People say that atheists are really loud and I disagree
What if atheists were as vocal as christians? Oh, I know some christians will argue that they are louder than christians but please let's be real. What if atheists demanded the dollar bill said something like "There is no God and never has been?"
What if political meetings began with an open proclimation that "God isnt real and those who believe in Him are fools?"
What if the court houses had signs that told you "NOT" to believe in God or you would be alienated from society?
What if atheists were THAT vocal about their beliefs? What would we, as christians do? Well, I would think that we would fight like crazy for our voice to be heard. I would hope that we would shout from the highest mountain top that we have the "right" to believe in God, and the govt should not make us feel "small" for believing. I would think that we would probably even be "angry" and "outspoken" towards atheists. We would probably organize groups to have our voice heard. I can't say exactly what I think we would do, but I would hope we would not just lay down and allow a "non belief" in God forced down our throats.
Now, let's reverse the roles. What if christians did everything I just listed above?
Oh, wait a second............
What if political meetings began with an open proclimation that "God isnt real and those who believe in Him are fools?"
What if the court houses had signs that told you "NOT" to believe in God or you would be alienated from society?
What if atheists were THAT vocal about their beliefs? What would we, as christians do? Well, I would think that we would fight like crazy for our voice to be heard. I would hope that we would shout from the highest mountain top that we have the "right" to believe in God, and the govt should not make us feel "small" for believing. I would think that we would probably even be "angry" and "outspoken" towards atheists. We would probably organize groups to have our voice heard. I can't say exactly what I think we would do, but I would hope we would not just lay down and allow a "non belief" in God forced down our throats.
Now, let's reverse the roles. What if christians did everything I just listed above?
Oh, wait a second............
What we need to witness
My point in all this, is that I attempt to witness to atheists almost every day. It is extremely difficult because I am starting off, in a 6 feet deep hole because the atheist has been made to feel "small, lesser, insignificant, dumb, and even criminal."
I don't need my money to say "In God we trust." I don't need the 10 commandments on the court houses. In fact, if removing them from public, would ease tensions between atheists and christians then I say let's take them down.
As christians, WE should accept the responsibility to share God's love with people and not money. WE should be the ones leading by example, and showing people how to live a Godly life, NOT a lifeless, soulless piece of rock with engravings.
We should be bold witnesses for Christ in our day to day actions, not by trying to force God onto people by creating public proclimations of God.
Want to influence an atheist? SHOW them Jesus in you!!
Don't sit back and try to "propaganda" them into a relationship with Christ.
It's not how He taught us.
I don't need my money to say "In God we trust." I don't need the 10 commandments on the court houses. In fact, if removing them from public, would ease tensions between atheists and christians then I say let's take them down.
As christians, WE should accept the responsibility to share God's love with people and not money. WE should be the ones leading by example, and showing people how to live a Godly life, NOT a lifeless, soulless piece of rock with engravings.
We should be bold witnesses for Christ in our day to day actions, not by trying to force God onto people by creating public proclimations of God.
Want to influence an atheist? SHOW them Jesus in you!!
Don't sit back and try to "propaganda" them into a relationship with Christ.
It's not how He taught us.
"I don't need my money to say "In God we trust." I don't need the 10 commandments on the court houses. In fact, if removing them from public, would ease tensions between atheists and christians then I say let's take them down."
ReplyDeleteI think the other thing is that it's kind of specific about which god, so many others of different faiths live in the USA but I wouldn't expect them to put in allah, in vishnu, in horus, in thor, in venus we trust. If it said in gods it would be less exclusive but would still exclude the atheists. In humanity we trust or maybe in life we trust, we are all still alive and can agree on that.
I like what you are saying and even thought instantly of the youtube clip you posted before I saw you had placed it in the blog.
Some might debate with you on how people should be lead to believe in jesus, but ultimately no one can be forced to believe.
It's pretty bad when people of a real young age are shoved into religion before they have the capacity to fully understand the concepts and think critically about them.
Really like this blog and this post is a good illustration of just what the scenario is like in the US.
Yeah.
ReplyDeleteOne very important thing for Christians to keep in mind is the salient fact that many atheists are quite knowledgable in regards to religious practices, faith, doctrines, and dogma. We didn't study religion, belief, and superstition in order to devise ways of attacking it - some of us formerly held such views, or in my case, conducted a very thorough investigation of Christianity in order to expand understanding and add to personal learning. I wanted to discover "what it was all about."
ReplyDeleteThis wasn't purely an intellectual exercise: I became involved. I visited churches, fellowships of many varieties, and stayed with intentional Christian communities. I learned the basics of farming under the tutelage of a Mennonite, and had access to one fellow's rather expansive Christian library (he had three different canons of the bible, an interlinear Greek bible, the complete collection of the Ante-Nicene Fathers, as well as an assortment of other fascinating, hard-to-find gems). I met with Plymouth Brethren, and became acquianted with the home church movement. I did everything I could to leave no stone unturned...and while I did indeed learn a great deal, I am not under the delusion that I asborbed the sum total of all American Christian knowledge and experience.
I know enough to recognize that not everyone who professes a belief in God, and Christ, is "the same." There are as many differences as there are places to live, sights to see, and paths to explore across the United States.
Armed with this knowledge, I am quite aware of what motivates the bulk of Christians I encounter. I find the notion that you are "persecuted" for Christ to be a rather quaint delusion. I would encourage you to pursue the pearl of great price, and trade everything you possess for it. Learn how to see yourself from the eyes of others, and be prepared for the shock of your life. Instead of being persecuted for Christ, many people - particularly atheists - loathe your hubris and obvious sense of self-importance. Though you might claim not to judge, you are doing just that by virtue of "reaching out to the lost." How do you know that the person you "witness" to doesn't already know all about your faith? Have you ever stopped to think that the negative reactions you receive aren't because someone is "reviling" Christ...but rather, that you are being offensive and obnoxious?
You misunderstand. In the average crowd of people, the only one who is actually "lost" is the one who erroneously believes that they have been "found." Food for thought.
Thanks for your feedback, John. Something I have found about the "knowledge" atheists possess is that it is biased based, on their atheism. I know this doesn't apply to all atheists, but I have often found an atheist demanding I provide evidence as to why I believe what I believe. Then when I provide several links of data based on archeology, historical evidence, ancient scrolls, and artifacts, they quickly dismiss it by saying it's fake or not valid evidence. You have to admit, there are several very well educated scientists, historians, and scholars, who have a lot of respect in their fields, that believe in God.
ReplyDeleteI understand that several atheists feel that a belief in God is like believing in unicorns, fairies, and magic zombies, but at the end of the day, there are still several "very intelligent" people who have done the research, done their due diligence, and studied for countless hours, that ascribe to a religious belief.
For that reason, I think the idea of christianity can be respected by an atheist. For that reason, I know several atheists who do respect the ideas of christianity, even though they completely disagree with them.