Confessions of a former atheist

[Willa]

1Co 1:25  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1Co 1:26  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

1Co 1:27  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

1Co 1:28  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

1Co 1:29  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1Co 1:30  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

1Co 1:31  so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

[BibleStudent100]

When I was still an atheist, I would go into the forums of religious people (muslims) and "educate" them by attacking their – often but not always – bizarre interpretations what the theory of evolution is. This mostly gave easy victories because I have a B.S. in environmental sciences and evolution is part of that education.

I am a community college professor and although armed with a strong vocabulary and a solid background in academics, including graduate degrees, using big words does not impress people and is not conducive to persuading people to change belief systems.  The Apostle Paul, probably the most highly educated Bible writers in a secular sense and bilingual (perhaps multi-lingual) reminds us of the “value” of a secular education in Colossians 2: 1-4:  So when I came to you, brothers, I did not come with extravagant speech or wisdom declaring the sacred secret of God to you. ² For I decided not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him executed on the stake. ³ And I came to you in weakness and in fear and with much trembling; ⁴ and my speech and what I preached were not with persuasive words of wisdom but with a demonstration of spirit and power, ⁵ so that your faith might be, not in men’s wisdom, but in God’s power (italics mine).  So focusing on “persuasive words of [worldly wisdom]” and “men’s wisdom” is not the best track to use when in “proclamation mode.”  What works far better is to preach in a way that addresses the secret person of the heart (see 1 Peter 3:1-3). 

 

 This is why children can very propably be saved without babtisation, they already talk automatically to god and admire him, it's called a bit degoratively "the magic phase" by science).

Christian water baptism is an outward symbol that the one being baptized has made a complete, unreserved, and unconditional dedication through Jesus Christ to do the will of God.   To glorify and serve God, individuals need to become baptized: Matthew. 28:19, 20 says, “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the holy spirit, teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you.”

 

 Spirituality can in my eyes be achieved through many religions, and this is where I deny absolutist interpretations of religions and propably anger many people here: Everything in this universe was created for diversity so it is unlikely that god wants to simplify that diversity and complexity now by boiling it down to a single set of rules contained in one religion. But if religions are languages that god can use to teach us spirituality and goodness there are edfinitively religious languages through which this is much harder to achieve that aim than through the words of Jesus.

It is important that we worship God in the way that he approves. Many people believe that all religions are pleasing to God, but the Bible does not teach that. It is not even enough just to claim to be a Christian. Jesus said: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the Kingdom of the heavens, but only the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.” To have God’s approval, therefore, we must learn what God requires of us and do it. Jesus called those who do not do God’s will “workers of lawlessness.” (Matthew 7:21-23) Like counterfeit money, false religion has no real value. Even worse, such religion is actually harmful.

 To have eternal life in Paradise, however, we must worship God properly and live now in a way that is acceptable to him. Sadly, many refuse to do so. That is why Jesus said: “Go in through the narrow gate, because broad is the gate and spacious is the road leading off into destruction, and many are going in through it; whereas narrow is the gate and cramped the road leading off into life, and few are finding it.” (Matthew 7:13, 14) True religion leads to everlasting life. False religion leads to destruction. God does not want any human to be destroyed, and that is why he is giving people everywhere an opportunity to learn about him. (2 Peter 3:9) Really, then, the way we worship God means either life or death for us.

 

The modern world often looks more compassionate to us than the christian middle ages because through scientific progress incredible wealth has been created and illness could be defeated. But we do distribute this wealth in the most disgusting and unequal and social darwinist way possible I can imagine - possible at least as long as the world is not fully ruled by psychopaths.

Sadly, all manifestations of social inequality exist today in our wicked world, but true Christians do not practice any forms of bias or discrimination: “Not the way man sees is the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.” (1 Samuel 16:7) “God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.” (Acts 10:34, 35)

  

I believe that religion must modernize to stay alive so not every atheistic critique should be discarded as valueless.

Progressivism (be it in a social, political or religious sense) is quite in vogue now, but we have to be careful that we don’t get caught away with a modernization or even “syncretism” that erodes the purity of the truths of the Bible.  Ephesians 4:17-18 reminds us:  “So this is what I say and bear witness to in the Lord, that you should no longer go on walking just as the nations also walk, in the futility of their minds. They are in darkness mentally and alienated from the life that belongs to God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the insensitivity of their hearts.”

 

 Please forgive me Jesus, sometimes high IQ people like me are realy the most stupid folks around...).

Many Christians are highly intelligent and well educated, but it is not a requirement:  “Now when they saw the outspokenness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and ordinary men, they were astonished. And they began to realize that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13).

 

Whatever talents and abilities we have should be used for the glory of God and with your analytical mind and academic preparation, God can use you in many wonderful ways!  I look forward to hearing about your future whole-hearted service and praise to God!

 

 

[frienduff thaylorde]

13 hours ago, ayin jade said:

Sorry, but there is only one God, and only one way to Him. 

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father but by Me.

SPOT ON RIGHT SISTER .     Most of what I read should greatly concern some folks .    Me sees lots of highly carnal intellectual wisdom in that entire writing .

YOU SPOT ON RIGHT SISTER .     Let the world see me as a big dummy ,  its supposed to anyway .   Has GOD not made foolish the wisdom of this world ,

and does not the wise of this world , MOCK the humble children of OUR LORD .    YOU SPOT ON RIGHT SISTER .   YOU SPOT ON RIGHT .    You seen what I seen in that .

GLAD you Gave this answer .   ITS MY ANSWER TOO .     

[frienduff thaylorde]

2 hours ago, Willa said:

1Co 1:25  For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1Co 1:26  For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

1Co 1:27  But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

1Co 1:28  God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are,

1Co 1:29  so that no human being might boast in the presence of God.

1Co 1:30  And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

1Co 1:31  so that, as it is written, "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord."

Why mrs willa .      You seen it too .      All of what I just read ,  was totally from the carnal reasoning of the wisdom of this world .   

Throw those hands up , sister ,  and praise the LORD .     You know what I find truly beautiful ,  is that I used to have this kind of mind as this one ,

BUT GOD ,  He took that mind away .    How I used to pride myself as being such a intellectual great thinker .  NOW I see it was all foolishness , HOW BLIND I was .  HOW BLIND I was .

I think its time to PRAISE THE LORD AGAIN .    

[Kristin]

Creation.com answers many questions. It’s very good but scientific. You’ll catch on. 

[Nadjeschda]

Just coming back from the atheist beating me up: the relation between science and the soul is even more broken than I hought. When I told my rather calm doctor that I think applying the scientifc method to the soul and not just to feelingless objects was a grave ethical and logical error (souls change to the mere prospect of beeing measured) he imdediately became very alive and confirmed my thought. He traced the origin of this misuse back to Freud and Freud is a social darwinist at core. Social darwninism was the substitute for religion that the Nazi used to build their ideology on. And as we all know it let directly into the Holocaust. After all the Nazi assumed that the mind of jews and others is inferior (for this you have to believe it comes from evolution, otherwise the conceot inferior race does not make sense) leading to the infamous "scientific" measurmenets of skulls. The disrespect that people show when they dissect "sientifically" other souls to claim they are sort of biological robots and not holy is essentialy the same that drives someone like Mengele to dissect a human alive - the only difference is that such hate for humans (luckily) finds different ways and restraints to express itself in different cultures and people. But the act of intelectually dehumanizing a holy soul to make it an object of nature is always destructive and ethicaly wrong.