When I was in college, I became acquainted with this one particular girl. If you directly asked her, she’d tell you she was Christian, but I noticed some questionable things about her. She was nice, energetic, a decent person. She could make anyone laugh and always had a story to tell. Though she would have called herself a Christian, I never once saw her go to church in all the time I knew her in college. She partied, drank, and lived her life looking pretty much like every other typical college student. A couple of times, I saw her temper flare up at different people. I mean, like an all-out screaming, cussing, belittling fight. I think during her freshman year she joined a bible study but left it when the leader of it gently asked her about her unchaste relationship with her boyfriend. She seemed sort of lost, like she was searching for something or maybe like she had some deep unresolved issues that kept boiling to the surface.
I know I sound like I’m being completely judgmental of this poor girl, but this poor girl was me. If you would have asked me in my college days if I was a Christian, I would have answered yes. Ten minutes later, however, you could have heard me take the Lord’s name in vain. I cussed. I never went to church unless I was home for a weekend and then it was pretty hit or miss. I’m pretty sure my Bible was used as a coaster. My moral compass pointed towards whatever made me feel good whether it was right or not. My relationship with Jesus was like the relationship I have with my third cousin once removed on my mother’s side…which is to say, there was no relationship. If I prayed at all, it was maybe to pray that God would keep me safe in the sin I was committing. That’s really embarrassing to write, ya’ll. Really embarrassing, but it’s true. I was so lost in myself that I didn’t even realize that you can’t invite God into your sin and ask Him to bless it.
My life looked no different than a non-believer. By saying that, I don’t mean to say that atheists/agnostics are bad and evil people. I mean to say that you would have been hard-pressed to find clues in my life to lead you to believe that I proclaimed myself a follower of Christ. Non-believers don’t live their lives for Christ, because, well, they don’t believe there is a Christ to live for. My life looked like that. I didn’t go to church, I didn’t really pray, my bible had a nice coating of dust on it, and I used God’s name in a terrible way. I was a decent person, I didn’t go around killing people, stealing, kidnapping, or doing other awful crimes, just like most atheists are decent human beings, too.
This is a huge gripe atheists have about Christians: We say we love Jesus, but we don’t really live like we do. While it is unfair for atheists to expect perfection from every Christian, they do have a point. On the whole, as Christians, we don’t live our lives any differently.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t go to church because I wanted to sleep in. Or there was a football game on. Or I was just completely apathetic to giving one hour to the One who had poured out everything for me.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t set aside time for prayer, because my relationship with Christ just wasn’t a priority.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t read my bible because I got the basic gist of it and there was a new Stephen King thriller out.
If I’m being honest, I followed the secular culture because I lacked the courage and integrity to live my Christian faith with conviction. I weakly followed the ways of the world, because it was easy and nobody gave me any grief about it.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t look like a Christian, because while I believed in Christ, I didn’t love Him. It pains me to say that, but I didn’t. When we truly love someone we pour ourselves into that person. We want to talk about them, know them, be near them and sacrifice for them. I didn’t do any of that for Christ.
Through God’s grace, my life radically changed. I attribute it to the Eucharist and the Sacraments. I see every day as a journey, a journey to try and live a life for Christ. It’s not easy, but I find it so much more fulfilling. My simple belief in Christ has now turned into a love for Him. My love for Him has opened my eyes to the way I was living my life. I know this side of Heaven, I will never be perfect. I know that I will mess up and fall. The difference now is that I want to show God I love Him. I want to worship Him in church and at home, I want to read His word, I want to make sacrificial decisions that cut against the grain of society, I want to get up every morning and talk with Him in prayer…I just want to be close.
I think authentic, true love does radically change us. It’s a process as we shed different parts of ourselves that are holding us back from being who we are truly meant to be. Early in my life, I wasn’t shedding anything about myself. I wasn’t allowing my belief in Christ to transform me. My will was all that mattered.
I want my life to look different than a non-believer. It should, shouldn’t it? I mean, if I proclaim Christ than my life should have a different quality about it. Our lives, as Christians, are to be a witness to Christ and His love and I simply can’t do that if I refuse to even give …
The post A Christian’s Life Should Look Different Than a Non-Believer’s appeared first on .
]]>When I was in college, I became acquainted with this one particular girl. If you directly asked her, she’d tell you she was Christian, but I noticed some questionable things about her. She was nice, energetic, a decent person. She could make anyone laugh and always had a story to tell. Though she would have called herself a Christian, I never once saw her go to church in all the time I knew her in college. She partied, drank, and lived her life looking pretty much like every other typical college student. A couple of times, I saw her temper flare up at different people. I mean, like an all-out screaming, cussing, belittling fight. I think during her freshman year she joined a bible study but left it when the leader of it gently asked her about her unchaste relationship with her boyfriend. She seemed sort of lost, like she was searching for something or maybe like she had some deep unresolved issues that kept boiling to the surface.
I know I sound like I’m being completely judgmental of this poor girl, but this poor girl was me. If you would have asked me in my college days if I was a Christian, I would have answered yes. Ten minutes later, however, you could have heard me take the Lord’s name in vain. I cussed. I never went to church unless I was home for a weekend and then it was pretty hit or miss. I’m pretty sure my Bible was used as a coaster. My moral compass pointed towards whatever made me feel good whether it was right or not. My relationship with Jesus was like the relationship I have with my third cousin once removed on my mother’s side…which is to say, there was no relationship. If I prayed at all, it was maybe to pray that God would keep me safe in the sin I was committing. That’s really embarrassing to write, ya’ll. Really embarrassing, but it’s true. I was so lost in myself that I didn’t even realize that you can’t invite God into your sin and ask Him to bless it.
My life looked no different than a non-believer. By saying that, I don’t mean to say that atheists/agnostics are bad and evil people. I mean to say that you would have been hard-pressed to find clues in my life to lead you to believe that I proclaimed myself a follower of Christ. Non-believers don’t live their lives for Christ, because, well, they don’t believe there is a Christ to live for. My life looked like that. I didn’t go to church, I didn’t really pray, my bible had a nice coating of dust on it, and I used God’s name in a terrible way. I was a decent person, I didn’t go around killing people, stealing, kidnapping, or doing other awful crimes, just like most atheists are decent human beings, too.
This is a huge gripe atheists have about Christians: We say we love Jesus, but we don’t really live like we do. While it is unfair for atheists to expect perfection from every Christian, they do have a point. On the whole, as Christians, we don’t live our lives any differently.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t go to church because I wanted to sleep in. Or there was a football game on. Or I was just completely apathetic to giving one hour to the One who had poured out everything for me.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t set aside time for prayer, because my relationship with Christ just wasn’t a priority.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t read my bible because I got the basic gist of it and there was a new Stephen King thriller out.
If I’m being honest, I followed the secular culture because I lacked the courage and integrity to live my Christian faith with conviction. I weakly followed the ways of the world, because it was easy and nobody gave me any grief about it.
If I’m being honest, I didn’t look like a Christian, because while I believed in Christ, I didn’t love Him. It pains me to say that, but I didn’t. When we truly love someone we pour ourselves into that person. We want to talk about them, know them, be near them and sacrifice for them. I didn’t do any of that for Christ.
Through God’s grace, my life radically changed. I attribute it to the Eucharist and the Sacraments. I see every day as a journey, a journey to try and live a life for Christ. It’s not easy, but I find it so much more fulfilling. My simple belief in Christ has now turned into a love for Him. My love for Him has opened my eyes to the way I was living my life. I know this side of Heaven, I will never be perfect. I know that I will mess up and fall. The difference now is that I want to show God I love Him. I want to worship Him in church and at home, I want to read His word, I want to make sacrificial decisions that cut against the grain of society, I want to get up every morning and talk with Him in prayer…I just want to be close.
I think authentic, true love does radically change us. It’s a process as we shed different parts of ourselves that are holding us back from being who we are truly meant to be. Early in my life, I wasn’t shedding anything about myself. I wasn’t allowing my belief in Christ to transform me. My will was all that mattered.
I want my life to look different than a non-believer. It should, shouldn’t it? I mean, if I proclaim Christ than my life should have a different quality about it. Our lives, as Christians, are to be a witness to Christ and His love and I simply can’t do that if I refuse to even give …
The post A Christian’s Life Should Look Different Than a Non-Believer’s appeared first on .
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This month, I’m featuring Devin Rose’s story of conversion from atheism to Catholicism. I learned about Devin Rose by reading his apologetics books. He is the author to several books and I’ve listened to him speak on the radio several times. My husband loves his style of writing because, like my husband, Devin is also an engineer; his apologetics are done in a very logical, analytical way. I, too, enjoy his books because they are very well-written and well thought out. Devin blogs at St. Joseph’s Vanguard. I’m always impressed at the 180 degree turn that many atheist converts make; they go from having nothing to do with the Catholic Church, to giving so much of their time and talent to it. Devin Rose gives his time through writing, speaking, and defending the Faith as a lay apologist. He makes his home in Texas with his family. I hope you enjoy his honest and open answers.
1. Were you always an atheist or did you leave faith behind and become one?
I was always an atheist. My parents encouraged it, though under the guise of “letting me find for myself what to believe.”
From about sixth grade onward I became militant in my atheism. I was immature enough and cocky enough to think that my understanding of evolution and science was sufficient to disprove God to my middle school friends. Most just looked at me funny when I challenged them about why they believed in God when clearly God didn’t exist.
But in high school I delivered a research paper on evolution and one fellow student got up and told me that God saved him from committing suicide, proving God was real to him. I shrugged my shoulders, if he wanted to believe in a fantasy, I couldn’t stop him.
2. What was it that started opening the door for you, as far as considering the faith?
A social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and depression. I started getting extremely anxious in social settings: at college in class for instance, or at a party, or at a dinner. I would start sweating, feel nauseated, and need to escape out of the room. It was humiliating and got worse and worse. Nothing I did improved it, and I hid it from everyone. When I began considering suicide as an alternative to living each hour of the day in dread, I started thinking about whether God might be real.
So I began reading the Bible at Genesis and praying, asking God (who I did not believe in) to help me. Well, He did! Slowly my anxieties improved and faith began to grow as God helped me.
3. Why Catholicism?
I became an Evangelical Protestant and went to a Southern Baptist church. But I always wanted to get to the roots of things, and that led me to investigate where the Bible came from, who chose the books in it, why Catholics and Protestants had Bibles with differing books, and so on. I was also disturbed by the lack of unity in Christianity when Jesus prayed we’d be perfectly one in John 17. Protestants could never achieve unity but the Catholic Church had a strong claim to being the Church Christ founded. The evidence grew stronger for Catholicism and I knew I had to become Catholic.
4. Other than the fact that you know believe in God, how has your life changed since becoming Catholic?
My life has changed in so many ways: anger and unforgiveness used to build inside of me; now I forgive others and ask God to forgive me in turn. Also, I was enslaved by sin: it controlled me rather than the other way around, and now Christ has set me free to master myself and follow Him. The world makes so much more sense now. The Catholic explanations for who we are, why we’re here, why we are the way we are, all fit together perfectly with what I observe of myself and humanity.
5. What one piece of advice can you give to Christians when speaking to atheists about Christianity?
Don’t expect to convince them through reasoned argument alone. Use reasoned arguments, but also live as a witness to Christ; atheists see that! Nothing turns an atheist off more than a Christian hypocrite.
…
The post February’s Atheist Conversion Story: “Praying to a God I Didn’t Even Believe In” appeared first on .
]]>This month, I’m featuring Devin Rose’s story of conversion from atheism to Catholicism. I learned about Devin Rose by reading his apologetics books. He is the author to several books and I’ve listened to him speak on the radio several times. My husband loves his style of writing because, like my husband, Devin is also an engineer; his apologetics are done in a very logical, analytical way. I, too, enjoy his books because they are very well-written and well thought out. Devin blogs at St. Joseph’s Vanguard. I’m always impressed at the 180 degree turn that many atheist converts make; they go from having nothing to do with the Catholic Church, to giving so much of their time and talent to it. Devin Rose gives his time through writing, speaking, and defending the Faith as a lay apologist. He makes his home in Texas with his family. I hope you enjoy his honest and open answers.
1. Were you always an atheist or did you leave faith behind and become one?
I was always an atheist. My parents encouraged it, though under the guise of “letting me find for myself what to believe.”
From about sixth grade onward I became militant in my atheism. I was immature enough and cocky enough to think that my understanding of evolution and science was sufficient to disprove God to my middle school friends. Most just looked at me funny when I challenged them about why they believed in God when clearly God didn’t exist.
But in high school I delivered a research paper on evolution and one fellow student got up and told me that God saved him from committing suicide, proving God was real to him. I shrugged my shoulders, if he wanted to believe in a fantasy, I couldn’t stop him.
2. What was it that started opening the door for you, as far as considering the faith?
A social anxiety disorder, panic attacks, and depression. I started getting extremely anxious in social settings: at college in class for instance, or at a party, or at a dinner. I would start sweating, feel nauseated, and need to escape out of the room. It was humiliating and got worse and worse. Nothing I did improved it, and I hid it from everyone. When I began considering suicide as an alternative to living each hour of the day in dread, I started thinking about whether God might be real.
So I began reading the Bible at Genesis and praying, asking God (who I did not believe in) to help me. Well, He did! Slowly my anxieties improved and faith began to grow as God helped me.
3. Why Catholicism?
I became an Evangelical Protestant and went to a Southern Baptist church. But I always wanted to get to the roots of things, and that led me to investigate where the Bible came from, who chose the books in it, why Catholics and Protestants had Bibles with differing books, and so on. I was also disturbed by the lack of unity in Christianity when Jesus prayed we’d be perfectly one in John 17. Protestants could never achieve unity but the Catholic Church had a strong claim to being the Church Christ founded. The evidence grew stronger for Catholicism and I knew I had to become Catholic.
4. Other than the fact that you know believe in God, how has your life changed since becoming Catholic?
My life has changed in so many ways: anger and unforgiveness used to build inside of me; now I forgive others and ask God to forgive me in turn. Also, I was enslaved by sin: it controlled me rather than the other way around, and now Christ has set me free to master myself and follow Him. The world makes so much more sense now. The Catholic explanations for who we are, why we’re here, why we are the way we are, all fit together perfectly with what I observe of myself and humanity.
5. What one piece of advice can you give to Christians when speaking to atheists about Christianity?
Don’t expect to convince them through reasoned argument alone. Use reasoned arguments, but also live as a witness to Christ; atheists see that! Nothing turns an atheist off more than a Christian hypocrite.
…
The post February’s Atheist Conversion Story: “Praying to a God I Didn’t Even Believe In” appeared first on .
]]>
This year, I’m focusing on stories of former atheists that converted to Catholicism. How each person comes to Christ is unique and special, but especially interesting are those that go from no belief in God, to becoming members of the Catholic Church. For January, I interviewed Barry whom I recently met on social media. Originally from the Seattle area, he now resides in Baton Rouge. His story is the stuff of movies; truly a remarkable journey. It’s not just that Barry came into the Faith and believes in Christ; he puts his faith into action. He is the Associate Director for the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. He visits with imprisoned men in his area, where he brings hope and encouragement by sharing Christ’s message. From a near death experience, to studying Buddhism in the Himalayas, to overcoming alcohol/drug addiction; this is a compelling story of a search for Christ. If you are like me, you’ll find Barry’s story quite remarkable.
1. Were you always an atheist or did you leave the faith and become one?
I am from a typical Pacific Northwest (Seattle area) family who is in a sense “post-Christian.” What I mean by this is that I was raised in an environment that didn’t even bring up the question of God, or of the Christian faith. We had some neighbors invite us to a Disciples of Christ Protestant ecclesial community and my sisters were baptized there, but I never really thought about the meaning of it and didn’t understand it. I didn’t have a feeling about it one way or another, it just wasn’t even on my radar. I had never heard anyone in my family discuss God or speak as if there was such thing as God, and so I definitely never experienced any sort of witness to Jesus as the Christ.
So, I was, in a sense an accidental atheist from the start. I wasn’t the type of atheist who was once Christian and rebelled against the faith intentionally and deliberately, rather, I was one by accident, by circumstances. I didn’t even have a rudimentary language for talking about ultimate reality, my origin and end, first principles, virtue and sin, or good and evil. And I definitely didn’t have a vocabulary for talking about God or knowing what the orthodox Christian faith taught in respect to the existence and attributes of the Creator or that Jesus was the Son of God and that the Church communicates Him.
Like the young Augustine, I sought out my completion in the world, in transient and sensual things. I didn’t know of any other way. I do remember, nonetheless, a time of greater innocence when my conscience alone communicated a sense of right and wrong, but by 15 or 16 years old this was largely clouded out by worldly clamors.
2. What was it that started to open the door for you, as far as considering the faith?
When I was 22 years old, I was critically injured in a car accident and had to be resuscitated. I had a near death experience. This radically changed my understanding of the meaning of life. Upon awakening from the NDE and since then, I have been involved in two primary tasks: Awakening to the gift of life and purifying my own life of attachment to sin. That path was intuitive to me after the accident and NDE though I wasn’t Christian. So I began a very intense period of spiritual searching, studying religion and philosophy. I studied both in school as an undergrad and graduate student, as well as in my personal life.
Like many in my socio-cultural demographic at the time I was more immediately drawn to the study of Indian religions, in particular Buddhism. For about five years, from 22-27 I studied it intensely in retreat and academic settings in N. America and India. I went as far as taking the five vows of a lay practitioner: 1) Abstain from killing 2) Abstain from fornication 3) Abstain from lying 4) Abstain from stealing 5) Abstain from intoxication.
It was in this milieu where I first began to exist in relationship to a transcendent source of morality and live as if my life had ultimate purpose. It was also in these contexts where I originally learned how to fast, how to be still and silent, how to meditate for long periods of time, how to renounce transient things for the sake of a transcendent goal. I also learned in this context, from a western Buddhist nun, of the moral horror of abortion. Up until that point, I though abortion could be justified. I also learned that mastubation, fornication, porn, intoxication, same sex acts, etc., were morally evil and very harmful (yes, even though everyone was doing promoting them as good and healthy!).
For the first time in my life I met men, usually Tibetan Buddhist monks (some nuns too), who were virtuous. This was very different from the men I was used to. And so, I would say, they were my first real formators in how to be a man. They taught me that a man isn’t a slave to his passions but rather gains mastery over them. The asceticism of these men was impressive, but their gentleness and kindness was even more impressive. I have always thought that if our own Christian faithful sought Jesus even half as intensely as these men sought liberation from suffering according to the path of the Buddha we wouldn’t have a priest shortage and the emptying out of our parishes in the West (I will leave that for another time).
I was in India, studying at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Himachel Pradesh or the Himalayan Province, when I began to turn toward the Christian faith in earnest. I was studying Tibetan language and Buddhist Philosophy in a place called McLeod Ganj where the Tibetan government was and remains in exile. In a sense, …
The post January’s Atheist Conversion to Catholicism: Given a Second Chance at Life appeared first on .
]]>This year, I’m focusing on stories of former atheists that converted to Catholicism. How each person comes to Christ is unique and special, but especially interesting are those that go from no belief in God, to becoming members of the Catholic Church. For January, I interviewed Barry whom I recently met on social media. Originally from the Seattle area, he now resides in Baton Rouge. His story is the stuff of movies; truly a remarkable journey. It’s not just that Barry came into the Faith and believes in Christ; he puts his faith into action. He is the Associate Director for the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. He visits with imprisoned men in his area, where he brings hope and encouragement by sharing Christ’s message. From a near death experience, to studying Buddhism in the Himalayas, to overcoming alcohol/drug addiction; this is a compelling story of a search for Christ. If you are like me, you’ll find Barry’s story quite remarkable.
1. Were you always an atheist or did you leave the faith and become one?
I am from a typical Pacific Northwest (Seattle area) family who is in a sense “post-Christian.” What I mean by this is that I was raised in an environment that didn’t even bring up the question of God, or of the Christian faith. We had some neighbors invite us to a Disciples of Christ Protestant ecclesial community and my sisters were baptized there, but I never really thought about the meaning of it and didn’t understand it. I didn’t have a feeling about it one way or another, it just wasn’t even on my radar. I had never heard anyone in my family discuss God or speak as if there was such thing as God, and so I definitely never experienced any sort of witness to Jesus as the Christ.
So, I was, in a sense an accidental atheist from the start. I wasn’t the type of atheist who was once Christian and rebelled against the faith intentionally and deliberately, rather, I was one by accident, by circumstances. I didn’t even have a rudimentary language for talking about ultimate reality, my origin and end, first principles, virtue and sin, or good and evil. And I definitely didn’t have a vocabulary for talking about God or knowing what the orthodox Christian faith taught in respect to the existence and attributes of the Creator or that Jesus was the Son of God and that the Church communicates Him.
Like the young Augustine, I sought out my completion in the world, in transient and sensual things. I didn’t know of any other way. I do remember, nonetheless, a time of greater innocence when my conscience alone communicated a sense of right and wrong, but by 15 or 16 years old this was largely clouded out by worldly clamors.
2. What was it that started to open the door for you, as far as considering the faith?
When I was 22 years old, I was critically injured in a car accident and had to be resuscitated. I had a near death experience. This radically changed my understanding of the meaning of life. Upon awakening from the NDE and since then, I have been involved in two primary tasks: Awakening to the gift of life and purifying my own life of attachment to sin. That path was intuitive to me after the accident and NDE though I wasn’t Christian. So I began a very intense period of spiritual searching, studying religion and philosophy. I studied both in school as an undergrad and graduate student, as well as in my personal life.
Like many in my socio-cultural demographic at the time I was more immediately drawn to the study of Indian religions, in particular Buddhism. For about five years, from 22-27 I studied it intensely in retreat and academic settings in N. America and India. I went as far as taking the five vows of a lay practitioner: 1) Abstain from killing 2) Abstain from fornication 3) Abstain from lying 4) Abstain from stealing 5) Abstain from intoxication.
It was in this milieu where I first began to exist in relationship to a transcendent source of morality and live as if my life had ultimate purpose. It was also in these contexts where I originally learned how to fast, how to be still and silent, how to meditate for long periods of time, how to renounce transient things for the sake of a transcendent goal. I also learned in this context, from a western Buddhist nun, of the moral horror of abortion. Up until that point, I though abortion could be justified. I also learned that mastubation, fornication, porn, intoxication, same sex acts, etc., were morally evil and very harmful (yes, even though everyone was doing promoting them as good and healthy!).
For the first time in my life I met men, usually Tibetan Buddhist monks (some nuns too), who were virtuous. This was very different from the men I was used to. And so, I would say, they were my first real formators in how to be a man. They taught me that a man isn’t a slave to his passions but rather gains mastery over them. The asceticism of these men was impressive, but their gentleness and kindness was even more impressive. I have always thought that if our own Christian faithful sought Jesus even half as intensely as these men sought liberation from suffering according to the path of the Buddha we wouldn’t have a priest shortage and the emptying out of our parishes in the West (I will leave that for another time).
I was in India, studying at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Himachel Pradesh or the Himalayan Province, when I began to turn toward the Christian faith in earnest. I was studying Tibetan language and Buddhist Philosophy in a place called McLeod Ganj where the Tibetan government was and remains in exile. In a sense, …
The post January’s Atheist Conversion to Catholicism: Given a Second Chance at Life appeared first on .
]]>
Ah, yes, the uneducated Christian. A simple-minded fool lacking a progressive mind with a ridiculous belief in imaginary things.
I used to be an uneducated Christian. Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing to me to think back even to just a few years ago to how uneducated I was on my faith. I, by no means, have it all down or understood. God is so amazing that I know, in this lifetime, you could never understand it all. But, after my Sunday school years, I didn’t pick up another book that helped me know and learn about my faith, until about four years ago. Surprisingly, it took an atheist to shake me out of my mental slumber.
I have a dear friend that is an atheist. Although it saddens me greatly that she no longer believes, I still love her because she is who she is–she is my friend. Believe me, we’ve had our bouts of heated discussions over Christianity, faith in Jesus and the like, but, without a doubt, I feel I can safely say that we still care about each other very much. So, about four-ish years ago, she really came out full-fledged atheist. She asked lots and LOTS of questions and, quite frankly, I had no clue how to answer her. God works in mysterious ways. He had to find some way to get me fired up about my belief in Him. When I saw my friend’s soul at stake, I was compelled to delve into my faith and seek answers.
Atheists give Christians a bad wrap on being uneducated. Clearly, it does not necessarily follow that because one believes in God that he/she is uneducated. That is unfair to assume. It’s unfair to assume that most, if nearly not all, Christians believe in God, just because, well…”I just do.” There are scores of Christians that have done vast amounts of research and study and concluded that Christianity is true, good, and right. I think it is unfair of atheists to make wide, sweeping claims about how “unschooled” and “uneducated” Christians are just because we believe in the God of Christianity. Atheists have a very high view of themselves with regards to their mental superiority over Christians.
It’s important to note that when atheists use this argument–the stupid, sheeple Christian argument–that it’s a tactic to put the Christian on the defensive. Often times, the Christian falls for it hook, line, and sinker. The Christian stands there and tries to defend their intelligence and all the while the atheist just sits there watching the Christian unravel. You could be the most learned person on earth and you could roll out your credentials on a 10-ft long scroll and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference to them. You wouldn’t impress them. What you have to impress them with is your ability to logically, coherently, and thoroughly argue the issues in a charitable and respectful manner.
To be fair to atheists, I’ve noticed that many Christians lack answers. It’s sad, because the answers about Christianity are out there, it’s just that, for many, we think that the warm fuzzy stories are going to win atheists over and…well….it doesn’t. You can’t plea to your personal relationship story with Jesus or how following Him makes you feel. You can’t say, “Well, I believe because the Bible tells me I should.” Remember, an atheist doesn’t believe in Jesus or the Bible. It will get you nowhere talking to them about that stuff. You have to start with the question, “Does God exist?” As a Christian, you may “just know it,” but that answer looks silly and lame to an atheist. You have to show a more logical argument. Other Christians may get your inner emotions, but an atheist will reject it faster than a vegetarian rejects an offering of meat.
As Christians, we have to educate ourselves past our Sunday School Bible stories. We have to go a little deeper and delve into the more “adult realm” of our faith in God. We have to stretch our brains a little. I know from experience that this can be hard. When my friend started asking hard questions, I realized that I was going to have to hit the books. I started reading C.S. Lewis and St. Thomas Aquinas and often times I was like “der, der, der.” These guys were talking about heavy stuff and I was just over here going, “Can I hear the fun story of Noah and the Ark, please?” It was as if the old brain needed a jump start.
We must never neglect to continue studying our faith. As Christians, we have the beauty of not reducing our understanding of God and His creation to just science. While science is important, we can and should look to history, philosophy, and theology, as well. God created everything in the universe and, as Christians, we don’t have to fear study of anything, because God is not going to contradict Himself. I believe that sometimes Christians fear accepting anything but the Bible as proof of God’s existance, because they are afraid that what they will find will disprove Him. Don’t fear that. God wants us to seek Him and learn about Him through many channels.
We will never successfully evangelize an atheist with “just believe” arguments, by calling them stupid for not “just believing,” or by rejecting science. I agree with the atheists on this one; these are weak and unconvincing arguments. Christians have God on our side and the answers are out there, we just have to do the work to understand the arguments. It’s also important that if we don’t know an answer (which is perfectly okay, btw) that we tell the atheist that we don’t know, but we’ll check on it. We don’t have to be know-it-alls; we just have to be committed to seeking answers and following up.
I challenge you, fellow Christian, to commit to studying your faith. You will not be disappointed. I am so thankful to …
The post Exploring The Atheist’s Claim That Christians Are Uneducated appeared first on .
]]>Ah, yes, the uneducated Christian. A simple-minded fool lacking a progressive mind with a ridiculous belief in imaginary things.
I used to be an uneducated Christian. Quite frankly, it’s embarrassing to me to think back even to just a few years ago to how uneducated I was on my faith. I, by no means, have it all down or understood. God is so amazing that I know, in this lifetime, you could never understand it all. But, after my Sunday school years, I didn’t pick up another book that helped me know and learn about my faith, until about four years ago. Surprisingly, it took an atheist to shake me out of my mental slumber.
I have a dear friend that is an atheist. Although it saddens me greatly that she no longer believes, I still love her because she is who she is–she is my friend. Believe me, we’ve had our bouts of heated discussions over Christianity, faith in Jesus and the like, but, without a doubt, I feel I can safely say that we still care about each other very much. So, about four-ish years ago, she really came out full-fledged atheist. She asked lots and LOTS of questions and, quite frankly, I had no clue how to answer her. God works in mysterious ways. He had to find some way to get me fired up about my belief in Him. When I saw my friend’s soul at stake, I was compelled to delve into my faith and seek answers.
Atheists give Christians a bad wrap on being uneducated. Clearly, it does not necessarily follow that because one believes in God that he/she is uneducated. That is unfair to assume. It’s unfair to assume that most, if nearly not all, Christians believe in God, just because, well…”I just do.” There are scores of Christians that have done vast amounts of research and study and concluded that Christianity is true, good, and right. I think it is unfair of atheists to make wide, sweeping claims about how “unschooled” and “uneducated” Christians are just because we believe in the God of Christianity. Atheists have a very high view of themselves with regards to their mental superiority over Christians.
It’s important to note that when atheists use this argument–the stupid, sheeple Christian argument–that it’s a tactic to put the Christian on the defensive. Often times, the Christian falls for it hook, line, and sinker. The Christian stands there and tries to defend their intelligence and all the while the atheist just sits there watching the Christian unravel. You could be the most learned person on earth and you could roll out your credentials on a 10-ft long scroll and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference to them. You wouldn’t impress them. What you have to impress them with is your ability to logically, coherently, and thoroughly argue the issues in a charitable and respectful manner.
To be fair to atheists, I’ve noticed that many Christians lack answers. It’s sad, because the answers about Christianity are out there, it’s just that, for many, we think that the warm fuzzy stories are going to win atheists over and…well….it doesn’t. You can’t plea to your personal relationship story with Jesus or how following Him makes you feel. You can’t say, “Well, I believe because the Bible tells me I should.” Remember, an atheist doesn’t believe in Jesus or the Bible. It will get you nowhere talking to them about that stuff. You have to start with the question, “Does God exist?” As a Christian, you may “just know it,” but that answer looks silly and lame to an atheist. You have to show a more logical argument. Other Christians may get your inner emotions, but an atheist will reject it faster than a vegetarian rejects an offering of meat.
As Christians, we have to educate ourselves past our Sunday School Bible stories. We have to go a little deeper and delve into the more “adult realm” of our faith in God. We have to stretch our brains a little. I know from experience that this can be hard. When my friend started asking hard questions, I realized that I was going to have to hit the books. I started reading C.S. Lewis and St. Thomas Aquinas and often times I was like “der, der, der.” These guys were talking about heavy stuff and I was just over here going, “Can I hear the fun story of Noah and the Ark, please?” It was as if the old brain needed a jump start.
We must never neglect to continue studying our faith. As Christians, we have the beauty of not reducing our understanding of God and His creation to just science. While science is important, we can and should look to history, philosophy, and theology, as well. God created everything in the universe and, as Christians, we don’t have to fear study of anything, because God is not going to contradict Himself. I believe that sometimes Christians fear accepting anything but the Bible as proof of God’s existance, because they are afraid that what they will find will disprove Him. Don’t fear that. God wants us to seek Him and learn about Him through many channels.
We will never successfully evangelize an atheist with “just believe” arguments, by calling them stupid for not “just believing,” or by rejecting science. I agree with the atheists on this one; these are weak and unconvincing arguments. Christians have God on our side and the answers are out there, we just have to do the work to understand the arguments. It’s also important that if we don’t know an answer (which is perfectly okay, btw) that we tell the atheist that we don’t know, but we’ll check on it. We don’t have to be know-it-alls; we just have to be committed to seeking answers and following up.
I challenge you, fellow Christian, to commit to studying your faith. You will not be disappointed. I am so thankful to …
The post Exploring The Atheist’s Claim That Christians Are Uneducated appeared first on .
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Do you question everything? No? Well, you should. At least, that is what atheists are telling us to do. The mantra, “Question Everything” (with some variations) has become extremely popular these days.
There are T-Shirts:
There are buttons, cups, bumper stickers, memes, and billboards.
As you can see, this is the way atheists have attempted to brand themselves. But, what is the brand? Does it make sense? And…more importantly, is it original and unique to atheism?
What is the brand?
What is the point of this marketing scheme? The goal here is to position atheists as thinkers, thereby defining everyone else as unscientific and stupid.
Does it make sense?
Is this a good mantra to live by? Before we answer this question, let’s take a quick journey through history to see what the great minds of the past said.
Socrates (~399 BC) — “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
Euripides (~450 BC) — “Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.”
Peter Abelard (1079-1142) — “By doubting we are led to question, by questioning we arrive at the truth.”
Galileo (1564-1642) — “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
Rene des Cartes (1596-1650) — “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) — “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.”
Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996) — “We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to accept what is true rather than what feels good.”
Pope Francis (born 1936 and still kickin’) — “Let us refuse to resign ourselves to this, and continue to wonder about the purpose and meaning of everything.”
Apostle Paul:
But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; (Thessalonians 5:21)
This list is not exhaustive, but as these quotes demonstrate, great minds of the past and present believe that questioning everything is the path to truth and wisdom. Also, as you can see, these great people come from many different religious backgrounds. Atheists don’t have a lockdown on the concept of questioning everything.
Logically, we can say that it is important to question everything; it makes sense. And it’s intuitive. The only way to understand the world around us is to ask and answer questions. That’s why little kids ask so many questions. But, it doesn’t make sense to question everything and never accept the truth when you find it. In fact, we should go a step further and ostensibly accept truths we discover even if we don’t know them to be 100% fact. Why? Because we would never be able to move forward in science, mathematics, engineering, or even our own lives. Think about it, we could never have built skyscrapers or rockets if we didn’t rely on Newton’s Laws. Interestingly enough, we now know Newton’s Laws to be incorrect in some cases because our scientists kept an open mind to the data, not a skeptical one. If we had scientifically hobbled ourselves by not accepting these laws on the surface, we’d still be living life as if it was 1643.
As shown above, we must question things. What if you woke up every morning and questioned your spouse as to whether or not they loved you, never believing any answer they gave you? This would wear on any relationship pretty quickly and leave both sides completely frustrated. Obviously, it is silly to question every single thing every day and then, once we receive any type of answer, believe none of it. We question if atheists really even believe this mantra themselves, because who could ever live believing in nothing?
It is unlikely atheists “Believe Nothing, Question Everything,” because it is an illogical statement. How can a person believe that you should “Believe Nothing?”
Why do atheists try to co-opt the phrase “Question everything?”
Why do atheists throw this mantra up into our faces? Why are we, as Christians, accused of not questioning or thinking for ourselves? Why does belief in God mean that one is not intelligent?
As displayed by the quotes above, many of the great believers of the past asked questions and sought truth. In fact, Christianity encourages us to seek truth. Good grief, St. Paul even instructs us to “examine everything carefully”! It is a very small percentage of Christian denominations that teach their faithful to believe without question. God gave us free will and it is safe to say that He understands that we will have questions, that we will struggle to understand, and, yes, we will even have strong doubts.
“Question Everything” has been the mantra of scientists and philosophers throughout the ages, regardless of religious affiliation. Therefore, atheists are attempting to align themselves with the recognized intellectuals of history. So ultimately, the answer to the question is this: Atheists attempt to co-opt the phrase “Question Everything” in order to pit science against religion. They are on the side of science, you are on the side of religion. They are smart, you are a duped believer of fantasy. They win, you lose!
Don’t buy into their propaganda. Don’t let them make you doubt that it is logical, rational, or even intelligent to believe in God. They are counting on that doubt to evangelize believers away from their faith and drag them to the “free thinkers” side. Nobody wants to be labeled as dumb, stupid, or brainwashed. The truth is, is that God gave us science as a tool to understand His creation and build our understanding of His mind. We don’t have to fear science as Christians. In fact, we should embrace it. Next time an atheist exclaims, “Question everything” quickly agree with them by saying, “I agree! My faith teaches me to question everything and hold fast to the truth.”…
The post “Question Everything”: Atheist Mantra Meant to Evangelize appeared first on .
]]>Do you question everything? No? Well, you should. At least, that is what atheists are telling us to do. The mantra, “Question Everything” (with some variations) has become extremely popular these days.
There are T-Shirts:
There are buttons, cups, bumper stickers, memes, and billboards.
As you can see, this is the way atheists have attempted to brand themselves. But, what is the brand? Does it make sense? And…more importantly, is it original and unique to atheism?
What is the brand?
What is the point of this marketing scheme? The goal here is to position atheists as thinkers, thereby defining everyone else as unscientific and stupid.
Does it make sense?
Is this a good mantra to live by? Before we answer this question, let’s take a quick journey through history to see what the great minds of the past said.
Socrates (~399 BC) — “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”
Euripides (~450 BC) — “Question everything. Learn something. Answer nothing.”
Peter Abelard (1079-1142) — “By doubting we are led to question, by questioning we arrive at the truth.”
Galileo (1564-1642) — “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”
Rene des Cartes (1596-1650) — “If you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things.”
Albert Einstein (1879-1955) — “Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning.”
Carl Sagan (1934 – 1996) — “We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to accept what is true rather than what feels good.”
Pope Francis (born 1936 and still kickin’) — “Let us refuse to resign ourselves to this, and continue to wonder about the purpose and meaning of everything.”
Apostle Paul:
But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; (Thessalonians 5:21)
This list is not exhaustive, but as these quotes demonstrate, great minds of the past and present believe that questioning everything is the path to truth and wisdom. Also, as you can see, these great people come from many different religious backgrounds. Atheists don’t have a lockdown on the concept of questioning everything.
Logically, we can say that it is important to question everything; it makes sense. And it’s intuitive. The only way to understand the world around us is to ask and answer questions. That’s why little kids ask so many questions. But, it doesn’t make sense to question everything and never accept the truth when you find it. In fact, we should go a step further and ostensibly accept truths we discover even if we don’t know them to be 100% fact. Why? Because we would never be able to move forward in science, mathematics, engineering, or even our own lives. Think about it, we could never have built skyscrapers or rockets if we didn’t rely on Newton’s Laws. Interestingly enough, we now know Newton’s Laws to be incorrect in some cases because our scientists kept an open mind to the data, not a skeptical one. If we had scientifically hobbled ourselves by not accepting these laws on the surface, we’d still be living life as if it was 1643.
As shown above, we must question things. What if you woke up every morning and questioned your spouse as to whether or not they loved you, never believing any answer they gave you? This would wear on any relationship pretty quickly and leave both sides completely frustrated. Obviously, it is silly to question every single thing every day and then, once we receive any type of answer, believe none of it. We question if atheists really even believe this mantra themselves, because who could ever live believing in nothing?
It is unlikely atheists “Believe Nothing, Question Everything,” because it is an illogical statement. How can a person believe that you should “Believe Nothing?”
Why do atheists try to co-opt the phrase “Question everything?”
Why do atheists throw this mantra up into our faces? Why are we, as Christians, accused of not questioning or thinking for ourselves? Why does belief in God mean that one is not intelligent?
As displayed by the quotes above, many of the great believers of the past asked questions and sought truth. In fact, Christianity encourages us to seek truth. Good grief, St. Paul even instructs us to “examine everything carefully”! It is a very small percentage of Christian denominations that teach their faithful to believe without question. God gave us free will and it is safe to say that He understands that we will have questions, that we will struggle to understand, and, yes, we will even have strong doubts.
“Question Everything” has been the mantra of scientists and philosophers throughout the ages, regardless of religious affiliation. Therefore, atheists are attempting to align themselves with the recognized intellectuals of history. So ultimately, the answer to the question is this: Atheists attempt to co-opt the phrase “Question Everything” in order to pit science against religion. They are on the side of science, you are on the side of religion. They are smart, you are a duped believer of fantasy. They win, you lose!
Don’t buy into their propaganda. Don’t let them make you doubt that it is logical, rational, or even intelligent to believe in God. They are counting on that doubt to evangelize believers away from their faith and drag them to the “free thinkers” side. Nobody wants to be labeled as dumb, stupid, or brainwashed. The truth is, is that God gave us science as a tool to understand His creation and build our understanding of His mind. We don’t have to fear science as Christians. In fact, we should embrace it. Next time an atheist exclaims, “Question everything” quickly agree with them by saying, “I agree! My faith teaches me to question everything and hold fast to the truth.”…
The post “Question Everything”: Atheist Mantra Meant to Evangelize appeared first on .
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