Although I like this a lot, and I believe I understand and agree with the premise, I feel that this proverbial atheist in the foxhole seems unduly idealized.
I know and have met quite a few atheists who, landing on the spectrum far from this ideal, are predominantly selfish individuals who would give up on CPR and who would selfishly tuck tail and run, leaving their comrades to die. Conversely, I have met a few "spiritual" people whose approaches to spirituality are unusually practical, almost to the point where one could argue the point that they are "praying by working," or "praying by breathing another second."
If the foxhole is indeed where one can find these idealized atheists, then perhaps I do want to be in that foxhole. If the point that "life is the foxhole," then yes; I will venture to agree that atheists are generally the preferred foxhole-companions, at least from a practical standpoint.
Perhaps the selfish atheists I know would behave differently in a literal foxhole. I don't know. The literal foxhole is an extreme situation. For some reason, as I write this, I keep comparing the idea with hospice experiences, which are far more common and less extreme. Apples and oranges, to be sure. Probably a red herring and not even a fruit at all.
I wish I could do a better job at pinpointing why this entry doesn't "feel quite right" to me, especially because I quite like it overall. Perhaps I should have contemplated my feelings about this entry more prior to posting anything, but for some reason I felt compelled to anyway.
I hope you don't let my feelings interfere with the truth you are communicating. I fully expect the reason it doesn't "feel right" to me has to do more with some misaligned belief or perspective of my own, as opposed to a fundamental flaw with the premise.
I'll continue to let this incubate, and if any new insights or illuminations follow, I'll be sure to share them here -- but please don't wait up for me in the meantime if you get to the point where you're ready to publish these Words.
