So the movie reviewer comes on the air, and the first words out of his mouth: “I’m not a Christian, I’m not a believer…”
Maybe it’s the time I grew up in, or the neighborhood–but I can never get used to the casual, unashamed declaration of disbelief in God. Why the guy had to introduce his movie review (it was supposed to be a Christian-themed movie) with this non-faith statement, I don’t know. Did he expect us to stand up and cheer?
I don’t believe there are all that many more atheists now than there always were. It’s just that now they expect to be applauded for it. But the real question I have for them is, “If not God, then who or what do you believe in?” And if he answers, “Nothing,” I don’t believe him because nobody believes in nothing.
But what do professed unbelievers believe in? If they answer “The state,” we are incredulous–I mean, who’s that big a butterball? If they answer “Science,” we wonder, “What science? Yesterday’s, today’s, or tomorrow’s–they’re all different. One generation’s science is another’s superstitition.” And if they come up with “The innate goodness and ultimate perfectibility of man”–well, you don’t know whether to guffaw or sigh for pity.
Those things require much more faith than does belief in God. There isn’t enough faith available in the universe to get anyone but a fool to believe in any of them.
But somehow it got to be chic to claim non-belief in God, or at least non-belief in Christianity. If you believe in many gods at once, Hollywood will still love you almost as much as it would if you believed in no god at all.
This was not so of the America that I was born and raised in.
Are we a better nation for our embrace of non-belief?
Now there’s a notion to laugh at!
Just before reading this post, I was thinking that there are laws we cannot break without consequence. For example, divorce is legal, even simple, in our day, but God’s law regarding marriage is immutable. Violate it and you will suffer consequences; broken families, broken hearts, despair, loneliness, financial difficulties, you name it.
The world is becoming ever more estranged from its Creator and the consequences are all around us. This goes much deeper than various denominations and endless arguments about arcana which stem from reading God’s word and fixating on details, instead of trying to comprehend the overall meaning.
Some people are put off by the churches. Others are put off by judgementalism that they see practiced in the name of Christianity. I like to remember that Jesus was a reformer; a man that sought to help others to see worship as something more that ritualistic adherence to the Talmudic law.
So, when people say that they aren’t Christian, they may be seeking to separate themselves from the negative stigma they perceive. When I see people that are confused about which way to go, I take heart in the fact that God will reveal Himself in His due time and I am certain that the earnest hearted of all the earth will respond to the call of Jesus Christ, the shepherd, at that time. At that time, everyone on earth will have the opportunity to make an informed choice regarding whom they will worship.
There are reports of refugees from middle eastern hellholes that are accepting Christ and rejecting, even abhorring, the violent acts carried out in the name of their former religion. As I see it, this is but one example of the call becoming clearer and more distinct. I don’t think it will be the last example.
UnKnowable, Your comment goes along somewhat with a play our church put on just this morning — Between the Giants. It dealt with the reasons why so many people won’t go to church and it touched on some of the points in your comment like rampant hypocrisy and judgmentalism in many churches. It’s a sad situation but it’s often how it is. Churchmembers sometimes forget that we are to be representatives of our living and loving Saviour. And because of that I believe it’s what accounts for a lot of the professed atheism and nom-belief that is now becoming “chic.” Even though they go through much hardship and trials, I’m heartened to hear that God is at work in the Middle Eastern refugees and saving them.
In spite of all the horrific events in the world, God is in charge and will vindicate His name when the time comes. IMO, at that point all the denominational hair splitting will become meaningless and any that truly accept Jesus as savior will be saved.
Perhaps the atheist’s belief is in himself and humanity, and it will increase with further advancement of technology. Taken with self-admiration from the work of our own hands, we remove ourselves from the Creator.
Welcome, and thanks for reblogging me. I was slow off the mark because I didn’t quite understand your original comment. I don’t seem to be quite as sharp as I’d like to be today.
You are dealing with one with a mind as sharp as a duck pin bowling ball and with even more holes.