First I want to thank you for your response and your patience, because I canât always get back to anyone out here immediately because of time restrains. However, I like learning, and you've definitely taught me something new. I had no idea about these levels of atheism you described. I am going to explore it a bit in my response here.
"It's hard, at least initially, to be a non-believer in this world. It often takes great courage to break away from what is or seems common among humans."
I understand. This is same problem gay people have had for years because the mainstream that calls itself Christian, has not been very Christlike in their response to them. That, however, will bring me to my point shortly.
If you want to know the truth, Christ was a rebel too. He broke away from the mainstream religion of the day, governed by the Pharisees and Sadducees of the Jewish faith. He, in essence, cursed them...calling them a brood of vipers; and violently threw them out of God's temple. Why?
Because despite the fact that their religious practice was first ordained by God, He never intended for that practice to be permanent, because it excluded everyone but the Jews. It also allowed for them to walk in piousness, with an air of superiority and discrimination, and God is not about that. God's original plan before the earth was even created, was to make a personal sacrifice for mankind that would demonstrate His love for them and enable them to find/return to Him...to be reconciled to Him, no matter what they had done or how they had lived.
Therefore, I, like you was a bit of a rebel myself, and still am to some degree. I respect the fact that atheists have rebelled against the flow. This is why I don't refer to myself, per say, as "Christian," but as a believer, because there are too many out there who claim Christianity, but don't demonstrate it, nor have any association to it. The mainstream of it has become a religion, and Christ is not about religion, but about relationships. Thus, I strive to be one who lives and walks in the real ideology of Christ, which is love for everyone, regardless of the differences in our point of view.
âThis is unrelated but Atheism is not a faith. Though there are many atheists who ultimately have a faith (more later). It depends upon the depth that their atheism goes. Superficial Atheism, my term, is atheism that is merely a "rebellious" departure from a religion and faith in God due to some awful experiences.â
I do know that Atheism is not a faith, but I meant that it requires faith...just at the opposite extreme, if you will. In other words, you rebel with the âhopeâ that youâve made the right choice...that your choice to rebel is justified. IMO...if we are talking about a rebellion from the âmainstreamâ Christian religion...Iâd have to agree that such a rebellion is actually necessary and correct.
Religion is for people who lack understanding. They go through a series of manmade practices based on manmade rules. And the thing is...no matter how many times you do your âreligious practice,â it will not change you...it will not cause you to evolve into a person of a higher quality or character. A relationship, however, is based on open dialog and communication, and can result in such a change if one is willing and honest with themselves. A relationship can teach trust and love, and that is what âChristianityâ is really about.
Some people make it into something else because they have character issues themselves that have not been addressed, and this, no doubt, is the reason for the awful experiences with the âmainstream,â as youâve stated. If one based their opinions of God on the character of some who call themselves Christian, they would never see Him for one thing, nor have the faith that He truly exists for another.
Mat 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
In order to truly find God, you have to really seek Him out with your whole heart, and not fall for the misrepresentations that some display because they also have not truly sought Him out, or do not completely follow His will. Even if you are angry with Him, and Iâve been there too...He is ok with that. Heâd just rather that you express and talk it out with Him, and give Him the time and opportunity to give you understanding and clarity about who He really is.
If you left a job in which your reputation with the people there had been seriously compromised or was antagonistic; and you found a new job...would you want the character assassinations you experienced at the former job to follow you there? No. Because most people are negative to begin with, and will believe the worse about a person without trying to find out for themselves who that person really is.
God is a person, and like a person, His character has been maligned greatly by many who claim Him, but donât follow the example of His Son. His Son, Jesus was the representative of God in human form. He is much like the person who bears the ring or seal of a king, and speaks or acts with the kingâs authority.
If you have kids, they represent you...they reflect who and what you are; they are like an imprint of you...of your character, and they speak and act with the authority and ideology you have impressed upon them.
Christ is merely the doorway that gets you entrance into Godâs kingdom. He is not the end all. He shows us how to walk through, and demonstrates how to bear the opposition we may encounter while we still reside in this physical plane of earth. He represents His Father; and as Godâs representative, He speaks with Godâs authority.
Luk 11:9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
When people follow that scripture above and ask for things...sometimes they ask amiss...ignorantly for things that will prove to be harmful, and thus, it is not granted, because our individual well being is Godâs priority. But that doesnât mean that we wonât reap the results of our own decisions. This is no magic wand situation.
That scripture refers to God...if you are truly wanting to find Him or to know about Him...if you want more of His gifts of love, wisdom and knowledge...if you want grace and mercy...that is what the scripture refers to. However, people in the âreligionâ that claims Christianity, have often turned that scripture into a âgimme, gimmeâ issue of self want...a âname it claim itâ game. As Iâm sure you may have experienced, there are falsehoods and misrepresentations in every theology, but that scripture has nothing to do with greed.
What I heard in what you stated, is that atheism is essentially, the result of rebellion, or, ill will towards those who call themselves believers, due to bad experiences with the âmainstreamâ of Christianity, which resulted in a conclusion that God doesnât exist. And then, there are degrees of this conclusion...levels of heart hardening, if you will against the idea that God is real. Am I correct? So itâs not like atheists started life with this belief, if you will, but came to their stance as atheists in conclusion to life experiences. Understood. Thanks for the lesson. Peace.