Posted on 05/02/2015 7:59:49 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
When I tell my socially progressive, atheist friends that Im culturally Christian, theyre momentarily concerned that I have a latent preoccupation with guns and the Pledge of Allegiance. Using the term with devout believers gets me instructions that I just need to read more sophisticated theology to come around.
Ive tried hard to accept my fully secular identity, and at other times Ive tried to read myself into theistic belief, going all the way through divinity school as part of the effort. Still, I remain unable to will myself into any belief in God or gods but also unable to abandon my relationship to the Episcopalian faith into which I was born and to the ancient stories from which it came.
And though I am without a god, I am not alone.
The group of nonbelievers dubbed Nones in the media because they dont mark religious affiliation on demographic surveys grew from 15 percent of the U.S. population to 20 percent between 2007 and 2012; almost a third of them are under 30. These are the people who identify with ambivalent, ambiguous statements like Im spiritual, but not religious; Im kind of agnostic; Now Im an atheist, but I grew up Catholic; or I believe in something, but I dont know if its God. There are those of us, too, who still feel a profound connection to the Christianity we grew up with but who can no longer or never could connect those feelings to theistic belief. Some miss the ritual of singing in unison or wishing peace to their neighbors in a pew. Others miss feeling grounded in a community where they can celebrate lifes milestones and heartbreaks. Some find secular life lacking in sufficient ethical frameworks and systems of accountability to reinforce them.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Start by building a church that has free wifi, serves Starbucks in the basement, and performs “praise music” via rock band.
I wish Christians would reach out and inspire them to become Christians. Protestants, fearing Catholic domination and all that would entail, created the public education system for the purpose of indoctrination. Look where that’s gotten us when it was coopted by Marxists.
Note that these young people are being taught by second or third generation Marxist teachers wholly untether from the truth, history or previous generations who knew the truth and the real history.
It’s an opportunity to evangelize. Why aren’t they religious?
Absolutely correct and you can toss the utterly illogical atheists in there too.
I once attended a funeral at a Universalist Unitarian Church. At one point they invited audience members up to share a testimony. I went and mentioned the truth of the Resurrection and Jesus Christ’s role in it and that because of his sacrifice we’d all see the deceased again.
I didn’t realize it prior, but they don’t believe any of that stuff. They looked at me with stunned horror. Like I was a crazy person or something. It was a bit cold at the reception afterward. ;-]
-— It was a bit cold at the reception afterward. ;-] -—
That’s funny.
I’ve always considered the UUs a silly, humanist society, but I heard a testimony from a former atheist who passed through a UU stage before becoming a Christian, so I guess there is some good in it for some people, even if they do hold funerals for trees every once in a while.
What do you call a JW crossed with a UU?
Someone who knocks on your door for no apparent reason.
I went tp a UU in Boston for a bit (only cuz it was a block from my house) and only after I stopped going did find out about their pantheist ways. I couId not believe it.I ran into some former UUs who had become devout Christians and related this story and then they asked where did go to the UU? I said Boston, they said that’s probably the only place in UU land where they even attempt to be Christ-like.
Atheists often tend to try to manifest a superior intellectual persona. How on earth they expect to do this when their entire focus in a "proving a negative", let alone "proving an infinite negative".
Absurd and pitiable.
"...I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will..."
Acts 26:14 NLT
Don`t worry about it, there will be a place for both believers and non believers.
The veiled threat of hell is disappointing.
...
Jesus did say that those who are not against us are for us. I’d rather have people identify in some way with Christianity than not at all.
The veiled threat of hell is disappointing.
Jesus did say that those who are not against us are for us. Id rather have people identify in some way with Christianity than not at all.
It was not a veiled threat, it is what Jesus said in several places.
Read my post 46 and you can see what I was referring to.
Jesus did say that those who are not against us are for us>>>>>>>>
Yes, Jesus was talking about people who had obviously heard of him, they were not counted as unbelievers but maybe un knowledgeable.
The Catholics could say we need to prevent those protestants from preaching the gospel because they are not following us.
Jesus might simply say if they are not against us they are for us.
If some one is destined to be saved they will become believers.
Jesus told his apostles to preach the gospel to all nations he did not tell them to go argue with unbelievers.
Many unbelievers know the Bible better than most believers so what scripture are we going to point out to them?
I am not 100 percent sure that I am saved so I am just saying ( let it fall where it may. )
>>And are there cultural muslims?
Yes. They are those “moderates” we keep hearing about but rarely hear anything from. Like cultural Christians, they are embarrassed by the faithful believers in their respective religions. Unlike cultural Christians, the cultural Muslim actually has good reason to fear the faithful of their religion if they speak out against it.
>>Its an opportunity to evangelize. Why arent they religious?
Because they don’t believe. They were born into a nominally Christian household and nominally Christian society, so they choose Christianity as a default, but they really don’t believe in it past the superficial childrens’ sunday school level.
My brother is one of them. When I try to evangelize, he explains that he is already a Christian and doesn’t understand why I don’t agree. I ask him if he can honestly agree with the entire Apostle’s Creed and he changes the subject or just dismisses it with with a broad, “Yeah, I guess so.” If I try to go point by point, he gets uncomfortable and agitated.
But, he claims to be “spiritual but not religious”.
Just can’t let go of the world...
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