Far from being upset or offended, when I read this graphic (helpfully posted in an Internet atheist community), I immediately thought of some people I’ve met since 2002, when I decided to follow Jesus of Nazareth.
Those people exactly fit what this atheist declared. And it saddens me.
But notice I wrote “some”. And as the ancient teeny bopper singers The Osmonds sang more than 40 years ago, “one bad apple don’t spoil the whole bunch.”
In other words, to base one’s opinion on an entire faith based on the few people you’ve met is simply ludicrous and utterly without credibility. It would be like me reading news reports, then declaring that all Muslims are violent maniacs. See what I mean?
It’s important to keep this in mind: even if a person is raised by Jesus-following parents to have blind faith, that hardly means that person is simply going to go along with what they’ve been taught.
Consider my story: raised in a nominally spiritual home, my brothers and I were given the freedom (in our mid-teens) to decide for ourselves whether we would continue attending church. All of us promptly stopped and so did our parents.
Eventually, many years later and after much consideration and thought, I decided for myself to follow Jesus (who many people believe is the Son of God). To this day, I’m the only Jesus follower in my biological family.
There are many more stories just like mine and many more that aren’t. Every story is unique, no matter what any critic of Jesus followers might declare.
Ponder these words of Ross Carkner, a wise pastor friend:
My life resembles much more a journey of discovery than it does a state of being. I am discovering who Jesus is for me in the life I live today – not my parents’ yesterday.
Like learning how to skate, it is not easy – it takes persistence and sometimes can be painful. My faith is a process of learning what the Bible says, seeking to put it into practice and appreciating what I encounter through it all.
The more I do all this, the more I can see that everyone puts their faith in something or someone. I have found a lot of personal satisfaction in putting my faith in Jesus.
So what do you want to put your faith into? A high-paying job with lots of cruise ship vacations? A trophy partner to look good at social events? Some kind of vague, superficial “just live a good life” philosophy?
Pick any of them and you’ll get the approval of our culture. Pick Jesus and you’ll get a whole lot more. You’ll get:
- Strength to deal with life’s inevitable trials
- A community that’s concerned about something much deeper than wine tasting or extreme sports
- Moral clarity that so often seems lacking in our culture
- An extraordinary ability to see every human being on this planet as being loved and cherished by God
- A real, substantial hope – based on the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus – for something glorious and eternal when this life ends.
Sound interesting? Then post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation.
Frank's Cottage 
Very well said! I too consider it a journey of new discoveries every day and oh what we get in return. Priceless I’d say.
Reblogged this on Freedom Through Empowerment and commented:
A good Saturday read.
I have a few questions:
“An extraordinary ability to see every human being on this planet as being loved and cherished by God”
Why is it that most Christians I’ve met seem so angry with anyone who doesn’t believe as they do?
“Moral clarity that so often seems lacking in our culture”
Without arguing the validity of this statement, if such a ‘moral clarity‘ exists among Christians, what do you suppose the source might be? The Bible?
If we get our morality from a god, why is it that our moral intuitions are so radically different from his? Why do we agree that women are entitled to equal rights and opportunities and yet this god views them as property, as a commodity to be traded, bought and sold? Why do we agree that genocide is wrong while he not only permits it, but encourages it, even urges it? Why do we agree that slavery is wrong and yet he not only permits it but even provides rules governing the institution? Why do we agree on the value of religious freedom and yet he dictates slaughter for anyone who would dare worship another god than he?
Way, WAY too many questions to answer in one reply. I haven’t met Christians who are “angry” at non-believers. Many of our moral intuitions are absolutely in line with God’s. But there are also many that aren’t and those are usually due to selfishness, greed, laziness etc. Such as disposable marriages and (in my country), unfettered abortions.
May I ask why you consider living a good life superficial?
Bill Gates lives a good life and has improved the lives of millions. You are quite likely using one of his products ( or an Apple)
He appears to be a good husband, father, philanthropist and donates billions.
How is that not a good life?
Who defines what is “good”? And how good is good enough?
Well, are you referring to good health, good wine, good music or good ethics and morality?
Do we really have to redefine “good” everytime we use the term? Is good really that subjective? Masochists, I have heard, enjoy pain, but the majority of us would not define pain as good.
Unfortunately, we must define ‘good’ every time we use it because as far as I can tell from observing our culture, the term absolutely IS subjective.
It strikes me that that will make for some extremely stilted conversation if everytime someone uses the word, good, someone has to ask in what context the word was used.
So be it. Sadly, that’s how our world is now. 😦
Is it? What a jaded perspective —
You seem to be one of those, “glass completely empty” kinds of people.
I’m not going to walk around as a white, well-off North American and think the world is just dandy when it absolutely isn’t. That would be horribly delusional.
Of course not – it never has been and it never will be – life is a struggle against entropy, and the only way to counteract it is to continually work to make it better. Belief in some primitive desert religion isn’t going to change that.
I want nothing to do with any “primitive desert religion.”
Then in which god do you claim belief?
I claim belief in the creator and master of time, space and the universe – and the gift of His son.
Ah, so the Judeo/Christian desert religion in which Yahweh is the central character, despite the fact that he was a minor character in the Canaanite pantheon of gods until adopted by the nomadic tribe of Semitic Bedouins known as the Midianites (Kennites), who shared him with the Israelites at some point around 1200 BCE.
Just wanted to be clear as to which of the more than 4000 gods created by man, you were referring.
And there you have it: A Grand Canyonesque gap between us that’s certainly not going to be breached no matter how hard I try. This saddens me deeply. Goodbye. 😦
I’m glad you’ve put a lot of thought into your beliefs. I wish more people did this, both atheists and theists.
“So what do you want to put your faith into? A high-paying job with lots of cruise ship vacations? A trophy wife (or husband) to look good at social events? Some kind of vague, superficial ‘just live a good life’ philosophy?”
I’m not sure what you mean by ‘faith’ here. Is this like that declaration by some Christians that if you’re not worshipping their god, then you’re worshipping money, or sex, or something?
We ALL worship something, whether we realize it or not. My point is do you want to worship something that’s ultimately meaningless and temporary – or something that will last for all eternity?
Ah, so it is that claim.
I disagree. I don’t think everyone worships something, and I don’t understand why this claim is even made.
Go ahead and disagree. Doesn’t bother me a bit — and it doesn’t change the fact. 🙂
“We ALL worship something, whether we realize it or not.”
I disagree.
Einstein was once reputed to have said, “I’ve found only two things to be eternal – the universe, and human stupidity, and I’m not entirely sure about the universe.“
Isn’t it nice that Einstein said that? How wonderful for him and his *opinion*.
Saying it’s a fact doesn’t make it a fact, either.
So we’re at a standoff. And that saddens me. Goodbye. 😦
Agreed, can’t one have faith in humankind, in the unconditional love of a child, in many, many non-religious things?
Uh, I’m not interested in having faith in any kind of “religion”. No thank you.
Then to what is it you refer when you speak of worshiping “something that will last for all eternity?“
I’m referring to an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ, whom serious Christians believe is God’s Son.
Maybe that’s “religion” to some people. It sure isn’t to me.
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
.worship
ˈwəːʃɪp/Submit
the feeling or expression of reverence and adoration for a deity.
“worship of the Mother Goddess”
synonyms: reverence, revering, worshipping, veneration, venerating, adoration, adoring, -olatry, devotion, praise, thanksgiving, praising, praying to, glorification, glorifying, glory, exaltation, exalting, extolment, extolling, homage, respect, honour, honouring, esteem; More
How does this fit with atheism, please, Frank?
It doesn’t. So you’re not an atheist?
Of course I am an atheist. But you said everyone worships something, correct?
I disagree.
And the dictionary definition says I am correct on this: atheists do not worship a deity.
If people who dislike Christianity want to pretend they don’t get what I’m writing about, that’s fine. But I firmly believe you’re not that dumb.
No, I am most certainly not dumb and I don’t think you are either. However you keep stating faith AND evidence ( I have your links and I shall pop over to read them in a minute)
My point is this:
I have never ever not once encountered a Christian who became a Christian based upon verifiable evidence. Not a single individual.
So when you tell me it was faith AND evidence my curiosity is piqued.
But so far you have offered nothing and every so-called claim has been refuted.
Therefore I am always left wondering, what the heck evidence is Frank talking about?
Can you at least appreciate where I am coming from now?
Look around the Internet and you’ll find all kinds of examples of people who’ve come to Christ because of evidence. Case in point: Lee Stobel.
Strobel’s conversion was not based upon evidence, even though he claimed it was. For goodness’ sake, Frank, have you read his story of his conversion?
Please tell me you don’t buy his twaddle? He is little more than a charlatan and he makes a lot of money doing just this.
Yes, I’ve read his story. And of course you’re going to discount it. For goodness sake, don’t you realize that as long as you guzzle atheist koolaid, you’re NEVER going to see or understand faith?
Please, please, be open-minded enough to consider the claims of Christianity. I believe your life now and for all eternity will be affected by decisions you make RIGHT NOW.
But you said it was evidence, not faith. What evidence, Frank. WHAT. EVIDENCE?
PLEASE READ THE BLOGS!!
I read your blog posts and you have provided no verifiable evidence, whatsoever.
Not a single piece.
Yet you claim you were convinced by faith and evidence so please, for goodness’ sake, what was the evidence that convinced you?
I’ve explained myself thoroughly. It saddens me tremendously that we can’t seem to find any common ground. So unfortunately, this conversation is finished. Goodbye.
Speaking of ‘blind faith’ frank……….reminds me of the fella who was born blind, and who received sight, only to be harassed as well as his parents, as if he was a liar.
It is both sad and amusing that the account reveals the darkness of the unbelieving human heart, so much so, that when pressed about their son, the parents said ‘he is of age, ask him yourself how he was given sight.’
And the blind one? He said, ‘I don’t know how he did this……..but I can tell you, I was blind, now I see.’
Ah yes, whether it be the calming of the raging seas by a mere word, the raising of Lazarus, the opening of the ear of the deaf, the raising of Jairus daughter, the paying of tax by a coin in a fish, whatever it was, the scriptures point to a verifiable, reliable, and consistent account of One worthy.
Oh yeah, there is also ‘in three days I will rise again………..’ more words from a man whose word already proved altogether perfect. Yep, only one was able and supremely qualified to remove the strength of sin and the sting of death.
So yep, nothing blind here as far as evidence.
You know, CS, I am consistently surprised that you insist on calling the man, “Jesus” – the Greek translation of his actual Hebrew name, “Yeshua”. Are you trying to somehow make him less Jewish?
I am constantly surprised that this would matter to an atheist. Yeshua and Jesus are the same thing; a name translation has NO effect on Christ’s Jewishness. So what’s your point?
Because I’m trying to understand you. So why is it none of you ever call him Yeshua?
I’m happy to call him Yeshua. But again, you’re zeroing in on minutiae that doesn’t matter. And that puzzles me.
While you may be happy to do so, I don’t see that you do. In fact, the majority of Christians I know only refer to him as Jesus. You see, people have “tells” – traits and tendencies that reveal things, generally unexpectedly. When someone consistently calls another by a translation of his name, rather than his actual name, that would imply an aversion to using his real name for some reason known only to them.
Minutiae? I think not, it could be quite important in my effort to understand Christians, even ones who say they have no religion.
Yes, it’s ABSOLUTELY minutiae, designed to deflect from the important stuff: Christ’s life, teachings, sacrificial death and resurrection. That’s the important stuff and it grieves me deeply that you don’t appear interested in that. 😦
But we know nothing of those things except that which was written by anonymous authors in the last decades of the first century, who never met the man and had no idea what he did or did not say or do, except for hearsay information 40-years old, at the earliest.
And so now you’re changing the subject? Sorry, but I simply can’t consider atheists to be Bible experts. So, unfortunately, this conversation is finished. Goodbye.
Awesome observation Frank @ 8.59.
Especially WHY it would matter………….
Take note all ye readers and commenters of this thread. You were just handed a valuable gift by way of a revelation of yourself.. Why then do you persist in straining at the gnat, and swallowing the hippo…………….unless you know………..scripture is true……..there is no other explanation.
And again, Frank, great comments in silencing the foaming gripes, especially this last one!
Actually, CS, there are many other explanations, but the fact that you can’t see them tells me a lot about you – but nothing, however, that in the year+ that I’ve known you, I hadn’t already discerned.
Sadly, the fact that you won’t let this minutiae go tells me a lot about you. Please, PLEASE let go of what doesn’t matter and consider what does: your life here and your life for all eternity. That life matters to God and it matters to me.
Good article. On target