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When I was an atheist, I often struggled with this question:

Why doesn’t God simply reveal Himself, or tell us the true doctrine or beliefs, so that we can all know what is right and what is true? After all, some people in the middle east are fighting wars over religion. Why doesn’t God just come down and tell them whose land is whose, and clear it all up? Why not tell all the Christians which denomination or doctrine is right, and stop all the conflict and segregation?  That is a good question we Christians should consider isn’t it?

That, along with the “why innocent people suffer,” question used to be one of the hardest questions for me to believe in religion. But after having been a Christian for a few years now, I like these deep questions because they force me to think. So let’s consider why God may choose to behave the way He does. Here is a list of reasons that logically and reasonably show us why God may do this.

Why God Doesn’t Just Tell Us the Correct Doctrines and Teachings

1. God Doesn’t Care Because He Controls All Things. From our human perspective, it looks so tragic and terrible when people die due to religious wars or conflicts. That is because we have a sense that they are gone forever (even if we believe in an afterlife). But from an Almighty God’s perspective, there is nothing lost. He can bring them right back in an instant. Just like if you play a video game. If your character dies, just hit the reset button. No need to worry!  God is not bound by time as we are.  So it is certainly reasonable why God may choose to not intercede in every disagreement or event. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter when people die, or how old people are when they die. It will all play out in the end anyway. All earthly deaths are a wash, because God resurrects us all for the final judgment. They are terribly sad and traumatic for us, but not to an eternal God with the power to bring us right back. God feels our pain and is saddened, but He knows the truth: they aren’t gone forever.
2. God Isn’t Concerned with Doctrine, Just Righteousness. Ever read in Revelation how Jesus issues instructions and corrections for the major churches. None of them had it just right. Also, Jesus biggest conflict came with the Pharisees who put heavy weight on doctrine and religious practices, and not on individual righteousness. So people today have different ideas about certain scriptures. So what? Why should God care if some people believe this, or some people believe that? All God really cares about is whether you are a righteous person as defined by him. Why should God care at this point in time if you believe there is a literal hell or not, or if you sprinkle water or do full immersion. Doesn’t he plan on letting you know in due time? God will surely set us all straight on any doctrine we may be wrong on. In fact, we will get to dwell with God, so we will never have disagreements again at some point in time. Ahh, I can’t wait. But seriously, if you were a leader of a great company, would you care if your millions of employees sometimes had a different idea or thought? No, I doubt it.
3. Do You Set Everyone Straight That Has the Wrong Idea About You? So some people have differing ideas about God, so what? Why should God care? I’ll bet people have different beliefs about you, and me. Do you think I care when people read an article, and form some opinion about me that maybe isn’t true? Do you think I waste my time going around correcting everyone who may have a wrong idea about me or my personality? No. I don’t. Imagine if the president spent all of his time trying to clear up incorrect beliefs about him. It is just nonsense to waste time doing that. Why should God waste time doing that, when He will judge us all in the end based on His standards anyway? Why should the creator of life feel as if he must defend himself to his weak and sinful creation? He doesn’t. I know I wouldn’t. I can’t blame God at all for behaving the way He does. It makes perfect sense.
4. God Has Revealed the True Doctrine, It is Man Messing It Up.  Another point I would like to make is that God has reasonably answered the most important questions we have. He has revealed doctrine in a clear enough way.It is man that wants to make a big deal about it and form legalistic doctrine on issues that probably aren’t a big deal at all. It is mankind’s quest for power and greed that they often try to establish new religions and new doctrines bases on scrupulous scriptures. Again, the pharisees did this all the time. It isn’t God’s fault that man behave this way.  The problem is not God’s scriptures, but rather, man’s interpretations and desire to manipulate it for his or her own agenda. Look at the constitution or IRS tax code, and you will realize people do the same thing with those documents. People view things in a very subjective way. That leads to lots of different views and opinions. People also try to twist things to suit their own idealistic goals.From God’s perspective, He has revealed all He wants to reveal in a way that is satisfying and complete to Him. We should follow what God has clearly commanded us, and we shouldn’t be dogmatic about doctrines or scriptures that are somewhat ambiguous.
5. Religion Isn’t the Only Reason for Wars. I think people often mistakenly equate religion with war. That isn’t the case at all. Religion accounts for actually very few wars throughout history. Most wars are based on power, land, and greed. If religion didn’t exist, people would still try to gain power, money, land, and control. That is a fact. So why should God try to clear up doctrine, when man will likely behave in the same way anyway?
6. God Has Cleared Everything Up, Be Patient.  Being outside of time, God can see past, present, and future in the human perspective. He has already revealed in His word that he will end all chaos at a future time, and dwell with mankind. So to God, it has already been taken care of. During this time, all things will be made new, and there will be no more fighting, no more war, and no more tears. God has promised this to us in His Holy Word. And you can take that to the bank folks…

Conclusion: God Is Righteous, and We Should Trust in Him

Sometimes we have difficult and deep questions that we wish God could answer. Some people even allow these tough questions to affect their faith, and sadly, some even lose their faith because of these unanswered questions.

But when we really dig deep and try to reason with these questions, we can see that God operates in a very reasonable manner. We can then see it from God’s perspective, not our human perspective. God has His own way of doing things, and we must be content with that. We may not always understand why God does (or doesn’t) do certain things, but we should always hold tight to His word.

Just like a good old friend that you can trust–God is always there for us. We may not understand His ways. We may complain about His methods. But in the end, we should trust God with all of our hearts, minds, and souls. Amen.

Posted under God, bible questions, suffering

One thing I find funny is that atheists I talk to often like to vigorously deny that atheism is a religion. They usually say that atheism is not a religion, and that they get annoyed when us “idiot” (brilliant) Christians call atheism a religion. They insist they are not religious at all, and atheism should not be classified as a religion.

But is this the truth, or once again are atheists just trying to avoid the truth? What is the truth? Is atheism a religion? Let us look and see….

Is Atheism a Religion? Are Atheists Religious and Do They Fit the Definition of Religion?

To answer this, let us first look at the popular definitions for the word “religion.” Here are a few definitions of religion on the web:

1. An organized set of beliefs about a deity or deities.
2.  the service and worship of God or the supernatural
3. commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
4. a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
5. archaic : scrupulous conformity : conscientiousness
6. a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith
7. A particular system of faith and worship.
8. Devotion to some principle; a strict fidelity or faithfulness; conscientiousness; pious affection or attachment.
9. strict faithfulness; devotion: a religion to one’s vow

These are the most popular and common uses of the word “religion” in the English language. Those are pretty clear-cut. So let us now compare common atheists beliefs and practices (as we can easily gather from their websites, public speeches, books, etc.), and decide on whether atheists are religious or not.

As I think you will quickly realize, most atheists are indeed VERY religious. In fact, atheists are some of the most religious people I know.

Atheist Religious Comparison: Are They Religious or Not?

First, do atheists share a set belief about God or a deity (or deities)? The answer, of course, is YES. They do have a belief about god/gods. They belief God is a myth, and that gods don’t exist. So they in fact have a set belief about gods. Therefore, they are religious in this sense of the word.

Second, do atheists worship of God or supernatural? Do they worship anything? That depends on how you define worship. If you mean having a “strong devotion to,” then yes, atheists worship their beliefs in naturalism. They worship evolutionary theory strongly. They worship their belief in naturalism. In fact, let us really show how much atheism parallels almost any major world religion with the below comparison:

• Atheists have a belief about God or Gods (They believe they don’t exist). So do other religions.
• Atheists have a creation story that they all generally believe (it is called abiogenesis, the big bang, and evolution). Every religion has a creation account.
• Atheists have faith in their beliefs (they don’t know if we evolved from non-life, they just believe this and have faith this is how it happened). Faith is a component of every religion. We can’t know everything in life, so faith is required to fill those gaps in knowledge.
• Atheists have organizations and groups. They meet on websites, message boards, speaking events, and so forth. Same as other religions.
• Atheists raise and donate money collectively, and do so often with intent of spreading their belief system. Sound familiar?
• Atheists have a bible (called the Origin of Species). So do other religions.
• Atheists have famous spiritual leaders, writers, and preachers (Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, etc. etc.). Every religion has these people.
• Atheists have thousands of evangelists (they run blogs and websites, they get on forums, they write books, they do speaking events, debates, etc.). So do other famous religions.
• Atheists have modified their behavior to match their world-view. Just as a new Christian may modify their lifestyle once they come to Christ (aka being born again), an atheist may  modify their lifestyle once they reject God or become firm in their beliefs that God doesn’t exist. (example: an atheist may start preaching atheism, or they may stop observing Christian holidays, etc.).
• Atheists have a belief of what happens after death. Of course, no one knows what happens after death. Atheists generally believe you die, your atoms are recycled and your knowledge and personality cease to exist, and that’s that. All religions have some belief about what happens after death (since death is one of the big questions religion attempts to answer).
• Atheists try to change laws. I always find it funny how atheists bark at Christians for trying to change laws or get religiously favored laws passed. While atheists do the same thing without realizing it. Atheists try to influence politics with their world views just as much, if not more, than Christians. So religious people try to change and influence laws….enough said.
• Atheists reject prayer in school, but yet want to make sure your kids get dowsed with the unprovable atheistic theory of macro evolution. How hypocritical, huh? So once again we see atheists wanting to collectively spread their beliefs in the school systems.

Isn’t it abundantly clear at this point that atheism is absolutely a religion in almost every sense of the word?? This matches up perfectly to everything we know about religion and religious practices. So when an atheist approaches you to try and “convert” you, just remember that they are no different than any other false religlion trying to get more converts.

Can Religion Be Escaped? Every Person That Can Reason is Religious

I guarantee you that every single human being alive right now that has the ability to think and reason has a religion. When I say “religion,” I am speaking about the common use of the term. Because every person will develop a belief about God (what God is like, if god or gods exist, etc.).

Every single person will develop a set of principles to live by based on their beliefs. Example, a Christian will try to follow the bible, an atheist may have their own moral code (and may try to follow societies moral code), etc.

Unfortunately, religion is inescapable. It is a fact of life, and something we all will have. Even the poor agnostic who isn’t sure about religion or god is religious. Because they have decided that it isn’t important to make a decision, thus, they are making a decision in doing that by default. Therefore, their religious belief is simply: it isn’t important, and I will arrange my own beliefs based on experience and preference.

Atheists are clearly VERY religious, and follow a religion. Many atheists are very strong in their beliefs, so much so, that they are closed minded to even the hint of a god existing.

If We All Have a Religion, Shouldn’t We Make Sure We Are In the Correct Religion?

It is quite clear that we will all form a religious belief in our lives. So if we are going to pick a religion (atheists included), shouldn’t we choose the right one? And shouldn’t our religions offer us something?

So if we have to be religious, we have to have faith, and so forth, why not put your faith in the most believable God in history (the God of the bible)? Why not have faith in a religion that is scientifically compatible, with historical evidence, eyewitness accounts, is logically sound, and reasonably true?

Why not choose a religion that offers to make you a better moral person by following it, that offers forgiveness for your moral flaws (and we all have them), that offers you eternity of life of happiness, peace, and prosperity (and we all know something out there is eternal)? Why not choose a religion that can change the world, change you, and all of this? Why not choose a religion that not only teaches those things, but actually exists in reality, and will all come to pass as truth?

Christianity is the ONLY religion that fits this bill. I certainly would have never changed from a former atheist to a current Christian if there was any truth to atheists claims. God is the Truth. God is the light in this dark world.

Christianity has made me a better person. Even though I still sometimes fall short of the glory of God, I know in my  heart that I am a changed man. That I have improved my bad habits for the better, and as a result, God’s word has helped change my life in an amazing way. I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.

So if you have to choose a religion, choose one that makes sense. Choose Christianity. You won’t be sorry. I promise. You can’t escape religion, and you HAVE to decide on one to follow throughout your life. If you don’t choose, you choose by default. So choose God. Follow Christ.

Posted under comparative religions