Question For Atheists

I haven't written much on this blog about Atheism but I had this article rattling around in my mind and I decided to write it out. There is a long standing myth that Christians are Anti-Science, and with the persecution of scientists in the Middle Ages over the whether or not Earth was spherical or flat, fools who complain that science ruins the mystery of the world, and some unfortunate backwoods folk who think going to the hospital is evil, it's no small wonder why. But I consider myself a thinking man's Christians and for part of this article I'd like to table my Christianity for a moment and speak as a Theist. As a Theist, I have a very important question to ask my Atheist friends. Are we talking past each other?

Interesting...

)

Philosophy, Ideology, Religion & Knowing The Difference

Once again, this is an article that's been rattling around in the ol'computer for awhile and I finally managed to take sometime outta my day to down and actually outline this puppy, write it out and post it for your consumption. The origins of this articles dates back to a few years ago when I made the argument that Scientology IS NOT a religion. I understand that in some countries (aside from Germany, well done) consider Scientology a religion but I took immediate issue with this because "religion", the very definition of the word carries with several things that Scientology does not have. Also many Scientologists claim that Scientology is compatible with all religions. THIS IS FALSE! But we're not here to talk about Scientology, exactly, we're here to discuss religion, philosophy and ideologies and knowing the difference between them. So let's dive in!

The Plight Of A Black American Christian

This article after my previous article has been a LONG time coming, and because of that I feel like this article is going to be very long, very wordy and very emotion driven, which is unfortunate because I try {keyword being: TRY} to be as objective as I possibly can be when dealing with topics that infuriate me but have a feeling that I won't be able to control my anger and frustration but I will make every attempt to do so as to not make this article a jumbled mess of angry rambling. I will make a note that a lot of this article comes from my own personal experience but nonetheless are troubling signs of larger issues that aren't only applicable to me.

Paganism ?

I'm curious about something, what's the point of being a Pagan if non-Pagans receive the same benefits as Pagans. You see, I've always wondered why there were no Pagan missionaries and why Pagans don't share their faith. Christians are told to share their share with non-believers per the orders of The Great Commission and a sense of urgency. Pagans don't have this urgency as there is no heaven, no hell, no supreme judge they must stand before and no exact benefit to being a Pagan. If there were benefits to being a Pagan, wouldn't a Pagan encourage others to be Pagan? I haven't asked Pagan about this issue because whenever I do talk to Pagans I get a very different idea as to what their exact beliefs are. Which leads me to this;

How To Judge A Religion

I haven't watched a single episode of "The West Wing", I'm pretty sure my Mom has a few seasons on DVD but that's immaterial to the discussion of today's post. Unfortunately there is this common idea that every religion is peaceful, and while that works for Buddhists, Hindus and Sikhs, it fails when it comes to the big 2, Christianity and Islam. Whenever Muslim Terrorists do something horrible to people The Media is quick to say "Wait a second, not all Muslims are bad, after all you wouldn't say that all Christians are bad because of The KKK now would you?". Which is sound logic, they're 100% right, just because a handful of Muslims blow up a bus or fly a plane into a building it is still NOT a reason to indite an entire religion. HOWEVER, you examine what the religion teaches and you discover that the actions of that handful are consistent with the teachings of said religion...well...then you can indite the entire religion. So in this post I'm going to show you all how to judge a religion, shall we begin?

Why It's Hard To Be Black & Christian in America...

This article I feel has been a LONG time coming and I feel like everything I've been thinking and feeling has led to this. Before I continue I should preamble a lot of things so you can understand where exactly I'm coming from, of course I'll be omitting a few bits and pieces of personal information. I am 25 years old, I will be 26 next month, I am African American, I am male. I grew up in a Fatherless home, I was raised by my Mother and Grandmother, both of which are light-skinned. My Grandmother was so light-skinned that many often mistook her for a White woman.

I am visibly African American as you've seen. My family is unfortunately a statistic, as my family was torn apart by the drug abuse of my father. Unfortunately I met him a few years back and was none too pleased with the reunion. Thankfully he is out of my life. I was raised in Detroit all my life around other African Americans and wasn't fully accepted by my peers due to my voice being a few octaves higher than it should be and the fact that my vocabulary and taste in music didn't sync up with theirs. I have not done drugs, I do not drink, heck, I don't even drink coffee. My mother is a worker at Ford and has been for a long time. We're living a middle class life and getting by day to day. We are also Christians. However recent events in American history have driven a wedge in America that hasn't existed since slavery.

Theology By Implication

We live in a day and age where consequences are swept under the rug and implications of certain positions are not scrutinized to the point where we reach a core understanding of a person's beliefs. Many of you know I wrote a blog talking about Nominal Christians (Christians in name only) and how they are disrupting the effectiveness of The Gospel by attempting to maintain 2 or more contradictory beliefs and actions. But I never explained in full how they are doing this, hence why I decided to write this blog post about the implications of certain theological positions and what they mean to a Christian. Let's dive in!

Mock Christians, Fear Muslims

So I was online yesterday and saw this video and decided to watch it against my better judgment, BUT I'm actually VERY glad I did because it revealed something about our culture. Many, MANY Non-Believers go on and on about The "Christian Majority" and how Christians run EVERYTHING and so on so forth. As if to say we're in complete control of everything and whine to get our way. This couldn't be further from the truth as our beliefs are constantly ridiculed, maligned and referred to something evil that should not exist and even worst yet a mental disorder.  And while some Christians have made it a point to defend the stronger criticism we receive from people in places of authority, it doesn't effect the criticism we receive from the people without authority. We are often told that the only reason we get offended by ridicule of Christianity is because we don't actually believe it. As if that's the only reason we can be offended and it's not because our Lord and savior is being maligned a fashion He does not deserve. As if it's not because we feel that Christ is sacred to us and hold Him in high regards? No, we're offended because we don't actually believe any of it is true...Right.

Nominal Christianity...

So once again it's one of those nights where I can't exactly sleep. I slept earlier but now I'm having a hard time getting back to the land of nod *wink-wink* because there's something on my mind that I don't think will let me rest again until I get it out.  Earlier this week I found a video of a pastor voicing his support of gay marriage (which you will see my uploaded response VERY soon) and I've discovered that not one but 2 of my co-workers are gay and 2 others are "Christians" and support the homosexual movement. Which brings me to this blog.

The Poor Reality Of America Today...

”While it’s great to listen to your kids’ ideas, there’s also a time when dads simply need to be dads. In this case, it would’ve been helpful for him to explain to Malia and Sasha that while her friends parents are no doubt lovely people, that’s not a reason to change thousands of years of thinking about marriage, Ideally, fathers help shape their kids’ worldview. In this situation, it was the other way around. I guess we can be glad that Malia and Sasha aren’t younger, or perhaps today’s press conference might have been about appointing Dora the Explorer as Attorney General because of her success in stopping Swiper the Fox, sometimes dads should lead their family in the right ways of thinking. In this case, it would’ve been nice if the President would’ve been an actual leader and helped shape their thoughts instead of merely reflecting what many teenagers think after one too many episodes of Glee.” - Bristol Palin

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, BUT it's a shame when an UNMARRIED Bristol Palin makes MORE sense than The President of the United States. Now I am NO Sarah Palin supporter, nor am I a supporter of The Tea Party or anything of that nature, BUT I can't deny that she's 100% correct (the little jab about "Dora The Explorer" aside) President Obama did indeed put the blame squarely on his children stating that it wouldn't occur to them that something was wrong with the relationships of their friends parents. Here in lies Bristol's point...it wouldn't occur to them BECAUSE YOU NEVER TAUGHT THEM!! President Obama has claimed Christianity time and time again and time and time again he's proven that he does NOT understand what it is he's claiming. To make matters worse MANY who call themselves Christians are going to look to President Obama as an example of a "Christian" who supports Gay Marriage, leading many to believe that you can be a Christian and support Gay Marriage...and YOU CANNOT because the 2 are UNARGUABLY INCOMPATIBLE!  

“I’m a Christian. And so, although I try not to have my religious beliefs dominate or determine my political views on this issue, I do believe that tradition, and my religious beliefs say that marriage is something sanctified between a man and a woman.” - President Barack Obama, Sept. 25, 2004 

I suppose we know what he means when he said he tries not to have his religious beliefs dominate or determine his political view. As Christianity is compatible with ANY political system that'll allow religious ideologies. You can be a Christian and a Democrat, you can be a Christian and a Republican, you can be a Christian and a Monarch, you can be a Christian with any sort of political affiliation but the one thing you CAN'T be is a Christian who is actively going against the Word of God. There's a word for people like that, it's called Hypocrite. I maybe selfish in saying what I'm about to say next but being African American myself I can't help but think what this is going to do for the African American community at large. Of course many of us are proud to have an African American in the White House however, when Racial Identity trumps God's Word, we have a problem. NOT THAT I AM ENDORSING MIT ROMNEY! Let's face it Romney's religious teaching profane marriage JUST AS BADLY AS HOMOSEXUALITY. But I see an even LARGER divide being driven between African Americans because of this...and that makes me very sad. This is just not a good week at all for the people of God. Peace in Christ, we can still pray for Obama's repentance and acceptance of what God has taught and affirmed SINCE THE BEGINNING. Pray for him and pray for Romney. Peace in Christ all!

Proving That No One Can Get Into Heaven...DEBUNKED !

Okay, I’m gonna go ahead and assume you’ve watched the following video above and as airtight and convincing as his argument sounds, I can easily debunk and explain ALL of what he said to be contradictions within The Bible and Jesus’s word. First off I wanna say that nothing makes me more frustrated than those who do not understand
what it is they are arguing against. Leaving out The Bible, I’m just talking in general because if some people would do any bit of research on the matter or put things within their proper context they’d see just how wrong they are and whoever made this video is one of those people who utterly frustrates me. Anyways, sermon over. Let’s dive in and
see what’s really going on, shall we ? We shall.

About Step #1 and Step #2

In the gospel of Luke 10:25-28 and Luke 18:18-22

Okay, Luke 10:25-28 is the Oh so famous Good Samaritan story. In Verse 29 The Lawyer asks Jesus “Who is my neighbor” and Jesus begins to tell the story of The Good Samaritan, and at the end of that tell Jesus instructs The Lawyer to be like The Samaritan. Little Side Note here, Samaritans back in those days were HATED by The Jews and vice versa. So the gravity of The Good Samaritan story would be along the lines of watching an EXTREME racist help a person he discriminates against change a tire.

Okay, so Luke 10:25-28 He got right on the money. So far nothing bad there.

Now, in Luke 18:18-22 Jesus is talking to a Ruler. A very rich man. So The Rich guy asks Jesus “What must I do to inherit eternal life ?” And then Jesus lays out the 10 commandments. The Rich Guy says to Jesus “ Yeah, I’ve done all those thing since I was little.” So then Jesus instructs him to sell everything…Or did he ? Let’s back up here and remember this guy is VERY rich. So is it Possible Jesus was simply testing this man to see if this Rich man truly wanted eternal life ? Because if the maker of the video Would continue on with the following verse it would say in Luke 18:23 “But when he heard this, he became sorrowful for he was very rich.” Luke 18:24 “and when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said “How hard it is for those who Have riches to enter the kingdom of God!”

So was Jesus really telling this man to SELL EVERYTHING as the video would have you believe ? Not at all. Jesus was testing the man to see if he truly wanted eternal life. And obviously this man did not. If the man would have agreed to indeed sell everything, then he would prove to Jesus that his loyalty was not to his material wealth but to his Spiritual wealth. This reminds me of the story in which God ordered Abraham to kill his son Issac. However right when Abraham was about to do it an Angel stops him and explains that it was a test and that God didn’t really want Abraham to kill his son. Now this may sound questionable BUT it shows 2 things: One: That God would not have
You commit a senseless act without watching your back and Two: That God does indeed test us. And in the vein of Luke 18:18-22 Jesus was guaging This Rich Man’s loyalty. Or rather to place this in layman’s terms: If a Man came up to you and said I have your Mother and Father held hostage and everything you own hanging over an open fire. Which do you want to save ? Now, I’m not gonna lie to you, it would really SUCK to have everything I owned go up in flames and I’d be really sad BUT I’d be a lot more sad if my Mom went up in flames. I’d obviously choose my Mom, because all that other stuff is material.

So Jesus gave this guy the same choice. And remember The Rich Guy asked Jesus, Jesus didn’t take anything hostage. It was either his riches or eternal life and he obviously wanted to keep his riches. I hope that explains that.

About Step #3

Luke 14:26

Oh Boy, this verse has taken so much heat it’s not even funny ! And to be honest it’s a real tough verse to swallow but there is an extremely valid explanation behind it. But before I explain, I want to get into a little language translation real quick. The Greek word for hatred or hate is Miseo. Now there are several words for Love in Greek. Each word meaning a different kind of love. There’s Eros= Romantic Love, Agape=Spiritual Love, Phillia= Friendship Love, and Stroge=Affection Type Love (Parent and Child) As you can seen, none of these words even closely resemble Miseo. Now in the original Greek text Jesus does indeed use the word “Miseo”. No two ways about that, it does mean hate.

Well wait a minute, Is Jesus really telling us to hate ? Let’s look at that verse again.

“If anyone comes to me and does not HATE his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters,
Yes, even his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.”
Luke 14:26

Wow, Jesus is a hate filled jerk ! Or is He ?

As you can see I capitalized the word HATE to show you the main focus of the verse. Or at least the main focus the creator of the video would have you focus on. However he’s focusing on the wrong part of that verse. Well, Eugene which part of this verse should we focus on, Jesus is telling us to hate everyone. Well, let me show you that verse again with the right words capitalized to show you the TRUE meaning of this verse.

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters,
Yes, even his own life also, HE CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE.”
Luke 14:26

Yes, believe it or not that last little tidbit explains this entire verse. How ? You may ask. Well let’s look at the word
“Disciple”. A disciple, by definition means “One who adheres to the doctrines and rules of another, a loyal follower.”
Now, why does Jesus use the word Hate ? I mean that’s a pretty harsh word. Okay so you have 2 options here. Either Jesus is a wack job and he just contradicted himself and proved that he is not God and I should abandon ALL my beliefs, OR Jesus is speaking in a comparative view point. Allow me to explain in laymans terms.

I’m currently wearing my Scarface shirt, I love this shirt.
I love my Mom.

Now by using the word “love” I just expressed the same feeling I have for my shirt that I do for my mom. However we both know that’s a different kind of love. The context in which I used the love I have for my shirt and the love I have for my Mom are completely different EVEN THOUGH I used the exact same word. Jesus doesn’t do that. Jesus is saying that compared to love you have for Him, it would be to HATE everything else. Am I making sense ? Jesus doesn’t want you to go around and hate everyone ! I repeat JESUS DOES NOT WANT YOU TO HATE ANYONE !! Jesus is saying that your loyalty should be to Him ! Surely Jesus wouldn’t want you to walk up to your Mother and Father and say “FUCK YOU !”. Of course not. Man, I hope I’ve explained this well enough. If not there is a link I could forward to you on this matter. Just message me or something. Anyways, moving on.

About Step #4

John 6:53-54

See my article on Communion…

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=27236341&blogID=284214091&Mytoken=7FF954C9-A733-4A4E-97235A4B2631E1A412406337

About Step #5

Matt 18:2-3

This, I’m not even sure why this guy put this in here. Jesus does NOT WANT you to transform into a child. And by all laws of physics that would be impossible. Jesus is suggesting that you HUMBLE yourself as a child. Children and new to the world and new to experience ergo, they are humble. Jesus is suggesting that we should humble ourselves as Children before God. It’s kinda like that saying, “No matter how old you get you’re always someone’s son/daughter.”. It means that no matter how old you are your mother is ALWAYS gonna be your mother, your father is ALWAYS gonna be your father. And that’s the dynamic. Therefore as a child you adhere yourself to them because you are humble and respectful to there position compared to yours.

About Step #6

John 3:3-8

Okay, when Jesus says born again, He does not, I repeat DOES NOT mean crawl back into Momma and sit for Nine Months. First of all, by the laws of physics that’s impossible and even if it were possible I doubt very much so that your Mom would want you crawling back in there, just so she can squeeze you out while you’re fully grown (lol, little humor to break the mood). Jesus is suggesting that you become reborn in spirit. As it says in The Bible “Flesh gives birth to Flesh, Spirit gives birth to Spirit.”. Ergo, Jesus is suggesting that you must be reborn in spirit. This is where baptism comes in which I covered several times in several articles.

About Step #7

Matt 5:17-20

Okay, I believe I already explained the difference between The Old Testament and The New Testament. But in case you didn’t read that article, here it is. in The Old Testament Man were give Laws to live by UNTIL Jesus (the fulfillment of The Law) would arrive. With Jesus’s arrival, The Old Testament Laws became obsolete ! OBSOLETE ! Ergo it was NO LONGER necessary to follow Lev 19:1-37 or Lev 20:1-27 to the letter ! Also, These rules were made to purge the evil and keep Israel from receiving curses. There’s a verse in which Moses lays out the law by saying if you do A,B, and C God will bless you but if you do X,Y, and Z God will curse you. Since Jesus arrived, there was no need for X,Y, and Z. There is someone who can explain this better than I can. Granted this explanation is kind of in the layman’s field. Uh, I’m gonna suggest that you do you own research on this subject. Thanks.

About Step #8

John 3:16

Last but not least John 3:16.

“For God so loved the world He gave his only begotten son so that those who believe
In Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”

Think about what that’s saying. I mean people say it so much it because generic, but really think about this.
GOD the creator of the entire Universe, ALL POWERFUL, ALL KNOWING, CAME DOWN to Earth with the ultimate goal of DYING to prove just how much he cared ! And all you have to do is acknowledge that this event occurred and give Jesus his props. I mean if God is indeed ALL POWERFUL, ALL KNOWING he obviously didn’t have to impart some grand gesture to show how much he cared for us, BUT HE DID ! An ALL POWERFUL, ALL KNOWING being DIED ! DIED to prove a point. He didn’t talk about giving you salvation, He didn’t make stupid offers. Talk is cheap, this guy, this ALL POWERFUL, ALL KNOWING being Came down from a PARADISE, joined the likes of Us in a ridiculously crappy world and had Himself KILLED ! Just to prove his point ! Zues didn’t do that, Vishnu didn’t do that, L. Ron Hubbard didn’t do that.

Zues is a selfish ass-hole.

Vishnu isn’t even in control of The Afterlife.

L. Ron Hubbard is human like the rest of us.

Are you thinking about it ? I mean even if you don’t believe in God, isn’t that a pretty cool thought ? That The Creator of The Universe took the time to come down and die for you ! I mean Jesus didn’t specify who he was dying for. He didn’t look and say “Hey Angela, I’m dying for you and only you !” NO, for God so loved THE WORLD ! EVERYBODY ! You, me, him, her, that guy over there, this guy over here, that guy from that one place, the guy who lives six blocks down the street from you, your next door neighbor, People who don’t believe in him, Your best friend’s cousin’s sisters boyfriend’s bother’s ex-girlfriend, YES, EVERYBODY ! EVERYBODY ! I mean Jesus bore ALL of God’s wrath. God’s wrath was originally intended for us.

He jumped in front of OUR BULLET ! He took one for the team ! I didn’t need Mel Gibson’s movie to show me that or get the idea. I fully understand it. It’s that a cool thought ? Think about it ! It makes me smile a little, because it’s awesome. Think about it.The Creator of the entire Universe, The Guy who was here before time began, loves you.

Granted it’s a little surreal to actually contemplate, but it’s an awesome thought. We’re not pawns on a chess board for Him. He’s not playing with our lives to amuse Himself, He actually loves us. Think about it. It’ll make you smile. 100% I guarantee it.

Anyways to sum up, I hope this explains the video above and how when things are taken out of context they can warped to suit another’s needs.And if the maker of this video would give his audience ALL of the information instead of feeding them bits and pieces in order to get his interpretation across he might have a pretty sound argument, instead of half baked claims. To anyone else who is curious and wants to know a little more feel free to ask I have a few links here and there I can direct you to. Hope this was enlightening for you, Have a good day and depending on the time you read this good night, Thank you for reading and God bless. Thanks again.