Since we are talking about pigeon holing people into different stereotypes, I thought this might be an interesting read. I will highlight the important parts as a lot of it deals with Ted Dekker's upcoming works.
And it is not just words like Evangelical and Gay, but words like Liberal and Conservative. To use one against a person of opposite thought processes is tantamount to an insult or idealogical slur. Atheism means to a lot of people that they are heathens and have no morals whatsoever. What are your thoughts?
Very cool article. It was interesting what he said. I don't really consider myself evangelical, or even a Christian. Christian means "little Christ," and Lord knows I'm nowhere close to that. I still indicate "Christian" on relevant forms, but I am a follower of Christ. Containing what the born-again are into one word is like trying to contain Christ into a few words, and not even the Bible could do that. This is why I'm not a fan of bumper stickers or labels for Christians.
About Atheism, my intellectual crisis has forced me to steer clear of some atheist stuff, but go toward others. From what I see, they come in many forms. Atheists, for the most part, are worshipers of reason and science, rather than the supernatural. If anything, they believe in morals as well, but not for any reason other than "doing good for goodness sake." Of course, these morals come mostly from the Christians, but that's another issue.
Many atheists I know were not brought there by some intellectual revelation, but a heart decision. It is after that that they gain all of the knowledge that essentially proves God as false. To them this is a comfort, and people like Richard Dawkins and Bill Mahar would say that religion only makes things worse. In a way they're right, but there is a part of me that shudders to think of what the world would have been like if Christianity had never came.
Atheists are smart, which was a a fact that was at the heart of my spiritual crisis. I love to learn and I love to take things apart and see how they work. However, I also love God, and there are people telling me left and right that the two are incompatible. Every time I consider the possibility that He isn't real, my heart sinks and my future becomes bleak. The fact is that reason has never made anyone fulfilled or happy. Just look at scientists working for years to figure one little thing out, and once they do, they move on to the next thing.
I believe in science, but I also believe in God. Not just any God, but the God of the Bible. God has done some amazing things in my life that are impossible to brush off. The Bible is not just a single literary document, but a book that was written by dozens of authors and still manages to tell a single narrative. That being said, I can see why atheists believe what they believe. It's not hard to find reasons God doesn't exist, but it's also mot hard to find reasons why He does. I've read enough apologetic to know that there are reasons. It is just more difficult. That's where the Holy Spirit comes in.
So, in short, I do believe atheism is a religion. They worship something, they just don't worship a god. Also, they are legit, they have just been blinded. However, I have seen examples of atheists coming to faith, not through arguments, but through God working in them.
