Atheist - "one who believes that there is no deity." (Source: Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
"There are no atheists!"
That's the most logical conclusion that can be drawn. Logically, it's similar to the statement, "There is no God!" I am yet to discover an objective procedure based on The Scientific Method which quantitatively measures belief. So what evidence do we have to prove that anyone actually believes there is no deity? If an alleged atheist can use that logic to question the existence of God, I can use it to question the existence of atheists. Hence, I conclude that atheists don't exist.
On the other hand, I do agree that there are many who claim to be atheists. Are they really atheists? I don't know. Maybe they are. Maybe they are not. I cannot prove what they believe. I'll have to take their word for it or judge by their actions. I choose not to do so. That would require the same faith I apparently need to believe in God. When I am presented with conclusive quantitative evidence that proves the existence of atheists I will change my position. At that point, their existence will become the most logical conclusion. Right now it is not.
On the other hand, I do agree that there are many who claim to be atheists. Are they really atheists? I don't know. Maybe they are. Maybe they are not. I cannot prove what they believe. I'll have to take their word for it or judge by their actions. I choose not to do so. That would require the same faith I apparently need to believe in God. When I am presented with conclusive quantitative evidence that proves the existence of atheists I will change my position. At that point, their existence will become the most logical conclusion. Right now it is not.
Romans 1:18-21(NLT) - But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn't worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
Psalms 53:1(KJV) - The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
The Bible actually draws the same conclusion. There are those who say in their hearts that there is no God but they have no excuse. They know the truth. Whether they want to believe it or not is a completely different issue. Do they understand God? Maybe not. Do they believe in God the way The Bible describes Him? Maybe not. However, do they believe that there is absolutely no God? Maybe not. There is something inside of each human being which points toward something deeper than what exists in the natural realm.
Welcome to today's blog at Faith Science Online. Let's look at an excerpt from a fascinating NPR article written by Barbara Bradley Hagerty published on April 30th, 2012 called, "From Minister To Atheist: A Story Of Losing Faith";
MacBain, 44, was raised a conservative Southern Baptist. Her dad was a pastor and she felt the call of God when she was 6. She had questions, of course, about conflicts in the Bible, for example, or the role of women. She says she sometimes felt she was serving a taskmaster of a God, whose standards she never quite met. For years, MacBain set her concerns aside. But when she became a United Methodist pastor nine years ago, she started asking sharper questions. She thought they'd make her faith stronger. "In reality," she says, "as I worked through them, I found that religion had so many holes in it, that I just progressed through stages where I couldn't believe it." The questions haunted her: Is Jesus the only way to God? Would a loving God torment people for eternity? Is there any evidence of God at all? And one day, she crossed a line. "I just kind of realized — I mean just a eureka moment, not an epiphany, a eureka moment — I'm an atheist," she says. "I don't believe. And in the moment that I uttered that word, I stumbled and choked on that word — atheist."
After doing a little research I realized that there are similar stories out there right now. There's a Christian pastor who came out in an interview as an atheist on MSNBC on March 25th. There's another pastor who turned to Atheism featured in an article in The Washington Post on April 30th. They had some serious questions about Christianity and didn't find the answers so they decided Atheism was their best option.
I have a few thoughts. Are there holes in our understanding of Christianity? Of course there are. That's what makes the Christian experience so exciting. It's why we aggressively study the scriptures. It's why we read books. It's why we listen to sermons. It's the entire purpose behind Apologetics. Apologetics (from Greek ἀπολογία, "speaking in defense") is the discipline of defending a position (often religious) through the systematic use of information. We will continue in our search for truth until our time on this present earth is complete.
If you have questions and ask nobody, you get no answers. If you have questions and ask the wrong people, you get the wrong answers. If you ask questions but refuse to accept any possible answers, you have rhetorical questions. Those require no answers so none should be given. There's nothing wrong with having questions. What matters is how you handle them. Many people have lost their faith because they did not know how to properly handle their lingering questions.
Here's a quote from "Pastor’s loss of faith started with loss of hell" written by Kimberly Winston of Religion News Service for The Washington Post, published April 30th, 2012;
There are answers to these questions and more. Just ask the right people and be open to the truth. For example, The Bible reconciles the existence of hell and the truth of God's Love. It says in Matthew 25:41; "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Therefore, hell was not created for people but for the devil and the angels who revolted against God alongside him.
God's Love is shown in that He created man to be immortal and placed him in a beautiful garden to enjoy for eternity. He gave them simple instructions and laid out the consequences if they were disobeyed. However, Adam and Eve chose to follow the devil. They chose death instead of life. It was not forced upon them. God still gives people the freedom of choice so that they can choose to love Him. This makes their love authentic.
The Bible also says in John 3:16-17; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Then it says in 2 Peter 3:9; "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Even though He didn't have to, He sacrificed Jesus to get everyone out of hell. He doesn't want anyone to go to hell. Yet, people still choose hell and that breaks God's heart. That's how The Bible describes God. What's sad is that this lack of understanding is used to draw people away from God's Love. Then, out of ignorance, people create alternate theories and choose to believe them.
Today, let's answer the question, "Is Atheism the next best thing after Christianity?" Since these Christian pastors could not find the answers to their questions is their next most logical step Atheism? I am beginning to notice what could be described as an innovative way to sell the idea of Atheism.
Instead of believing that God doesn't exist at all many new "atheists" simply question how God can exist in the way The Bible presents Him. That's a completely different position. However, it's an open door. Hence, they choose to believe alternative interpretations of God's existence which cause them to become completely confused. Out of this confusion, they turn to Atheism.
Look at DeWitt's regression; “I went from God loves everybody to God saves everybody to God is in everybody,” he said. “When you come from where I come from ... it’s not too long before you are” at the American Atheists convention.
Logic does not lead anyone to Atheism. Confusion does!
If you have questions and ask nobody, you get no answers. If you have questions and ask the wrong people, you get the wrong answers. If you ask questions but refuse to accept any possible answers, you have rhetorical questions. Those require no answers so none should be given. There's nothing wrong with having questions. What matters is how you handle them. Many people have lost their faith because they did not know how to properly handle their lingering questions.
BETHESDA, Md. — In the span of just a few months, Jerry DeWitt went from a respected pastor with a vibrant congregation to an atheist without a job. DeWitt, 42, is the first “graduate” of The Clergy Project, a program supported by several atheist organizations that assists pastors who have lost their faith to “come out” as atheists to family, friends, congregations and communities. DeWitt, who lives in Southern Louisiana, went public last October when he posted a picture of himself with the prominent and polarizing atheist Richard Dawkins, snapped at a meeting of atheists and other “freethinkers” in Houston.....
DeWitt’s transition from true believer to total skeptic took 25 years. It began, he said, with the idea of hell. How could it be, as he had been taught and preached, that a loving God would *** most people to eternal fire? “This thing called hell, it began to rock my world,” he said. From there he read about universalism — the idea, scorned by most fundamentalist Christians, that salvation is universal, and all people will be restored in their relationship with God without any action on their own part. After universalism, he discovered the idea, supported by some neuroscientists, that God is actually our inner dialogue. “I went from God loves everybody to God saves everybody to God is in everybody,” he said. “When you come from where I come from ... it’s not too long before you are” at the American Atheists convention.
There are answers to these questions and more. Just ask the right people and be open to the truth. For example, The Bible reconciles the existence of hell and the truth of God's Love. It says in Matthew 25:41; "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:"
Therefore, hell was not created for people but for the devil and the angels who revolted against God alongside him.
God's Love is shown in that He created man to be immortal and placed him in a beautiful garden to enjoy for eternity. He gave them simple instructions and laid out the consequences if they were disobeyed. However, Adam and Eve chose to follow the devil. They chose death instead of life. It was not forced upon them. God still gives people the freedom of choice so that they can choose to love Him. This makes their love authentic.
The Bible also says in John 3:16-17; "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Then it says in 2 Peter 3:9; "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Even though He didn't have to, He sacrificed Jesus to get everyone out of hell. He doesn't want anyone to go to hell. Yet, people still choose hell and that breaks God's heart. That's how The Bible describes God. What's sad is that this lack of understanding is used to draw people away from God's Love. Then, out of ignorance, people create alternate theories and choose to believe them.
Today, let's answer the question, "Is Atheism the next best thing after Christianity?" Since these Christian pastors could not find the answers to their questions is their next most logical step Atheism? I am beginning to notice what could be described as an innovative way to sell the idea of Atheism.
Instead of believing that God doesn't exist at all many new "atheists" simply question how God can exist in the way The Bible presents Him. That's a completely different position. However, it's an open door. Hence, they choose to believe alternative interpretations of God's existence which cause them to become completely confused. Out of this confusion, they turn to Atheism.
Look at DeWitt's regression; “I went from God loves everybody to God saves everybody to God is in everybody,” he said. “When you come from where I come from ... it’s not too long before you are” at the American Atheists convention.
Romans 1:21(NLT) - And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
1 Timothy 4:1(KJV) - Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.
