Posted on 08/19/2008 2:38:07 AM PDT by goldstategop
We are constantly reminded about the destructive consequences of religion -- intolerance, hatred, division, inquisitions, persecutions of "heretics," holy wars. Though far from the whole story, they are, nevertheless, true. There have been many awful consequences of religion.
What one almost never hears described are the deleterious consequences of secularism -- the terrible developments that have accompanied the breakdown of traditional religion and belief in God. For every thousand students who learn about the Spanish Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials, maybe two learn to associate Gulag, Auschwitz, The Cultural Revolution and the Cambodian genocide with secular regimes and ideologies.
For all the problems associated with belief in God, the death of God leads to far more of them.
So, while it is not possible to prove (or disprove) God's existence, what is provable is what happens when people stop believing in God.
1. Without God there is no good and evil; there are only subjective opinions that we then label "good" and "evil." This does not mean that an atheist cannot be a good person. Nor does it mean that all those who believe in God are good; there are good atheists and there are bad believers in God. It simply means that unless there is a moral authority that transcends humans from which emanates an objective right and wrong, "right" and "wrong" no more objectively exist than do "beautiful" and "ugly."
2. Without God, there is no objective meaning to life. We are all merely random creations of natural selection whose existence has no more intrinsic purpose or meaning than that of a pebble equally randomly produced.
3. Life is ultimately a tragic fare if there is no God. We live, we suffer, we die -- some horrifically, many prematurely -- and there is only oblivion afterward.
4. Human beings need instruction manuals. This is as true for acting morally and wisely as it is for properly flying an airplane. One's heart is often no better a guide to what is right and wrong than it is to the right and wrong way to fly an airplane. The post-religious secular world claims to need no manual; the heart and reason are sufficient guides to leading a good life and to making a good world.
5. If there is no God, the kindest and most innocent victims of torture and murder have no better a fate after death than do the most cruel torturers and mass murderers. Only if there is a good God do Mother Teresa and Adolf Hitler have different fates.
6. With the death of Judeo-Christian values in the West, many Westerners believe in little. That is why secular Western Europe has been unwilling and therefore unable to confront evil, whether it was Communism during the Cold War or Islamic totalitarians in its midst today.
7. Without God, people in the West often become less, not more, rational. It was largely the secular, not the religious, who believed in the utterly irrational doctrine of Marxism. It was largely the secular, not the religious, who believed that men's and women's natures are basically the same, that perceived differences between the sexes are all socially induced. Religious people in Judeo-Christian countries largely confine their irrational beliefs to religious beliefs (theology), while the secular, without religion to enable the non-rational to express itself, end up applying their irrational beliefs to society, where such irrationalities do immense harm.
8. If there is no God, the human being has no free will. He is a robot, whose every action is dictated by genes and environment. Only if one posits human creation by a Creator that transcends genes and environment who implanted the ability to transcend genes and environment can humans have free will.
9. If there is no God, humans and "other" animals are of equal value. Only if one posits that humans, not animals, are created in the image of God do humans have any greater intrinsic sanctity than baboons. This explains the movement among the secularized elite to equate humans and animals.
10. Without God, there is little to inspire people to create inspiring art. That is why contemporary art galleries and museums are filled with "art" that celebrates the scatological, the ugly and the shocking. Compare this art to Michelangelo's art in the Sistine chapel. The latter elevates the viewer -- because Michelangelo believed in something higher than himself and higher than all men.
11. Without God nothing is holy. This is definitional. Holiness emanates from a belief in the holy. This explains, for example, the far more widespread acceptance of public cursing in secular society than in religious society. To the religious, there is holy speech and profane speech. In much of secular society the very notion of profane speech is mocked.
12. Without God, humanist hubris is almost inevitable. If there is nothing higher than man, no Supreme Being, man becomes the supreme being.
13. Without God, there are no inalienable human rights. Evolution confers no rights. Molecules confer no rights. Energy has no moral concerns. That is why America's Founders wrote in the Declaration of Independence that we are endowed "by our Creator" with certain inalienable rights. Rights depend upon a moral source, a rights giver.
14. "Without God," Dostoevsky famously wrote, "all is permitted." There has been plenty of evil committed by believers in God, but the widespread cruelties and the sheer number of innocents murdered by secular regimes -- specifically Nazi, Fascist and Communist regimes -- dwarfs the evil done in the name of religion.
As noted at the beginning, none of this proves, or even necessarily argues for, God's existence. It makes the case for the necessity, not the existence, of God. "Which God?" the secularist will ask. The God of Israel, the God of America's founders, "the Holy God who is made holy by justice" (Isaiah), the God of the Ten Commandments, the God who demands love of neighbor, the God who endows all human beings with certain inalienable rights, the God who is cited on the Liberty Bell because he is the author of liberty. That is the God being referred to here, without whom we will be vanquished by those who believe in less noble gods, both secular and divine.
What is the test to determine if someone is a Christian or not?
Is there a membership card or registration process? Do you have to be a member of a church?
If you say you are a Christian, who am I to say you are not? Clearly that would be for God to decide.
Hitler claimed to be a Christian. He claimed a belief in the “Creator”.
I disagree with you. If someone tells me they are a Christian and they act in complete disobedience to Christ and His teachings, I have absolutely no problem with saying that this individual is NOT a Christian; in fact, if this person would be within my social circle, I would be derelict if I did not confront them with their sin. In my church and in my circle of Christian friends, we hold each other accountable. We are not mean about it but when someone claims to know Christ, they should be able to accept constructive criticism if they are actively and deliberately engaging in sinful conduct.
I am not talking about the fact that we ALL sin and we all sin everyday. Obviously, no man is without sin.
As for what God decides, obviously He is the ultimate arbiter of our eternal reward, but Christians have the right to make assessments of those claiming to be among us.
Incidentally, since I can recognize good and say, “that person is a good person,” there is no reason I cannot say, “that person is not a Christian - I see no fruit.”
As my pastor friend always said, “an apple tree produces apples.”
And who knows the name of the creator Hitler believe in? I personally believe he was completely and utterly under the dominion of Satan. Not necessarily possessed, mind you, but of like mind.
Judge not lest ye be judges!
We judge all the time. Everyone does. The difference is we do not judge in the sense that we dispense a sentence.
I think this is one of the most misquoted and misused scriptures in the Bible, besides money being the root of all evil, when it is actually “the love of money.”
If one of your children was hanging around with a drug user, I’d bet you’d judge real quick.
It is God's role to decide who is a “real” Christian and who is not. You put your soul in jeopardy when you judge the righteousness of others. The mote in another's eye and all that. You are also wrong about the eye of the needle. Every dollar that you have above what you need is a black mark on your soul as long as someone in the world has a dollar less than they need.
We judge all the time. Everyone does. The difference is we do not judge in the sense that we dispense a sentence.
I think this is one of the most misquoted and misused scriptures in the Bible, besides the often mis-quoted money being the root of all evil, when it is actually “the love of money.”
If one of your children was hanging around with a drug user, I’d bet you’d judge real quick. We all judge things, people, events, and so on. I don’t equate this in the same manner as “dispensing judgment.” Besides, Christians are not to consider themselves higher than others. That, however, doesn’t mean we “cast our pearls before swine” either.
If I see a person not living his life as a Christian, yet he professes he is a Christian, and I say to myself, “hey that person is not a Christian,” that has nothing to do with my judging the person’s righteousness.
I don’t know what got you off on the needle and money either.
I think you need to start preaching to yourself, you “comfortably backslidden Deacon’s son.” Frankly, I’m not sure why you want to preach while you are admitted in a backslidden state.
As for me putting my soul in jeopardy, you have made a judgment, now haven’t you?
I question your grasp of Christian theology, not whether you are a Christian in God's eyes. The Christian message is straight forward and clear as a bell. It is about self sacrifice and humility.
Judge not, lest ye be judge is straight forward too. You are supposed to take care of your own soul. Another's soul is between him and God. You should pray for that person, witness to that person, show love to that person, but you are not to judge that person. You can not know another person's heart.
I may be "backslidden" on my belief in the supernatural, but I haven't forgotten the theology
You wrote:
I think this is one of the most misquoted and misused scriptures in the Bible, besides money being the root of all evil, when it is actually “the love of money.”
I agree. And that is exactly what I do. I am trying to follow God on a daily basis, and am heartbroken that I do not do a better job than I do. I also agree with what you say about loving another person, praying for him/her and witnessing, but sometimes you must be HONEST and if a professed Christian is not living as such, there is nothing wrong with confronting that person. In fact, a true believer should want to be held accountable and a true brother or sister in Christ would be derelict in their duty not to point out a problem. Jesus did not preach “I’m Okay, You’re Okay.”
Also, as far as you being a back slider, I did not mean to offend you, but knowing theology is meaningless. I am sure Satan is an expert theologian. What good is it?
As for not knowing another person’s heart, let me be clear. My argument has never been about knowing a person’s heart. Absolutely, only God knows and I don’t presume to know. What I can presume is that based upon a person’s repeated actions, I can make a basic assumption whether he is or is not. It does not mean I KNOW, only that, to me, one whose faith has no works has a dead faith. That is scriptural and I didn’t make it up.
I am not surprised that you do not know the difference between fact and opinion.
That is exactly the kind of person Jesus hated -- those who had the form of religion, but lacked the heart. Jesus had mercy on prostitutes and tax collectors, but not on Pharisees.
You are in a fearful place, Soliton. Again, may you discover your need for forgiveness and mercy, and turn to the Lord before it's too late.
I believe you are in error theologically there Theo. Christians do not normally ascribe hatred to the Christ.
Read the Scriptures again. Jesus, like His Father, hates certain things. He spoke redemptively of hell as a warning to those whose thoughts and behaviors he hated.
Yes, Jesus hated — those who had the religious form down pat but whose hearts were far from God were at the top of His list. Recall such sentiments as “white-washed tombs,” “vipers,” “children of Satan” ... and of course the whipping He delivered in the temple....
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