Our God — Page 169
Great Benefits ofBelief in God 169 meaningless. Even if we assume that there are more atheists in the West, there would still be no room for objection, because history tells us that atheistic views originated in the West after the begin- ning of their progress in the acquisition of knowledge. The most we can infer from this is that this increase in knowledge inclined people to atheism and not that atheism inspired the West to aca- demic progress. We cannot infer that disbelief in God inspires quest for knowledge more than belief in God does. In any case, the objection stands invalid. Why, one may ask, has academic progress led to atheism? We do not accept that academic progress necessarily leads to or encourages atheism. The truth of the matter is that people have mistakenly drawn an utterly wrong conclusion. The fact is that progress in knowledge brings about awareness and replaces the inertia of ignorance with the energy of life. At such time, some misguided people, and those who are easily influenced by others and are confused, end up on the wrong path; whereas those stuck in ignorance stay put, because they do not have any opportunities to go astray. A poet has aptly put it: ی وسہشار یہ می دان ِ گنج م ی ہ رگےت � وہ لفط ک ی ا رگے اگ وج ونٹھگں ےک لب ےلچ It is only the horsemen who fall in the battlefield; The baby who crawls on the knees cannot fall This is not to say that one falls because of riding the horse. It means that a rider is exposed to a greater risk of falling and so, at times, he can fall from the horse. Thus, the greater influence of atheism in Western nations may be a reflection of education that has enlightened their minds. The enhanced curiosity of Western