Atheism is defined as “the doctrine or belief that there is no God” or simply “disbelief in the existence of a supreme being or beings.”
Now that does not even come close to today’s atheism. Today’s atheists are on the march and in your face. (I wish some Christians had the fire of evangelism that so many atheists seem to feel.)
Atheism, in reality, is simply an affirmation in what you don’t believe. Now, I don’t run around constantly telling people things I don’t believe. I find it much more fun to talk about what I do believe. In fact, I run a whole darn blog called Creative Minority Report which could be titled THINGS I DO BELIEVE.
But atheism has become not simply a vacuum. It is now an active hatred of all things sacred. Look at these bumper stickers. They say nothing about what they believe. It is an attack. (Did you notice how the “Atheist family on board” only had one kid?)
I read in the newspaper about a new bumper sticker which said, “So many Christians, so few lions.”
Every Christian blogger has run into the wandering evangelical atheists which drop by to throw insults at you and say how much smarter they are than you. It happens all the time. Now I can honestly tell you, I’ve never, not once, gone to an atheist web site to insult anyone. I don’t even know if there are atheist web sites unless you count Barack Obama’s campaign website. (I’m kidding…kind of)
I think, however, they are feeling that the tide is turning toward them. They seem to think that with just one last great push they can set society free from the constraints of Christianity.
But I will say, they do this at their own peril. Remember all the schools, hospitals, and adoption centers that Church runs. How many atheist hospitals are there? (You can’t count abortion clinics!)
And all the precious rights you shout about are yours only because they are not a gift of the government. They are God-given. Take God out of the situation and your rights become negotiable by powerful interests. I’ll just say beware if what you’re attacking and attempting to break is exactly what you’re standing on.
May 13, 2008 at 3:55 am
Maybe we need some new Christian bumper stickers:
“I’m Agnostic About Your Atheism”
“Atheist: Code Word for ‘Mad At the God You Say You Don’t Believe In”
“Atheism: Cause You Don’t Mind a Belief System That Was Good Enough for Hitler and Stalin”
and so on.
May 13, 2008 at 3:58 am
Atheism: If you are wrong you are so screwed!
May 13, 2008 at 4:09 am
Good bumper sticker:
God loves atheists
May 13, 2008 at 4:15 am
When I was a high school sophomore at a Vincentian academy that no longer exists (neither the academy nor Vincentian Catholic religious in Chicago), one of our creepier classsmates thought that running up to the blackboard and writing, “Deus non est” was an act of utter rebellion–comparable to the Boston Tea Party. He was as taken with his breathless act of rebellion as the halfwits atheists who brag about their few grams of gray matter being much more in tune with reality than those of us who happen to believe that God created us–and not a stew of smelly chemicals.
May 13, 2008 at 5:14 am
Atheism: Misery loves company.
-Rich
May 13, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Patrick: …”Atheism: If you are wrong you are so screwed!”
That’s Pascal’s Wager. Bravo!
———————–
Anyway, I have found in my life that most Athiests are Athiests because someone who claimed to be a professing Christian has hurt them.
When I see these bumper stickers, I try to stop and pray for them, and the pain which was inflicted on them, and for the person(s) who failed to live out their baptismal vows and hurt them.
That’s one of the great truths of Catholic theology. I don’t know what the real term is, but I have heard the phrase the “butterfly effect.” My sins are not between me and Jesus. My sins are corporate. My sin, like the butterfly’s wings that cause a hurricane on the other side of the world, causes ripples through time and space.
So I also pray forgiveness for myself if I have ever caused “a little one to stumble,” and they now have an Athiest bumper-sticker because of my failures as a professing Christian.
May 13, 2008 at 4:14 pm
I think Pascal put it a little better than Pat did. Patrick went a little more for the “street” lingo. If you listen carefully, you can hear Pascal spinning just because his name was even mentioned on this blog.
May 13, 2008 at 5:48 pm
Scripture exhorts us to be ever ready to reply with gentleness when others inquire about the joy that is in us.
There’s a lot packed in to that little admonition. First and foremost is that, when others see us, the overwhelming impression they should receive is of a people filled with JOY. This joy should be so obvious and so contagious that they cannot help but be impressed and inquire about it. When they do ask, we should reply with gentleness, which is always the character of those who speak the truth. There’s never any reason for beating people over the head with the truth. The truth speaks for itself, so it can always be spoken with gentleness.
When I’ve had conversations with atheists, or those who claim to be, one of the things I’ve noticed is the anger. It’s always there. We can counter that anger with the joy given us by Christ and by the knowledge that He is true to His promises.
Bob Hunt
May 13, 2008 at 6:15 pm
I know I shouldn’t think this, but the ‘lions’ bumper sticker is funny to me. That said, I agree that the atheists (and for that matter many wiccans/nature reglion people)are angry. They are certainly condemming and often rude. So that should even more encourage us that ‘a gentle answer turns away wrath’. I do also try to always pray after an encounter like that. I pray that God softens their hearts and that He strengthens my witness in their lives. And I don’t mean my sermonizing!
May 14, 2008 at 4:41 am
Atheism IS a religion. It’s the new Protestantism. Kit
May 14, 2008 at 4:41 am
Atheism IS a religion. It’s the new Protestantism. Kit
May 14, 2008 at 4:42 am
Sorry, I didn’t mean to post that twice. Kit
April 15, 2009 at 7:29 am
As an agnostic raised in a VERY conservative non-denominational (read Baptist) household I can’t help but feel many on this blog are trying to vilify atheists in a very rude and illogical manner. Implying all atheists are angry is akin to atheists implying all Christians stand on the street corner handing out tracts from Chick publications. I’ve seen both sides and both statements simply are not true.
@ Cardigan
“Atheism: Cause You Don’t Mind a Belief System That Was Good Enough for Hitler and Stalin”
is akin to saying
“Cheeseburgers: Cause You Don’t Mind a Meal That Was Good Enough for Hitler and Stalin”
This argument is non-sequitur. Though I do like the “I’m Agnostic About Your Atheism” one 😉
Again though, I’m Agnostic, not Atheist. Every group has it’s share of jerks.
November 20, 2010 at 10:40 am
(I'm kidding…kind of).. Oh that made me chuckle!!!
They are crazy about religion. fundamentalists with their hearts deep inside of a belief system.