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All the attacks on Christianity I’ve seen on these forums boil down to ridicule: This doctrine or that doctrine is impossible for an intelligent, rational person to believe. The God of the OT is a moral monster unworthy of belief and worship. People don’t perform miracles or rise from the dead. The Bible is riddled with inconsistencies and contradictions. The whole package simply makes no logical sense. You’d have to be delusional to believe it.
These attacks are fundamentally misguided. They reflect a misunderstanding of the nature of Christian belief.
Christian belief isn’t the end result of an analytical process, such as we might follow in deciding which economic system is best or which car to buy. Belief or nonbelief in a supreme intelligence may be approached analytically, and even atheists such as Laurence Krauss acknowledge that deism has explanatory power and certainly isn’t irrational. But mere analytical reasoning will never get you to genuine Christian belief.
Christians believe that God calls those whom he saves. We may spread the gospel, but if someone responds positively this will be the result of the work of the Holy Spirit on that person’s heart. As in my own case, the positive response is often astonishing to the new believer, completely contrary to what he or she believed up to that point. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, the gospel message resonates at a level that transcends intellect or emotion.
The Bible makes clear in many places that the gospel will seem to be foolishness to those whose hearts have not been prepared by the Holy Spirit:
“The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 2:14.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18.
“For since in the wisdom of God, the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.” 1 Corinthians 21-24.
Jesus understood that only those with ears to hear would respond positively to his message. When asked by his disciples why he taught only in parables, he responded: “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘Though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’” Luke 8:10.
We Christians didn’t become Christians because we found it intellectually convincing (even if we actually do find it intellectually convincing). We haven’t been “reasoned into” Christianity (even if we actually do find it reasonable). We’ve been called into Christianity by the Holy Spirit. We know God through the indwelling of the Spirit and the daily experience of him in our lives.
We accept that much of Christianity is counterintuitive. We accept that there are seeming incongruities and unfathomable mysteries. We accept that a logically flawless connect-the-dots theology is impossible. None of this makes any difference, however, because we’ve been called by God and sealed by his Spirit. We know the Truth in a way that nonbelievers simply don’t. This reality overshadows the “foolishness” on which atheists love to focus. Because we know God, we trust that all the “foolishness” will be resolved in a manner worthy of the God we worship when we’re in his eternal kingdom.
The fact that nonbelievers will find the gospel to be “foolishness” is clearly anticipated in the Bible and well-understood by Christians. It’s water off a duck’s back to us. It’s “foolishness” to them for one reason only: they are lost souls. They haven't been called, at least not yet. The Holy Spirt hasn’t prepared their hearts, at least not yet.
An interesting and debated question is whether God calls everyone or only a predestined elect. Is it possible that some people really are “vessels of His wrath, prepared for destruction” (Romans 9:22) and will never respond positively no matter how many times they hear the gospel? As much as I’d like to believe otherwise (i.e., that God does call everyone), the Bible and my own experience convince me that God calls only a predestined elect, that the ability to believe is a gift from God, and that many who lodge the sorts of attacks we see on these forums will remain lost. As with all the other “foolishness,” I trust that what may now seem unfair from my human perspective (although it didn't from Paul's or Calvin's) will ultimately be seen to be worthy of the God I know.
Shorter: "Because Christianity is incoherent jibberish*, we necessarily make a virtue out of believing in it for no good reason."
* - It's not just Christianity, of course; the fantastic claims of religion are invariably baseless.
All the attacks on Christianity I’ve seen on these forums boil down to ridicule: .
Are they ridicule, or are they a valid criticism?
It seems to me that ridicule is simply mockery, whereas what most atheist posters on this forum do is critique theist claims using evidence and logic. You seem to be stating that Christians should ignore this rational analysis, and you are attempting to do this by ridiculing the secular process.
The fact that nonbelievers will find the gospel to be “foolishness” is clearly anticipated in the Bible and well-understood by Christians. It’s water off a duck’s back to us.
...and yet you (particularly you) and your religious brethren constantly gripe about not having your beliefs in ancient mythology treated with respect.
I'm not Christian, because there are some things I don't believe in anymore in the Nicene Creed.
But, I agree with Nerball...something in your heart stirs (a calling or drawing) or it doesn't.
I sure didn't 'make' myself believe what I do....I can sense that
I was lead to be exactly how I am.
(Not by the ego that leads me to have a second piece of chocolate cake...
there IS a difference! Ego vs Holy Spirit....both unseen, but felt.)
Most of these so-called atheists are ill equipped to live in an all atheist world. They don't understand that atheism eliminates accountability.
An all atheist world entitles people to do whatever they want as long as there is nobody to stop them. In this world, there is no guilt and no remorse. This is atheism in a nut shell. You need no discipline to be an atheist.
People are like lemmings though. Very easy to manipulate. People who work in the financial industry are often exposed to these types of individuals. In the money game, there are no survivors. You play to win at any cost.
This is perhaps the new game? Get everyone to stop believing in God, so when they are homeless because technology has made their labor category obsolete, nobody has to feel sorry for them.
Most of these so-called atheists are ill equipped to live in an all atheist world. They don't understand that atheism eliminates accountability.
An all atheist world entitles people to do whatever they want as long as there is nobody to stop them. In this world, there is no guilt and no remorse. This is atheism in a nut shell. You need no discipline to be an atheist.
People are like lemmings though. Very easy to manipulate. People who work in the financial industry are often exposed to these types of individuals. In the money game, there are no survivors. You play to win at any cost.
This is perhaps the new game? Get everyone to stop believing in God, so when they are homeless because technology has made their labor category obsolete, nobody has to feel sorry for them.
Most of these so-called atheists are ill equipped to live in an all atheist world. They don't understand that atheism eliminates accountability.
An all atheist world entitles people to do whatever they want as long as there is nobody to stop them. In this world, there is no guilt and no remorse. This is atheism in a nut shell. You need no discipline to be an atheist.
People are like lemmings though. Very easy to manipulate. People who work in the financial industry are often exposed to these types of individuals. In the money game, there are no survivors. You play to win at any cost.
This is perhaps the new game? Get everyone to stop believing in God, so when they are homeless because technology has made their labor category obsolete, nobody has to feel sorry for them.
Game set, match. Atheists are so smart though.
Just because you are free to make up garbage doesn't mean anyone needs to believe it. What accountability does a Christian take when they feel so free, like yourself, t9 ignore the commandment against false testimony ? 8 have seen it way too 9ften on these forums, Christians lying about what an atheist believes or doesn't believe and making up crap in regards to morals.
If your all powerful God and his son Jesus needs you to lie for him just how powerful can he be.
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