Letter From an Atheist

[Imamom]

I think that it's really disingenuous, and quite stupid honestly, to say that Christians have failed in warning the fallen world of its impending doom.  Who is this atheist that he should judge the veracity of the message by the method in which it is delivered?  Apparently he has heard the message, yet he has chosen to ignore it!  What is HIS excuse?

The effectiveness of the message to bring repentance has nothing whatever to do with the manner in which it is received.  We could preach from the mountaintops with bullhorns but it would do absolutely no good if those that we are preaching to refuse to receive it. 

Those in Noah's day thought he was foolish for believing in God's judgment.  And they didn't just have Noah's message to believe, but they watched the conviction of it displayed in an ark that took roughly 120 years to build!  Yet they refused to believe anyway!

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[Abigailwc]

Jesus was not

running the streets mad with rage at their blindness.

Ga 5:22-23 -  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 

[Ovedya]

I found the following at: http://www.myfortress.org/atheism.html

This is a lot more potent to me than the original article (Although thanks for the thought provoking post that lead me to the following):

"Atheist's Crutch

The debate over God's existence is not new. Attempts to understand ultimate reality date back to ancient Greece. Twenty-five centuries later, the debate continues.

Thomas Nagel, an atheist philosopher, and Jay Budziszewski, a Christian philosopher, recently added a new chapter in the debate. Nagel, in his book The Last Word, offered a revealing insight into his personal motivations for his atheistic beliefs.

"I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn't just that I don't believe in God and, naturally hope that I'm right in my belief. It's that I hope that there is no God! I don't want there to be a God; I don't want the universe to be like that." (Footnote 1: Thomas Nagel, The Last Word as quoted by J. Budziszewski in First Things, June/July 2002, No. 124, pg. 28.)

Budziszewski responded to Nagel's comments in the journal First Things. There he said that if Nagel's motivations are true of most atheists then, "those who say that theism is a crutch have got it backwardsit is atheism that serves as a crutch." (Footnote 2: J. Budziszewski, First Things, June/July 2002, No. 124, pg. 28.)

But how could atheism be a crutch? Atheists often charge that theism is a crutch because people are motivated to believe in God because that belief gives meaning, hope, and order to their world. So how is it that not believing in God could possibly be a crutch? Could possibly provide help in this, at times, bewildering world? The answer is, that if taken seriously, the idea of an all-knowing and all-seeing God taking account of our lives is terrifying. I believe that many atheists keenly sense this. They understand that if God exists, facile belief in Him is not enough. If God exists, they know that they must submit themselves to God, and not just partially, but entirely.

We do well to learn from the atheist's fear of the existence of God. It is easy for believers in God to become very comfortable with the idea of God's existence and then lose the great potency of this reality. The atheist's fears remind us of this potency. Remind us that God is not a powerless ideaa mute name only to be uttered before meals. God is the most powerful reality that we must earnestly be confronted by.

Our days are not our own. Our thoughts are not just for our ears. Our will is not king. These tremendous truths confront us when we are confronted by the reality of God. May we do so earnestly so that our faith will not be a crutch.

Ravi Zacharias Ministries

[Christ's Free Servant]

I agree

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Thanks!!

[Qun Mang]

Many Atheists love to condemn us for our faith, but it takes LOTS of faith to believe in what scientists say... I agree that the writer of this letter was just trying to slam on Christians, but there is something to be taught in it- are we witnessing as we were commanded to? We don't know who will be the ones to accept Christ's truth so we should be telling others whenever we can. However, as others have said there must be some discernment in it lest we become frustrated from the 95% who will reject us or we will become jokes on the street corner that are fully ignored.

[Qun Mang]

it takes LOTS of faith to believe in what scientists say

I mean what secular scientists say that contradict Truth. I don't mean to put all of science at odds with Christianity.

Edited May 18, 2005 by Qun Mang

[mrs]

Our days are not our own. Our thoughts are not just for our ears. Our will is not king. These tremendous truths confront us when we are confronted by the reality of God. May we do so earnestly so that our faith will not be a crutch.

Ravi Zacharias Ministries

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Hey cool We have Ravi on our church's radio station. Thanx