sensitively conveyed. He clearly has a talent
for the written word, too.
The comedian-turned-writer seems to have started exploring deeper issues in recent
years, so it’s not wholly surprising to see him wade into the God debate with his latest
offering, The God Desire (HarperCollins). So far, it has garnered strong reviews, with
Stephen Fry describing it as “Magnificent. Breathtaking. And shockingly rare…”.
In it, Baddiel unpacks the reasons for his atheism. He does so thoughtfully and
gently; often eschewing what he calls the “macho atheism” of people like
Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens.
It’s an interesting book, offering a candid insight into a man wrestling with
life’s big questions and, whether you agree with his conclusions or not, it’s an
enjoyable read.
DRIVEN BY DESIRE
The central argument in The God Desire could be stated as: Most people desire for
God to exist, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence for this. Therefore, belief in
God is driven solely by a desire for him to exist.
Baddiel pares this down to a nifty equation: “desire + invisibility = God”,
writing: “God is all about death…[and] the heart’s cry for an eternal protector
[from it]…”
SO MUCH OF THE GOD DESIRE SEEMS TO FIND ITS NATURAL FULFILMENT
IN CHRISTIAN THEISM
He’s so confident of God’s non-existence that he says: “I know that He doesn’t
[exist]… like I know that stone is hard.” But curiously, he never really unpacks
why he doesn’t believe in God; or how he arrived at such a strong conclusion.
He does spend a paragraph or two on phrases like: “Throughout history…there
has…been progress towards something that might be called actual truth…the thing
we call science.” This hints towards Scientism – the belief that science is the only
discipline that can lead to truth (ironically self-refuting, because Scientism can’t
be proven scientifically).
AN INSEPARABLE IDENTITY
Baddiel writes at length about his identity as a Jewish person, stating: “it confuses
me at times…just how Jewish, despite, or rather through, my atheism, I am.”
He then describes how Judaism has helped him express his anguish in suffering
(less so his joy in celebration); and reflects on how “religion is a key part of many
people’s identity…it may be inseparable from that identity.”
Intriguingly, Baddiel also suggests that belief in God may be “hard wired” into people
and, towards the end of the book, illustrates this by discussing how we grow out of
belief in Santa Claus but not God. He also shares his concern that love may have
propensity to look for ‘God’ continues in various guises.
THE MISSING LINK
There is, of course, no necessary link between what we want to be true, and what is
true, and so it is a red herring to talk about desire in the way that Baddiel does.
Rather, I’d prefer to know what he thinks about the many arguments for God’s
existence, which include:
The intentionality argument: Everything in the universe moves with purpose, and
therefore needs a conscious director of that purpose.
The Kalam cosmological argument: Everything which begins to exist has a cause,
The argument from objective morality: Some things are morally right and others
are morally wrong. This goes beyond human opinion, and needs grounding in a
transcendent, objectively moral being.
LIKE MISTAKING THE REFLECTION OF THE SUN FOR THE SUN ITSELF,
PERHAPS WE ALL NEED TO BE REACQUAINTED WITH LOVE’S TRUE SOURCE
The evidence for the resurrection of Jesus: Jesus’ existence is accepted by the vast
majority of historians today. It’s uncontroversial that he was crucified and that
belief in his resurrection exploded very soon after. These facts demand an explanation.
The experience of billions of people throughout the world and throughout
history: Christianity offers a real, living God who can be (and is) experienced today.
It’s beyond the scope of this short article to unpack all of these arguments, or present
the many others that exists, but they do begin to demonstrate the gaping hole at the
centre of The God Desire.
THE REASON FOR LOGIC
The fact is, there are many good reasons to take theism – and Christianity – seriously,
even if you don’t accept them at the moment. Countless academic books and articles
are being written on these subjects all the time, but Baddiel doesn’t comment on any
of this. He simply dismisses it, saying: “Those who believe in God should not use logical
arguments to support that belief because God exists beyond logic and reason.”
I’m not sure how he came to this conclusion. Ironically, the development of science
Quite apart from existing beyond logic and reason, Christian theism states that God
is the foundation of logic and reason.
MADE FOR MORE
So much of The God Desire seems to find its natural fulfilment in Christian theism,
not atheism. And Baddiel himself acknowledges that atheism may not be a workable
philosophy: “We might not be OK without [God]. That…might be why we hang onto Him.”
And his observation that God seems “hard wired” into us lines up exactly with what
the Bible says in Ecclesiastes 3:11: “he has also set eternity in the human heart”.
THERE IS, OF COURSE, NO NECESSARY LINK BETWEEN WHAT WE WANT
TO BE TRUE, AND WHAT IS TRUE
Baddiel’s suggestion that modern society may have made an idol out of love is
thought-provoking. If you accept the Bible’s assertion that God is love (1 John 4:8),
it’s no wonder we’re drawn to it. Like mistaking the reflection of the sun for the sun
itself, perhaps we all need to be reacquainted with love’s true source.
All of this leaves me scratching my head, wondering what led David Baddiel to become
such a staunch atheist. It seems that Christianity could be the perfect fit for him, even
if he hasn’t realised it yet!
C.S. Lewis once reflected that: “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this
world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
Quite apart from leading us away from God, The God Desire leads us straight to him.
Chris Witherall is a writer and musician based in Sussex. He’s particularly interested in the link between faith, the arts and psychology
