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March 16, 2013 |
| Theisms | ||
Atheist groups have suddenly become very active. They are pushing very hard for some changes in society. It's important at this time that we understand a bit about them, what they believe, what motivates them, and what their goals are.
People who have considered whether they believe in a god or not can be grouped into 6 groups, believers, un-thinking believers, Agnostics, Weak Atheists, Hard Atheists, and Anti-Theists. We'll spend a little time looking at the beliefs of each group but we'll spend most of the time on the current activities of the last group.
A believer is a person who not only believes in the existence of a god or gods, but knows which god he believes in and knows what that god expects of him. To get to that point the person has considered questions like "who is this god", "how does he affect my life", and "how can I learn more about this god".
For Christians we believe in the God of Adam and Eve, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We learn about him from the Bible with some additional information from historical documents, and through our experience with him.
An un-thinking believer is a person who believes there is a god but really hasn't thought about it much. This person hasn't considered the questions of which god and what that god expects of him. He is a "sort-of" believer. Many times this person only says he believes in a god only because he fears that there might be a god and isn't prepared to say there is no god.
Outreach: Encourage him to answer the questions, "if you believe in a god, what does he want, how can you find out"
An Agnostic is a person who believes it isn't possible to know if there is a god or not. In one sense, all believers are Agnostics. They believe in a god by faith, without proof, and therefore do not know for sure that there is a god. But that isn't the usual meaning of Agnosticism. An Agnostic is more likely to believe that there is no evidence for the existence of a god.
This is different from a Christian who sees evidence of the existence of God in the design of nature and the universe, in the fulfillment of Biblical prophecies, in the truth of his word, and in many other ways. Despite all this evidence it is not conclusive proof of the existence of God.
Outreach: Explain that we approach God by faith, not by fact. Don't try to prove that God exists.
A Weak Atheist is a step beyond an Agnostic. Having said that there is no evidence for the existence of God, he takes the next step of saying therefore there is probably no god. But he holds out the possibility that someday there could be evidence that a god exists. So his decision that there is no god is tentative and based on evidence.
A Weak Atheist understands that you can't prove a negative. It is impossible to prove that something does not exist. This would be especially true of a god who can choose who can experience him and who cannot.
The Agnostics and Weak Atheists are similar in that their point of view is based on evidence not belief. This differs from the believer groups we've covered so far and the next two groups. Believers believe without proof.
Outreach: Live a beautiful life as an example, explain faith, avoid existence arguments, follow the Holy Spirit
A Hard Atheist believes that there is no god. He cannot prove there is no god but he believes it anyway. His belief is not pure though; it rests on evidence. In modern times it generally rests on science and scientific evidence, on the Theory of Evolution and on the Big Bang Theory. Before these theories existed and even further back, before science existed, it rested on the idea expressed as "The universe is the same way now that it has always been and will always be".
The difference between a Weak Atheist and a Hard Atheist might be understood this way. A Weak Atheist says "I don't believe there is a god"; a Hard Atheist says "I believe there is no god." A Hard Atheist would reject the idea that he is in fact a believer, but he is. He believes in a god and his god is science.
Outreach: Live a beautiful life as an example, explain faith (that he is a believer), avoid existence arguments (be prepared for blow-back), follow the Holy Spirit.
An Anti-Theist is really a different creature. He is a Hard Atheist but takes it from the realm of the individual to the collective, from philosophical to practical. Where a Hard Atheist would say, "I believe there is no god. You believe whatever you think, but I think you are wrong", an Anti-Theist would say "I believe there is no god and it is not OK for you to believe there is a god."
Therefore, where the Weak Atheist and Hard Atheist are content to consider the existence of god as a personal mental exercise and a personal decision, the Anti-Theist seeks to enforce his belief on everyone else.
Arrogance is a significant characteristic of this way of thinking. Hard Atheists also believe that they are better or more "enlightened" than believers, but Anti-Theists see it as a reason to force change in society. By doing so they believe they are creating a better, more enlightened society.
It's important to understand that Agnostics, and Atheists of all kinds are well informed. According to studies, they often know more about the basics of Christianity than Christians do. This is really an expected response to living in a Judeo-Christian culture. They see themselves as being bombarded by religion and their defense against it is to "know your enemy."
We Christians are similar but in the reverse. We view our culture as being secular though it came from Judeo-Christian roots. And we see it as becoming more and more secular. We see ourselves as being bombarded by secularism and by all the filth of an un-Godly world. When possible we try to push the culture back toward its roots. This puts us in direct opposition with Anti-Theist activities.
Atheists are generally well educated and commonly it was during their post-secondary education that they were influenced to become Atheists.
Outreach: Live a beautiful life as an example, avoid existence arguments (expect blow-back), destroy the straw-men, "why does it bother you so much", follow the Holy Spirit
As mentioned in the introduction there has been a recent sudden change in Anti-Theism. Within the past year or so they have become much more organized, united and active. Their conventions are selling out and their organizations are growing quickly.
They are a very vocal group but It appears that they a minority among Atheists. Other Atheists are sometimes put off by their actions. But because very few people understand the differences in Atheists, and because of a helpful or at least sympathetic news media, they are represented as the only the Atheists and as all Atheists.
But Christians should take no comfort that there might be division in their ranks. Anti-Theists have many sympathizers in government and are moving their agenda forward.
Christians should also be aware that Anti-Theist activities are largely directed at the Judeo-Christian God. It would be hard to find any activity directed at Muslims or other religions.
The Anti-Theists first great success in this country was the concept of separation of church and state. Thomas Jefferson said the government shall 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.' He said that because he was concerned by what he had seen in other European countries where the governments had adopted official religions and persecuted those who did not accept those religions.
But through a series of bad court decisions in this country Jefferson's words have been turned around to mean that the State must be free of religion. The result has been the removal of any reference to God or the Bible from any government locations or any government funded organizations.
I don't think God particularly cares if the Ten Commandments are displayed in our courthouses. But he does want them in our hearts. A society that will allow them to be removed from our courthouses has probably already removed them from their hearts.
"The Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF), a church-state separatist group, put out a press release on Tuesday (Feb 2013) announcing that the organization was joining 19 other plaintiffs in challenging "In God We Trust" on federal currency."1
The phrase "'In God we trust' has appeared on most U.S. coins since 1864 and on paper currency since 1957"2 But this has bothered Atheists probably from the start and is probably the most visible reference to God in our society and therefore the one they would most like to get rid of.
With it they would like to make similar changes. "In God we Trust" "was adopted as the official motto of the United States in 1956" and it is also the official motto of the State of Florida. "The phrase appears to have originated in "The Star-Spangled Banner", written during the War of 1812. The fourth stanza includes the phrase, "And this be our motto: 'In God is our Trust.'""3
Christians really shouldn't be concerned by this particular effort by the Anti-Theists – whether it succeeds or not. God does not need or require that his title appear on our money. In fact it is an odd place to put it given Matthew 6:24
24 "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
So Christians have no reason to be concerned over this particular action. But they have to be concerned that society is turning against God and against them. If they succeed in this area Anti-Theists will not stop there. Their goal is the elimination of any belief in God. So whether they succeed or fail in this challenge it will be of more interest to Christians as a measure of the state of our society.
Some Atheists like to go to church, as odd as that may seem, but it isn't a church you would recognize. The Unitarian Universalist Association has churches in many places, including here in San Antonio. People of all beliefs are accepted and they meet to "encourage people of all spiritual paths to work together and discuss moral questions."4
This lesson has shown that there are many degrees of non-believers and that it isn't just an "us versus them" environment. But it has also shown that there is a new vigor in the hard line Atheists.
If this was the only sudden movement away from God, we wouldn't take much notice. But it appears that Satan is pulling out all of the stops at this particular time. We are seeing many sudden changes and new movements. And we are seeing attacks coming on Christians and Jews that haven't been seen before or for a long time.
1 http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/03/14/atheists-sue-u-s-treasury-in-effort-to-remove-in-god-we-trust-from-currency/
2 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_we_trust
3 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_we_trust
4 http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110117203413AADoBVm