A Conversation with an Atheist.
I'm not trying to be pushy here. I am honestly just looking for a genuine discussion on the subject.
Obviously as a passionate follower of Christ, it intrigues me to hear of people who have 'been there' and 'done that' and then walked away with absolutely no faith what-so-ever.
I am enticed to find clarity on how someone could spend so much of their life 'believing' in something only to one day walk away from it altogether as if the curtain had finally been opened to them, revealing their very own 'Wizard of Oz'. What would cause this? Is it brought on by pain, is it the hypocrisy of those inside, is it something that we simply need to grow out of? Or, is it possibly that the arguments from the other side of the fence became too hard to reason against? What triggers this 'change of heart'?
As a God fearing man I am curious what would cause me to have so much faith in something that causes someone else so much grief. I'm not saying that you are grieved by this, but many people are yet my faith in God is without question. What is the difference? Why does Christianity bring me joy, while others look at it as a source for regret, guilt or fear? Why is my passion for truth quenched by the Holy and Living Word of God, while for others this book is nothing more than hoax, folklore, or stumbling block?
And then there's creation. The world we live in, and all it's splendor, which demands an equally wondrous explanation. Not some shot in the dark theory that attempts to weakly convince me somehow everything just accidentally happened without any explanation. Why is the logic that we use to explain modern day marvels (Golden Gate Bridge, Empire State Building, or Pyramids…) not the same as the universe and its existence?
And then there is "existence". What are the qualifications of existence? Are they simply limited to what we can see, taste, touch, hear, or feel?
And what about history. Can it be trusted? And if so, what standard do we use to test if it is true? Is it simply the written records of those who have 'been there' and 'seen that' and written about it?
And what about all the written records of those who encountered God. Or those that were fortunate enough to see the miraculous works of Jesus Christ, who walked this very same earth preaching repentance before God and love for one another. The very same Jesus who spoke of his divinity in words like <i>"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except by me."</i> Then His death, and His resurrection, which were both predicted by the prophets thousands of years before his birth…What do we do with this <i>evidence</i>?
All my answers for these questions have one source. The Scripture. I am interested to know where you find yours.
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Jason W. Allen
posted by Jason W. Allen @ 4:20 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I think it is easy for Christians to become a little pretentious and somewhat arrogant about those who struggle with belief and faith.
It is easy for us to say we have the answer or we hold the truth while we stand on the Christian side of the fence. We sometimes neglect or refuse to acknowledge the slick presentation of the other side. We also can get in the habit of forgetting that there are many personalities different from our own.
It is not so hard for me to believe that there are some who don’t believe or refuse to believe in Christ. The sinful nature we are all born with wants to believe that there is no God that will hold us accountable for our actions. To acknowledge the existence of God is to admit that we have done wrong and must be punished.
With the sinful nature in mind, is it so hard to understand why people would leave the faith? Maybe they were brought up in a church-going home and never questioned the faith and when they did they were severely ill-prepared. Maybe they had a child die and have a hard time understanding how that fits into God’s plan of working all things for good for those who serve Him. Maybe they just are sick of fighting their sins and find it easier and less stressful to give up and give in.
There are many reasons why people don’t believe or stop believing. It is in these moments that we should be speaking the hard, unwanted truth to them in love. It is a time where we should be standing by them and letting them know we are here to help and to be a guide. And it is a time where we should urge them to follow or return to Christ without marginalizing their pain or struggles.
It is one thing to be curious and to ask questions but it is another to do so in a way that puts the unbeliever in a white cushioned room. If we are to appeal to their intellect and logic we can not start the conversation with telling them that they have neither of both. If we are to appeal to their hearts we can not first hurl insults (direct or implied).
Every soul who does not believe or believes no more is a tragedy. It would be nice if there was one formula that applied to everyone to bring them to Christ but unfortunately we Christians must continually re-invent our strategy within the Great Commission in order to reach those around us.
Instead of asking them, “Why did you leave?”, maybe we should be asking God, “How do I point them back to you?”
Chris:
You have some very good points bud. Those are basically my thoughts as well with some exceptions, but I think you are on the right track.
Here’s where I am coming from. I understand that because of the fall, and sin’s reign in our hearts, non-belief is not that hard to imagine.
However, the conversation that I was having with this specific atheist was a bit different than that of a normal unbeliever. This atheist was ‘born again’ and now is supposedly not. This, in my understanding, does not line up with scripture, and I have to wonder if the ‘experience’ was genuine or if we are instead dealing with a false conversion under a false pretense of what it means to be a Christian.
That’s my burden. If we are ‘sealed’ in Christ, as scripture tells us, then why would someone be able to live a life, convinced of their salvation, only to walk away with a new-found hatred for God? This does not add up, and I think it speaks greatly about the Church as a whole and the way that we are ‘converting’ people to Christ.
I understand as Christians we are called to speak the truth in love. In fact, I personally believe the (2) are one in the same. It is not loving to speak anything but truth, and Jesus is the way, the TRUTH and the life so if we don’t speak of Jesus then we are not speaking truth or love.
That being said, my struggle is not how someone could not believe. My real struggle is with the idea of unbelievers being able to “seek” God at all.
The verse in scripture that I find to be misused the most is Matthew 7:7-8. I think we use this scripture to evangelize, but I don’t believe Jesus is talking to EVERYONE here. I truly believe that he is speaking specifically to those who are believers [children of God].
John 1:12 says, “To all who did receive him [Jesus], who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” To become the child of God, we must receive the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who gives us the authority of adoption. That is who these promises are for.
Why is this important? It’s important because I’m starting to understand what the ‘election’ of Christ is truly all about. Salvation is a work of God, so that in the end God gets the praise and we get the pleasure. We were created for this purpose. As Christians we can follow the Great Commission, but we must understand that we are nothing more than ambassadors for Christ. We are put to work to magnify God in all we do in order to point everyone towards the saving, changing power of Jesus Christ.
To me, this means that even our greatest attempts to ‘convince’ the world that God is real will fall short. It is not the efforts, schemes, or works of man that brings anyone to salvation. It is a work of God alone. We can be the instruments to present the Gospel, but in the end it is God that has to open their eyes and soften their hardened hearts to its truth and beauty.
Is this arrogance? Some may say so. But I think it’s scriptural, and therefore important for us to examine the truth. Should we find a loving way to bring this message to the world? Absolutely! But the message must stay the same. God is the Gospel. God, alone, has the power to soften a hardened heart. We must speak THIS truth in love, and also pray that the Holy Spirit will open their eyes.
The world wants proof of God. They say that if he would just show Himself to us that they would be convinced. However, a parable in Luke (16:19-31) tells us that even if the unsaved were to see a man raised from the dead they still would reject the truth.
So what could we possibly do to convince the world of God? What new high-dollar marketing campaign could a church embark on to truly make an impact and connection to the unsaved? What logical or apologetical arguments could someone possibly use that would change someone’s mind on the existence of a Holy and Righteous Creator?
I say forget these new techniques. Forget the Evangelical Manifesto’s or the Come to Jesus meetings where we dialog with the unsaved in hopes that our compassion, apologetics, or free Jesus Wii’s will wake them up to the Gospel’s truth. We need to preach the word as Paul instructed Timothy to do in 1 Tim. Chapter 3. And we need to do it without hesitation. Yes, there are harsh truths in the Bible, but those are there for a very important reason. To teach, rebuke, and correct. God’s word has the power to soften a hardened heart, and prepare it to receive the Gospel with humility and repentance.
The unsaved don’t seek God. They may seek to cure the pain and sorrow that comes from His absence in their lives, but if we are not careful in our approach [preaching the word] or the words we say, then that pain and sorrow can instead be replaced by a false understanding of God, and a joy that comes from an idol called ‘god’ or even ‘jesus christ’ that looks nothing like the God of the scriptures. Then, we are almost guaranteed to see atheists saying things like I used to be a Christian, or I was born again…but now I know there is no God. That is a serious disservice to the unsaved world and to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Your thoughts?
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