Post by Rob W. Case on Jun 1, 2004 13:25:37 GMT -6
Editor’s Note: This is a revised edition of my June 1st, 2004 piece entitled, “Atheism and Rebellion.” This revision was written and posted February 10, 2009. The purpose of this revised edition is to trigger deeper insight by effectively communicating with more details, and further understanding, the topic of atheism and its contrast to faith in God. Thank you.
Atheism is a very interesting concept. It claims that there is no God, and in that, actions are taken by people who have no fear of being held accountable to God. In that, atheism follows the desires of the human heart and has no real orderly direction. If you look at the most influential atheists in world history, you will find that there is no common order. Each individual who has written his/her own philosophy promoting atheism has done so, as they have established their own way through life as they understand it. Each individual has paved their own direction, and in that, does not possess a set of fundamental and absolute truths. Many atheists in this day and age have assembled a philosophy soup, taking ideas from influential atheists from the past and putting together a manifesto based on a collection of old philosophies. In reading Charles Darwin’s works, I noticed that he cited many previous theories and teachers who influenced him to come up with the conclusions that he came up with. Darwin put together a soup, added to the soup, and created a name for himself. Without God there is no common order. In the writings of many influential atheists, the same rule applies. There is no common order. Ayn Rand, a self-professed atheist, disagreed with many practices imposed by the Soviet Union, which was a political system structured on atheism. Now, some might say that people in the Church disagree with each other on certain matters, and they do. But the difference between two ministers disagreeing and two atheists disagreeing is this; in the church, God is still the higher power and sets the standards. Some might argue how some things should be interpreted, but the standards remain the standards and are set. Since atheists do not believe in a power above themselves, then they believe that they are the powers themselves. They are their own gods. So, when two atheists disagree, then one can say that it is a clash of the titans, a war between two “gods.” So which one would be right? You don’t know, because there would be no right other than what is most favorable to you. Using influences of the past to assemble an atheist philosophy to be used today is not uncommon, but it still doesn’t share a common purpose. When an ideological soup is assembled, those influences from the past are used to bring it legitimacy, and a sense of seniority.
The Bible has THEE MOST seniority. Not only that, but the books of the Testaments that were written were also accounts of ancient world History, and was once used in schools as such. History reveals lessons, both moral and consequential, and we are fortunate to have an account of those lessons to avoid the negative mistakes of the past. It contains within it an orderly structure, a structure that can only result in one’s bodily, mental, and spiritual preservation. Orders and laws were made to protect and defend, not establish vulnerability to consequences and remove defense mechanisms that could harm or kill us.
Romans 1 (taken from the New International Version translation)
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Many self-proclaimed atheists use the name of Jesus as a cuss word. Well if he didn’t exist, then why did they say it to begin with? In man’s heart, there is a sense of pleasure established in shaking one’s fist at God. In the early days of the Soviet Union, Communist Leader Vladimir Lenin enforced the teaching of atheism in schools. To keep control of the people, it had to be done. Liberty is derived from God, and Lenin did not want individual liberty. He wanted to teach children that the Government was the sole provider and that there was no God over them to provide for them. Yet, just before he died, Lenin had enough strength to gnash his teeth and shake his fist in the air before he died. Who did he shake his fist at? The heart knows there is a God, and rebels against him, though many self-professed atheists are likely not to detect it at all.
Establishment of the Moral Divide:
The moral divide as I call it, is extremely interesting. The moral divide, as best as I can explain it, is like a wall that goes up that causes hesitation, and prompts people to think about whether they should engage in a certain action or not. When one’s moral divide goes up, they say, “No, I can’t do this. This is wrong.” It is when it is enabled that people consider whether or not a certain action is right or wrong. Let’s use porn as an example. One may find that looking at porn is okay, but what about child porn? If the thought rushes to mind that, “No, I can’t do this. This is wrong,” comes to mind in regards to child porn than they have initiated a moral divide that it is wrong, and that the person who is suggesting that it is okay, or uses it, is in fact a pervert. Morality is derived from God, and as beings created in the image of God, there are things that will upset us that the Bible says upset Him.
Knowledge of God:
Also take the context of in which the Bible says…
A fool hath said in his heart there is no God..... (Psalm 14:1, 53:1)
The knowledge of God is already there, but the fool says there is no God. Once this occurs, the individual hardens the heart (a group effort of using rebellion to corrupt the mind and heart) so much to where the subject not only does not care about what God says, but rejects everything he stands for (including the value of human life as He sees it), does their own thing, and establishes a deep hostility towards those who remind them of God by practicing their faith within their presence.
The Problem of Religion:
Religions add fuel to the fire. Religions can be described as forms of cults. A true relationship with God is by accepting Christ in one’s heart through faith. You have to watch out now because now religions are starting to jump on the “faith” wording in order to mask their denomination. Catholicism is very much like a cult in the sense that many of those who go to mass, feel pressured by the Priest to pay for the steps "needed" to advance their own spiritual journey. The problem with feeling this pressure is that it misses the point. During the summer, I find that especially in my area, the Catholic Church will sell beer and have gambling games in order to raise money for the church. You pay to have secular fun so that the church can make money. Many churches have offering plates for regular donations. I’m not saying it is bad to donate money to a church, but it certainly is not okay to exploit people’s personal addictions to collect money for what is supposed to be the body of Christ. If one drinks and gambles on his own merit, that is his business, but it is wrong for the church to collect money (thus condoning that behavior) using those means. Like I said before, if you take a drink, or if you are a betting person, that is your merit. I just don't think it's right when the church uses those means to make money for themselves. Televangelists make money, and again, there is nothing wrong with making money so long as you are not exploiting people, but some are out there using the mask of faith in order to appeal to your greedy nature, and in that sell you destructive snake oil in the name of Christ. Another problem I have with religion is that it takes a person in the right neighborhood on a lot of issues, but it does not lead them to the source of eternal life. In other words, religions lead to ritualistic practices and superstitions rather than lead to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is alive and is void of the need for empty rituals and superstitions. When one has a genuine, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, their heart changes on many matters. Too many times, I see people who belong to religions who are no different than, or just as bad or worse than people who are unbelievers or anti-christian. I have even met atheists who are more considerate and more compassionate than people who belong to religions. In fact, many people I know who profess their religion, do not even attend church or have no knowledge of what their religion consists of. Because their family is of a certain religion, they believe they are covered automatically. Practices within religion draw fire from atheists and agnostics and repel them from wanting to look into the concept of God any further. Unfortunately, this also serves as a handicap for those who seek to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ, and the relationship he offers if people are willing to reconcile themselves with him.
Humanitarian Aide:
Billy Graham has an organization called “Samaritan’s Purse” in which they take donations, and with the donations, they make food and clothing baskets for poor children across the world, give them Christian literature to make them aware that someone out there cares for them, and then stay for a while to answer questions and bring people to Christ. Some people however, dismiss that, and think that everyone is a crook. When people sacrifice their own time and resources for the benefit of someone else, God’s hand is clearly seen and obvious. A missionary I have met on a couple of occasions (who is the brother of the Pastor’s wife at my church) is a pilot who offers hope to people who have no hope. When talking to him, it is interesting. There is heavy, demonic activity in some of the areas where he goes. Some of the villagers he has witnessed to have talked about the aggressive, demanding, and mean spirits that occasionally show themselves and intimidate them. In fact, many of the practices of their culture have been to appease the spirits so as not to make them angry at them. This man, Paul Westlund, has shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they see him as a great comfort.
Right or Wrong:
Moral absolutes are one thing. You can go to a self-professed atheist and ask them if they believe that Hitler or Saddam Hussein was wrong for their acts of murdering many people who were under their governance. The Bible says “Thou shalt not kill”, and when you remove the Bible, you remove God, and when you remove God, then genocide, depending on the person’s relative view, might not seem as wrong. Without the moral divide, anything goes. There are no morals. There are no absolutes. Pedophiles, murderers, people involved in bestiality, and such have little to no moral divide, as their hearts have been hardened, and their animal-like behavior reflects that. One of the reasons I think the schools are so bent on teaching Darwinism is to establish a structure that demotes people to a mere animal. Animals have no accountability. Animals can kill each other without reason and never be held into account. In complete defiance against God, atheism demotes the value of human life by changing the standard from “fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) to suggesting that you are an animal under the control of those most ideologically and militarily equipped to exercise a sense of superiority… like Government.
Control:
When God is in control, peace is achieved, because God’s standards preserve you. When you establish a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you are assisted and advised by Him on what is best for you. This is a direct contrast to atheism. We are by human nature, creatures of control. Without Christ we tend to want to control everything and swallow up the competition. People want to control people, and the only way to establish any peace is by conforming yourself to the will of another. Peace without God is determined by the will of another person on that other person’s terms. If an atheistic force seeks the dominion of another atheistic force, then it is the law of the Jungle, or in other words, Charles Darwin’s “survival of the fittest.” Whoever acquires control under this system will be the one best equipped militarily and strategically. Every nation on earth seeks control of another. That is one of the reasons why so many people have the nuke bomb. Not every nation possesses a nuclear bomb to simply defend itself, since there are no threats made against it to defend it from. But they all seek control, control by their own merits.
There isn’t much hope when all of life’s surprises reside within one’s self, because when one limits himself to just himself, there are no surprises and therefore little to no joy in life.
Atheism is a very interesting concept. It claims that there is no God, and in that, actions are taken by people who have no fear of being held accountable to God. In that, atheism follows the desires of the human heart and has no real orderly direction. If you look at the most influential atheists in world history, you will find that there is no common order. Each individual who has written his/her own philosophy promoting atheism has done so, as they have established their own way through life as they understand it. Each individual has paved their own direction, and in that, does not possess a set of fundamental and absolute truths. Many atheists in this day and age have assembled a philosophy soup, taking ideas from influential atheists from the past and putting together a manifesto based on a collection of old philosophies. In reading Charles Darwin’s works, I noticed that he cited many previous theories and teachers who influenced him to come up with the conclusions that he came up with. Darwin put together a soup, added to the soup, and created a name for himself. Without God there is no common order. In the writings of many influential atheists, the same rule applies. There is no common order. Ayn Rand, a self-professed atheist, disagreed with many practices imposed by the Soviet Union, which was a political system structured on atheism. Now, some might say that people in the Church disagree with each other on certain matters, and they do. But the difference between two ministers disagreeing and two atheists disagreeing is this; in the church, God is still the higher power and sets the standards. Some might argue how some things should be interpreted, but the standards remain the standards and are set. Since atheists do not believe in a power above themselves, then they believe that they are the powers themselves. They are their own gods. So, when two atheists disagree, then one can say that it is a clash of the titans, a war between two “gods.” So which one would be right? You don’t know, because there would be no right other than what is most favorable to you. Using influences of the past to assemble an atheist philosophy to be used today is not uncommon, but it still doesn’t share a common purpose. When an ideological soup is assembled, those influences from the past are used to bring it legitimacy, and a sense of seniority.
The Bible has THEE MOST seniority. Not only that, but the books of the Testaments that were written were also accounts of ancient world History, and was once used in schools as such. History reveals lessons, both moral and consequential, and we are fortunate to have an account of those lessons to avoid the negative mistakes of the past. It contains within it an orderly structure, a structure that can only result in one’s bodily, mental, and spiritual preservation. Orders and laws were made to protect and defend, not establish vulnerability to consequences and remove defense mechanisms that could harm or kill us.
Romans 1 (taken from the New International Version translation)
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
Many self-proclaimed atheists use the name of Jesus as a cuss word. Well if he didn’t exist, then why did they say it to begin with? In man’s heart, there is a sense of pleasure established in shaking one’s fist at God. In the early days of the Soviet Union, Communist Leader Vladimir Lenin enforced the teaching of atheism in schools. To keep control of the people, it had to be done. Liberty is derived from God, and Lenin did not want individual liberty. He wanted to teach children that the Government was the sole provider and that there was no God over them to provide for them. Yet, just before he died, Lenin had enough strength to gnash his teeth and shake his fist in the air before he died. Who did he shake his fist at? The heart knows there is a God, and rebels against him, though many self-professed atheists are likely not to detect it at all.
Establishment of the Moral Divide:
The moral divide as I call it, is extremely interesting. The moral divide, as best as I can explain it, is like a wall that goes up that causes hesitation, and prompts people to think about whether they should engage in a certain action or not. When one’s moral divide goes up, they say, “No, I can’t do this. This is wrong.” It is when it is enabled that people consider whether or not a certain action is right or wrong. Let’s use porn as an example. One may find that looking at porn is okay, but what about child porn? If the thought rushes to mind that, “No, I can’t do this. This is wrong,” comes to mind in regards to child porn than they have initiated a moral divide that it is wrong, and that the person who is suggesting that it is okay, or uses it, is in fact a pervert. Morality is derived from God, and as beings created in the image of God, there are things that will upset us that the Bible says upset Him.
Knowledge of God:
Also take the context of in which the Bible says…
A fool hath said in his heart there is no God..... (Psalm 14:1, 53:1)
The knowledge of God is already there, but the fool says there is no God. Once this occurs, the individual hardens the heart (a group effort of using rebellion to corrupt the mind and heart) so much to where the subject not only does not care about what God says, but rejects everything he stands for (including the value of human life as He sees it), does their own thing, and establishes a deep hostility towards those who remind them of God by practicing their faith within their presence.
The Problem of Religion:
Religions add fuel to the fire. Religions can be described as forms of cults. A true relationship with God is by accepting Christ in one’s heart through faith. You have to watch out now because now religions are starting to jump on the “faith” wording in order to mask their denomination. Catholicism is very much like a cult in the sense that many of those who go to mass, feel pressured by the Priest to pay for the steps "needed" to advance their own spiritual journey. The problem with feeling this pressure is that it misses the point. During the summer, I find that especially in my area, the Catholic Church will sell beer and have gambling games in order to raise money for the church. You pay to have secular fun so that the church can make money. Many churches have offering plates for regular donations. I’m not saying it is bad to donate money to a church, but it certainly is not okay to exploit people’s personal addictions to collect money for what is supposed to be the body of Christ. If one drinks and gambles on his own merit, that is his business, but it is wrong for the church to collect money (thus condoning that behavior) using those means. Like I said before, if you take a drink, or if you are a betting person, that is your merit. I just don't think it's right when the church uses those means to make money for themselves. Televangelists make money, and again, there is nothing wrong with making money so long as you are not exploiting people, but some are out there using the mask of faith in order to appeal to your greedy nature, and in that sell you destructive snake oil in the name of Christ. Another problem I have with religion is that it takes a person in the right neighborhood on a lot of issues, but it does not lead them to the source of eternal life. In other words, religions lead to ritualistic practices and superstitions rather than lead to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ that is alive and is void of the need for empty rituals and superstitions. When one has a genuine, personal relationship with Jesus Christ, their heart changes on many matters. Too many times, I see people who belong to religions who are no different than, or just as bad or worse than people who are unbelievers or anti-christian. I have even met atheists who are more considerate and more compassionate than people who belong to religions. In fact, many people I know who profess their religion, do not even attend church or have no knowledge of what their religion consists of. Because their family is of a certain religion, they believe they are covered automatically. Practices within religion draw fire from atheists and agnostics and repel them from wanting to look into the concept of God any further. Unfortunately, this also serves as a handicap for those who seek to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ, and the relationship he offers if people are willing to reconcile themselves with him.
Humanitarian Aide:
Billy Graham has an organization called “Samaritan’s Purse” in which they take donations, and with the donations, they make food and clothing baskets for poor children across the world, give them Christian literature to make them aware that someone out there cares for them, and then stay for a while to answer questions and bring people to Christ. Some people however, dismiss that, and think that everyone is a crook. When people sacrifice their own time and resources for the benefit of someone else, God’s hand is clearly seen and obvious. A missionary I have met on a couple of occasions (who is the brother of the Pastor’s wife at my church) is a pilot who offers hope to people who have no hope. When talking to him, it is interesting. There is heavy, demonic activity in some of the areas where he goes. Some of the villagers he has witnessed to have talked about the aggressive, demanding, and mean spirits that occasionally show themselves and intimidate them. In fact, many of the practices of their culture have been to appease the spirits so as not to make them angry at them. This man, Paul Westlund, has shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and they see him as a great comfort.
Right or Wrong:
Moral absolutes are one thing. You can go to a self-professed atheist and ask them if they believe that Hitler or Saddam Hussein was wrong for their acts of murdering many people who were under their governance. The Bible says “Thou shalt not kill”, and when you remove the Bible, you remove God, and when you remove God, then genocide, depending on the person’s relative view, might not seem as wrong. Without the moral divide, anything goes. There are no morals. There are no absolutes. Pedophiles, murderers, people involved in bestiality, and such have little to no moral divide, as their hearts have been hardened, and their animal-like behavior reflects that. One of the reasons I think the schools are so bent on teaching Darwinism is to establish a structure that demotes people to a mere animal. Animals have no accountability. Animals can kill each other without reason and never be held into account. In complete defiance against God, atheism demotes the value of human life by changing the standard from “fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14) to suggesting that you are an animal under the control of those most ideologically and militarily equipped to exercise a sense of superiority… like Government.
Control:
When God is in control, peace is achieved, because God’s standards preserve you. When you establish a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, you are assisted and advised by Him on what is best for you. This is a direct contrast to atheism. We are by human nature, creatures of control. Without Christ we tend to want to control everything and swallow up the competition. People want to control people, and the only way to establish any peace is by conforming yourself to the will of another. Peace without God is determined by the will of another person on that other person’s terms. If an atheistic force seeks the dominion of another atheistic force, then it is the law of the Jungle, or in other words, Charles Darwin’s “survival of the fittest.” Whoever acquires control under this system will be the one best equipped militarily and strategically. Every nation on earth seeks control of another. That is one of the reasons why so many people have the nuke bomb. Not every nation possesses a nuclear bomb to simply defend itself, since there are no threats made against it to defend it from. But they all seek control, control by their own merits.
There isn’t much hope when all of life’s surprises reside within one’s self, because when one limits himself to just himself, there are no surprises and therefore little to no joy in life.