It'll All Make Sense When I Get There

I've been challenged a lot of late about my faith which some say is futile. Accused of intellectual dishonesty because I choose to believe in and follow Jesus Christ when he is allegedly no more real, and certainly no more a god, than the tooth fairy, I have simply stood on the reality of my experience of God in my life. Apparently my experience is not enough to build my faith on.

The evidence I'm told is heavily against the Bible being the Word of God, and God himself, if he exists is clearly not worthy of anything other than contempt based on what the Bible says about him. I'm feeble minded and weak willed because I need to believe in a fairy tale as a crutch, or so I'm told.

I gave my life to Christ nearly 30 years, and nothing has happened to me since then to make me doubt for a second that God is real, and that I need Him in my life. There is much I don't understand, but I don't feel the need to know everything.

I do not pay lip service to live and let live: I respect everyone's right to the faith/religion/spirituality they want. The bottom line is we all believe or disbelieve what we want to believe or not believe. In the light of the current hysteria about religious fundamentalists, I can only shake my head and wonder why people are surprised by evil, and why they can't separate the radical minority from the moderate majority.

There is much I don't understand, but I don't need to have all the answers. I know this however, that Christ is the strength of my life, and I will walk with him for the rest of my days on earth...until he calls me home. Until he takes me higher.

Celebrate the Small Things: Going, leaving, gone.

After a relatively short and fiery sojourn in the Australian Alliance of Atheists Facebook group, I pulled the pin this week. 

I was often frustrated when trying to discuss issues, but I could have endured the frustration. For example, people suggesting that there is no evidence outside of the Bible that there ever lived a man called Jesus Christ, and me pointing out that a first century Jewish historian called Josephus wrote about Jesus, and them saying Josephus' writing was forged or faked. 

I also could have put up with the name calling and disrespect, which I mainly dealt with by blocking the offenders. However, I could no longer stand the negativity. In fact, I began to feel poisoned by it, and I was concerned about the very offensive memes being posted on AAA, appearing in the feeds of my Facebook friends. For atheists to deny that there is a God is one thing, but to suggest that nothing good at all comes from religion, is really wrong and stupid.

I made some friends on AAA, and I look forward to continuing  online interactions with them, but today I am celebrating the small action of clicking a button to leave a group.

I am a Deluded Troll.

I'm a Christian: a follower of Jesus Christ, and unshamedly so. Recently I joined a Facebook group called the Australian Alliance of Atheists (AAA). My purpose is doing so was to engage with Atheists in order to gain a better understanding of them. 

Atheism is easily understood, being defined as disbelief in the existence of God or gods, but atheists are a diverse group of people. They may share common disbelief, but the practical outworking of this disbelief depends on individual personalities, values and experiences. This is true of all people, regardless of what they believe in, or don't believe in.

Generally speaking, there appear to be two broad types of atheists. Calm and polite ones, and angry, argumentative and abusive ones. The former disagree strongly with religion, but respect the right of all people to believe what they want to. The latter completely dismiss any religious beliefs as silly fairy tales,and are fond of abusive language and highly offensive memes. Hence I have been frequently called deluded and told to leave the group. Both types believe very strongly that religion is destructive, and that its abolition is the only hope for humanity.

I have made some friends on AAA, and am enjoying discussions with them. Those who are abusive and disrespectful, I simply block. I should note here that AAA admin has contacted me and asked me to let them know who I am blocking and why. To their credit, they are keen not to have such people involved in the group.

Despite the hostility I have encountered from some members, and the frustration I have felt at not being taken seriously simply because I choose to believe in God, it has been a worthwhile experience. I have met some very intelligent, witty and polite people who are serious about disbelief being the only rational option. I respect that.

What's your take? What does your faith or your disbelief mean to you? What experiences have you had of talking to others with very different world views?

Australian Atheist Alliance

Photos sources:
http://rationallyspeaking.blogspot.com.au/2011/12/goals-of-atheist-activism.html
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141009122908-17789327-the-concept-of-atheism-in-indian-philosophy

Worse than the F-bomb

A year 6 girl was recently singled out by a teacher and hit with a verbal harangue about her language. The teacher pulled the student out of the group immediately and delivered a sermon about inappropriate language which was offensive to Christians. During the rebuke, the teacher mentioned the fact that "we hear it all the time on the television" but that doesn't make acceptable. As I watched the drama unfold, I reflected on my own feelings towards the use of the saying for which the year 6 girl was reprimanded. "Oh my God!" Was I offended? Am I offended? I recalled my careless uttering of the word "bloody" back in my primary school days, and the subsequent tongue lashing I received from the teacher who felt that word was offensive to Christians.

People invoke the name of one god or another on a daily basis, usually to add authority to their claim to be speaking the truth, but also to express shock, amazement or grief. The phrase, "Oh my God! or its digital offspring, OMG, is so common nowadays that no one thinks anything of it. It is a meaningless mouthing. I don't like it so I don't use it, but I'm not greatly offended by it. It's more of an annoyance. People likewise say "thank God" all the time without thinking anything of it, and I don't see how I could be offended by people thanking God even if they don't know him or believe in him. However, when I say thank God, I am not just using a popular expression of gratitude or relief, I am actually thanking God. I believe in God so when I use his name, I am talking about Him or to Him.

The greater offence, in my eyes, is the misuse of the name of the Son of God. "Jesus Christ" is often used as a swear word and considered less offensive than the F-bomb. This is a special and precious name to billions of people and yet so many treat it like dirt, a common profanity. I used to do it before I knew Him, before He saved me. I did it to aggravate Christians that I knew, and to amuse my friends with my creative blasphemies. I don't think that most people are as calculating as I once was, but I do think they are careless with their words. The Bible says there is no other name by which men man by saved. To use that name as a banal throwaway swear word is most certainly offensive, and quite stupid. It makes me cringe when I hear people use Jesus' name in vain. 

As for the year 6 girl with the loose tongue, I hope she learns to think about what she says, and how she says it. We should all be mindful of the same thing, as we will be held accountable for every word we speak.

I believe in thongs

I'm talking about footwear, not underwear.They are variously known as flip flops, plakkies, clam diggers, jandals, chinelos or go aheads,depending on where in the world you are. I believe that thongs are simple in design, comfortable to wear, convenient, generally inexpensive, and extremely popular.

They offer some degree of protection for the sole of the foot but are otherwise not a safe form of footwear. They don't come in steel capped versions, they don't block UV rays and if you step on a nail, you will know about it. They are comfortable to wear although the cheaper brands may cause extensive damage to the area between the big toe and its next door neighbour: at least until they are worn in.They keep the foot cool by not incarcerating it within leather or canvas, but anything that is going to fall or spill on your foot will hit the foot directly. They are easy to put on and remove, although under pressure, for example when running or climbing, they can remove themselves. Thongs are also renown for going M.I.A. Widely accepted in a plethora of casual situations and gatherings, they are frowned upon at formal engagements and in the workplace.

Everybody believes in something. We all have some religion or philosophy or code of ethics by which we live. We either inherited it from our parents, subscribed to it because it was cool at some stage, discovered it for ourselves, or assumed one by default. Nobody lives without a belief system of some kind. It might be mainstream religion, a cocktail of religious beliefs or a homespun philosophy. Whatever it's called, whatever it looks like, however it operates, it's influence is unmistakable and irresistible.

You could believe in thongs if you won't to because most religious/ethical beliefs and especially practices are not too dissimilar to thongs.Religion and ethics will provide some protection for your soul but they won't provide salvation. They are comfortable because they can be adjusted to suit your circumstances or your feelings. Ever heard of moral relativism or situational ethics? They allow plenty of freedom, the rules are flexible. They work in easy, casual circumstances but when faced with tragedy and suffering, they fall apart and leave you defenseless. They cost nothing at all, they make no demands on you, they don't force changes in your life or call you to sacrifice.

If you like the comfort zone where faith is cheap and undemanding, where you won't make waves by offending people, where you'll fit in, then design your own belief system. Take the bits you like from wherever you can find them, and build a religion that suits you. Personalize it. Never mind about the truth. You believe in thongs.

The Need for God

There are numerous misconceptions about Christianity which are held to with religious fervour by members of society. One popular view sees Christianity as a set of restrictive rules and regulations presided over by a cosmic killjoy. In another, a person says they are a Christian because they try to do what is right, and not hurt people. Both of these views should be completely rejected as false by Christians.

Recently I heard a new and interesting theory on what constitutes religion. This young lady, a lapsed Roman Catholic, said to me she believed she was religious, or even Christian in her case, because she sinned and religion depends on sin. She reasoned that if she was not committing any sin, she would have no need to confess and therefore no need of religion.

I told her that I believe religion is based on need and to suit my purpose here, I am referring to both good and bad religion (Jesus talked quite clearly about both). Men have always looked to something or someone bigger and more powerful than themselves for answers, for meaning and direction in their lives. Honest men have always felt and still do feel, overwhelmed at times by the the enormity and complexity of the world around them, and the various problems which have faced them.

Only when a person hits rock bottom, when everything else they have is stripped of value, when they feel lost and realize their desperate need for salvation, will they look up and see their Saviour: Jesus Christ.

I'm not telling you that you have to become a Christian, even though I would like you to, but I am asking you to accept the facts about Christianity. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. Christianity is about God's plan to fix this messed up world which is full of broken people. Jesus said that he is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him. Christianity is about God reaching out to us and saving us from our pride fuelled self destruction. Christianity is all about Jesus Christ and everyone needs a saviour.

Pride goes before a Fall

"I was all on my own in a situation that I'd no control over - I started praying...it became a chant as I repeated it over and over to show my sincerity."

In 1999, aged 17, Jesse Martin became the youngest person ever to sail around the world solo. His feat has recently been emulated by coincidentally named compatriot, Jessica Watson who completed the trip three days before her seventeenth birthday. The above quote comes from Jesse Martin's book, Lionheart, which tells the story of his amazing voyage.

When he was in the middle of a fierce storm in which he really believed he might die, Jesse asked God to save him. He later attributed his survival partly to luck, but mostly to the power of the human spirit - no thanks to God. More relevant and powerful to Jesse is the "spirit of adventure which lies in all of us...with faith that we as humans will be able to overcome any hurdles."

Jesse's religion is humanism which is a religion based on pride, and pride is the worst of all sins. Pride caused sin to enter the perfect world God had made. Pride says, 'I don't need God or anyone else, I can do it by myself.' Pride cannot admit fault or weakness. Pride is still destroying lives today, even as you read this.

It's insulting to God to cry out to him in times of trouble, then ignore Him and give yourself the credit when things turn out well.

(see my September 4, 2010 post for more on humanism.)