Over the years my reading has included several bestselling books by atheists, who relentlessly condemn Christianity. The subtitle to God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens is "How Religion Poisons Everything." That's right: everything. (I guess that would include the life's work of Bach, among others.)
Despite some witch hunts and inquisitions, I'll take Christianity's track record against atheism's any day. (Lenin, Stalin, and Mao come to mind).
The atheists love to talk about how rotten Christianity makes people feel. If only Christianity weren't around, everything would be better.
Let me summarize the secular/atheist and Christian foundations for the value of life, then you tell me whether it's any wonder that many people today are feeling like they, their lives, and the lives of others have so little meaning or worth.
In the secular-atheist account: You are the descendant of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm that washed up on an ocean beach ten billion years ago. You are the blind and arbitrary product of time, chance, and natural forces. Your closest living relatives swing from trees and eat crackers at the zoo.
You are a mere grab-bag of atomic particles, a conglomeration of genetic substance. You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an obscure galaxy in a remote and empty corner of a vast, cold, and meaningless universe. You are flying through lifeless space with no purpose, no direction, no control, and no destiny but final destruction.
You are a purely biological entity, different only in degree but not in kind from a microbe, virus or amoeba. You have no essence beyond your body, and at death you will cease to exist entirely.
What little life you do have is confined to a fragile body aimlessly moving through a world plagued by war, famine and disease. The only question is whether the world will manage to blow itself up before your brief and pointless life ends on its own.
In short, you came from nothing, you are going nowhere, and you will end your brief cosmic journey beneath six feet of dirt, where all that you will become is food for bacteria and rot with worms.
Now, why don't you feel good about yourself? And why don't you show more respect for human life?
In the Christian account: From the moment of conception, you and all other human beings are the special creation of a good and all powerful God. You are the climax of His creation, the magnum opus of the greatest artist in the universe.
You are created in His image, with capacities to think, feel, and worship that set you above all other life forms. You differ from the animals not simply in degree, but in kind, in your very essence.
Not only is your kind unique, but you are unique among your kind. God has masterminded the exact combination of DNA and chromosomes that constitute your genetic code, making you as different from all others as every snowflake differs from the rest.
Yes, you are a sinner, and because of sin you do not deserve to go to heaven. But despite your unworthiness, your Creator loved you so much and so intensely desires your companionship that He gave the life of his only Son that you might spend eternity with him. If you are willing to accept the free gift of salvation, you can become a child of God, the King of the universe.
As a Christian, you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. He has given you special gifts and abilities to serve him in a particular and unique way.
Your heavenly Father is sovereign, and will allow nothing to cross your path that is not Father-filtered. He cares for you so much that He is totally available to you at all times, and listens to every word you say. He cares deeply about your hurts, and has a perfect plan for your life. He has given you the inspired Word of God as a road-map for living. He gives you the truth that sets you free, a life that is abundant and eternal, and a spiritual family that loves and needs you.
Your destiny is to live forever in a magnificent kingdom, to reign with Christ over the universe. You will forever enjoy the wonders of His presence and the marvels of His creation. You will spend eternity in intimate and joyful fellowship with your beloved Lord and your precious spiritual family.
Now... how does that make you feel about yourself? How does that make you feel about the value of human life?
"Whoever finds Me loves life . . . but whoever fails to find Me harms himself; all who hate Me love death." (Proverbs 8:35-36)
www.randyalcorn.blogspot.com
www.epm.org
In the secular-atheist account: You are the descendant of a tiny cell of primordial protoplasm that washed up on an ocean beach ten billion years ago. You are the blind and arbitrary product of time, chance, and natural forces. Your closest living relatives swing from trees and eat crackers at the zoo.You are a mere grab-bag of atomic particles, a conglomeration of genetic substance. You exist on a tiny planet in a minute solar system in an obscure galaxy in a remote and empty corner of a vast, cold, and meaningless universe. You are flying through lifeless space with no purpose, no direction, no control, and no destiny but final destruction.
You are a purely biological entity, different only in degree but not in kind from a microbe, virus or amoeba. You have no essence beyond your body, and at death you will cease to exist entirely.
What little life you do have is confined to a fragile body aimlessly moving through a world plagued by war, famine and disease. The only question is whether the world will manage to blow itself up before your brief and pointless life ends on its own.In short, you came from nothing, you are going nowhere, and you will end your brief cosmic journey beneath six feet of dirt, where all that you will become is food for bacteria and rot with worms.
Now, why don't you feel good about yourself? And why don't you show more respect for human life?
In the Christian account: From the moment of conception, you and all other human beings are the special creation of a good and all powerful God. You are the climax of His creation, the magnum opus of the greatest artist in the universe.
You are created in His image, with capacities to think, feel, and worship that set you above all other life forms. You differ from the animals not simply in degree, but in kind, in your very essence.Not only is your kind unique, but you are unique among your kind. God has masterminded the exact combination of DNA and chromosomes that constitute your genetic code, making you as different from all others as every snowflake differs from the rest.
Yes, you are a sinner, and because of sin you do not deserve to go to heaven. But despite your unworthiness, your Creator loved you so much and so intensely desires your companionship that He gave the life of his only Son that you might spend eternity with him. If you are willing to accept the free gift of salvation, you can become a child of God, the King of the universe.
As a Christian, you are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. He has given you special gifts and abilities to serve him in a particular and unique way.
Your heavenly Father is sovereign, and will allow nothing to cross your path that is not Father-filtered. He cares for you so much that He is totally available to you at all times, and listens to every word you say. He cares deeply about your hurts, and has a perfect plan for your life. He has given you the inspired Word of God as a road-map for living. He gives you the truth that sets you free, a life that is abundant and eternal, and a spiritual family that loves and needs you.Your destiny is to live forever in a magnificent kingdom, to reign with Christ over the universe. You will forever enjoy the wonders of His presence and the marvels of His creation. You will spend eternity in intimate and joyful fellowship with your beloved Lord and your precious spiritual family.
Now... how does that make you feel about yourself? How does that make you feel about the value of human life?
"Whoever finds Me loves life . . . but whoever fails to find Me harms himself; all who hate Me love death." (Proverbs 8:35-36)
www.randyalcorn.blogspot.com
www.epm.org
Comments:
Quite a contrast of perspectives! Thanks for the encouraging word. Never commented here before, but really appreciate your ministry. Read several of your books with great benefit. Thanks!
Wow! What an excellent post!! Thank you for your eloquence! God is so good!!
Bless you for writing this, Randy. I'm going to pray that some of the atheist/agnostic folks who have visited my blog in the past week will hop over here. (I may have to trick them into coming.) So blinded, so lost. Some sweet and clueless, some arrogant and bitter. Breaks my heart.
You are in essence telling us how you would (or do) emotionally react to one of two scenarios: A universe with God and one without. But these reactions are not inevitable. An atheist is not somehow required to feel despair. In fact I know of no atheist who feels despair at living in a Godless universe. I do not feel despair. I love life; I love people and find joy in everything I do. I care for my neighbor, I seek justice, and I strive for a decent world. The fact that I am a pile of protoplasm is the same fact for me as it is for you. It is a fact. It is also a fact that it does not dictate my emotional response to life.
You feel secure believing in a God. Good for you. I felt secure when I was a child and I knew my father loved me. But I am an adult. But your fears are not necessarily anyone else's. If you cannot imagine facing life without God, that says much about you; it says nothing about your typical atheist.
For what it is worth, your story of hope is not held by the majority of theists world wide. Every religious group has their own story and myths (and you would have to argue that much of the Islamic, Judaic, Hindu, Buddhist, etc stories of of God are wrong to a greater or lesser degree.) How do you justify believing your stories as opposed to any other religion's that does not reduce to your own subjective desires?
What a load of crap. I have little doubt that my comment will be "moderated", but try to find the courage to post a dissenting opinion from a happy atheist who's in a bad mood after reading your drivel.
One, you wrote a completely biased and wholly ignorant account of the atheist/naturalist/humanist outlook. It's so absurdly typical of creationists to paint us as bleak, hopeless, isolated entities devoid of any reason for living. You couldn't be more wrong.
You see, many of the things you claim motivate you in life don't just disappear when you "outgrow" religious faith. They're still there. That's because they aren't god-given--they're innately part of humanity (nd much of the rest of the animal kingdom which you so blithely disparage above, too). Try studying some biology once. What we know may astound you.
Two: Lenin, Stalin, and Mao? That old, tired, lame argument? Not one of those killed or caused suffering in the name of atheism, and you offer a terrible insult to nonbelievers by saying so. They were ruthless dictators who were motivated by social and political aspirations, not by their lack of belief. And before you say a devout life would've steered them elsewhere, baloney. If anything, religion motivates hate and division among all people.
Please, if you're going to be out here in cyberspace spouting the perspectives of atheists, at least make some effort to understand us before making false, hurtful claims. My two beautiful, polite, compassionate, inquisitive children stand in testimony to the wrongness of your caricature.
P.s. Have you read Hitchens' book? He makes a good case.
Oh, Marla-
Does my anger at being so duly insulted by a "man of god" make me arrogant and bitter? Frankly, I couldn't care less whether you think I'm sweet and clueless or not. For a good dose of arrogance, find a mirror, then start practicing what you preach.
You might find this book interesting: A Christian Sceptic's Conversation With Atheists
It's not as black and white as you make it seem. Many (if not most) atheists are just as moral as Christians and many respect life just as much as Christians. Each one is different and unique (and loved by God! :) )
I wonder if what turns off most atheists about Christianity is the same thing that makes me wince a little as a believer -That many Christians are so sure about themselves and what they believe it borders on presumptuousness. It's as if to have any doubts or to be without a pat answer is tantamount to heresy. Most Christians are uncomfortable with paradox and most teaching/preaching seems to be aimed at removing that discomfort. It would be a breath of fresh air to have a seminary-trained, professional Christian (they are the primary ones in the public eye) actually admit once in a while "I don't know the answer to that. I have an opinion based on anecdotal experience but, to tell the truth, I haven't been able to wrap my mind around all that God is."
How do I feel? Encouraged. Spurred on to love and good deeds.
Dan,
You raise a good point. Today's Christianity is a Cliff's Notes version of the Bible, stripped of all paradoxes and--frankly--stripped of the Cross (except the little gold one around people's necks, of course).
The greatest proof of Christianity is a truly Spirit-filled believer, living by the power of God. It's the only proof. When I meet people like that, it strengthens my faith like nothing else.
I'm a Christian, and I've encountered a number of honest atheists. I prefer them to dishonest Christians.
After taking some time to think on what I have read in the post and then in the comments, it seems to me that Randy isn't saying that atheists are required to do or believe anything that he suggested about them. He is just saying that there is no reason to feel anything specific at all. I am sure that the people who are atheists that wrote in are good people, but we have to know that there are some that are not.( Just as some people who say that they are Christian are good and some that are not. We have no control over that.) He isn't saying that an atheist has to be hopeless and can't live a fulfilling life. Obviously you can. And of course you can have hope - in biology, or in our fellow man, in the good feeling that you get in doing the "right" thing. That is not what Randy is talking about. The Christian's hope lies in what happens after death. "This world is not our home - we are just passing through." An atheist doesn't have THAT hope. As far as I can see it is important to have that hope because as nice as it is to hope in biology, our fellow man, and doing the right thing - all of those can get twisted and one person's view of "right" and "good" can be another person's bad. I might not be as a deep of thinker as many of you, but I do know that I would rather take the hope of Heaven over anything that is temporary on this earth.
The trouble with just having hope in heaven, is that if you can't find meaning here, independent of that hope, then how will adding an infinity of time make it better? As far as hope in general, I do not have "hope" in biology, or other people, per se. I do value truth and as such seek justifiable knowledge about the world around. That I care for people and enjoy their company are facts about me. I do not need to justify these, nor do I need some supposed authority to give my life meaning.
Chris,
You probably won't come back to read this, but heaven is not just about infinity of time. Nor is the Christian life all about heaven. It's about healing the brokenness within every person. Jesus came to set us free from ourselves, so to speak--to empower us to live the way we know we should.
As Christians, we often don't do a very good job of demonstrating the power of the gospel. That's because, like most Americans, we are too fat and happy to really depend on God the way we should. So usually we're just as sinful as everyone else. But in countries where Christians are persecuted, you will see the power of Jesus to overcome anything.
I would like to prove this with my life more than with my words, but real faith will express itself in love, because God is love, and faith is Christ in us.
I wish you the very best.
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