A letter seeking to be a testimony to one who doubts faith, and might be instructive to us all...
Dear friend:
Thanks for sharing your thinking, and I will try to respond intelligently to your comments within your letter below. If you should sometime in the future wish to see what Holy Scripture teaches about redemption way, church truth, and spiritual life, I recommend a visit to the very sound web site at biblecounsel.net.
"Thanks for taking the time to respond. I assure you that de-conversion was never my intent. I ask these questions because when i would have considered myself a Christian, these are the questions that I always wondered about. Atheism has no dogma to be instilled into people, and i assure you I have bigger concerns then the state of others' beliefs; but I am still very curious about the belief itself. Surely if any (hypothetical) attempt at de-conversion by me wont work, then there is no harm in reasonable discussion, 1 Peter 3:15 seems to show that it is what Jesus would have wanted." [It is good to see you are not like some Atheists who spend much time and energy opposing Christianity. I always wonder about those who cannot just "not believe" and leave it at that; but get upset and publicly go after Christians.
I personally believe that the Creator-God not only gave mankind a spirit and soul when He made them "in His own image" as He said, but a God-consciousness, and that gnawing of the conscience within one is what upsets those Atheists. In your case, it may just work to cause you to seek some understanding, I suppose. It is called a "quickening" in biblical language, whereby every soul is stirred to consider their Creator. Some will totally reject the Spiritual awakening, and then in time will seal their fate, as God has said --a sad thing; but when we respond and see the truth of salvation in God’s beloved Son and call upon Him in real faith, the Father responds with the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit --new spiritual birth. How precious that is to have the Spirit of God dwell in one! It is not just an intellectual thing as reasoning, but a true internal experience many have found. Certainly our enemy, Satan, will always seek to turn us away from this relationship with the Lord and learning His Word, so it is good to be diligent to learn more. -RLD]
"With that in mind, doesn't faith allow for a vulnerability to false beliefs? I dont wish to overgeneralize this to you, but many people accept the "word of God" through the word of man (eg. Paul of Tarsus), and surely man is corruptible. If one accepts things told to him by man on faith, he is leaving himself unable to discern truth from fiction by accepting things which he cannot prove." [All men accept many things they cannot prove (you included) --a fact of life for all (think about that a bit). If one is not in tune with the Creator in a search for truth, but is only into some intellectualism, they will surely conclude the whole matter with "false beliefs", as you say. Real Christians see that God did not leave mankind in the dark, and gave us His inspired and spoken Word (the Bible), so we can know what He expects. The Apostles were ordained of God and given certain gifts to establish the church and teach fundamentals of the faith. If one begins to challenge God's Word and presume to know more about truth than God, he will surely later regret that. I am fully persuaded that by faith one will be eternally saved, but by reasonings he will only wander further into darkness (see Heb. 11: 1-6). The Bible is the Word of God and we can rest assured that God has not deceived us. If we place our hope in God and His Word we will do well, and if we choose to trust reasonings of men and our own imaginations we will perish --plain and simple. Are you willing to go that route without faith in the Creator? - RLD]
"And surely this must be the case. I do not know which denomination you would consider yourself, but you must conclude that the vast majority of claims accepted on faith are false ---Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Greek mythology etc. all have contradictory claims which are accepted on faith. The majority of them must be false, but it seems faith does not provide a reliable method of distinguishing fact from fiction." [I agree that all religious ideologies & organizations, and sectarianism (also Atheism) is dangerous ground, and I see it as some deceit of Satan, the enemy of man's soul, as God tells us. We need Bible-only for our authority and a personal spiritual relationship with the Saviour ---Jesus, the Christ of God, who is real and waiting at the door of faith; that is, if you are a serious seeker, friend (see John 1; John 3; John 14; John 17. ). - RLD]
"Faith must also be resistant to change, even if it is demonstrably wrong, as that is the character of faith. It is not accepted due to reason, but rather despite it. If faith were not in conflict with logic, then there would be no need to distinguish between the two." [Well, I am not sure I follow all your thought here, but faith is not in conflict with God, but might be with the rationales of men called logic. Faith in Christ is a living conversation with the Creator-God through His beloved Son: Jesus Christ. Your faith seems to be in your ideas and trust in what Atheism teaches, from all that you have expressed to me. - RLD]
"I would hope that you could answer two questions for me. I know that many could consider these questions "offensive". However, to refrain from asking you because out of fear of you becoming "offended" means that I dont think that you could answer them without diverting from logic and resorting to an emotional response, which consider more disrespectful. So i will continue:
"1. How can i be able to differentiate between faith, and gullibility and hardheadedness, without simply saying that faith applies to questions about gods?" [I surely don't speak about faith in everything, or about "gods", so "gullibility and hardheadedness" is mute. Your thought of logic seems to be vain, friend, and not at all seeking after truth. I am convinced logically that the Creator has gone beyond just saying to believe, and He shows the truth of much of what He says. Some things He does not tell us, because our finite minds could not grasp it; and so He tells us all that man needs to know to be saved and acceptable to Heaven, and go forth in this world in a Godly way. If one will cease challenging the Word and begin reading it in an honest search for truth, he will learn much (I suggest again to see the verses stated above here, as a beginning). God has consistently replied and rewarded sincere seekers worldwide down through history with His indwelling Spirit (God in man). A soul will not get eternal salvation, however, by anything short of receiving God's great gift in His beloved Son --the Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, as He says. In that, one will thus receive a "new birth" spiritually (John 3) and then "all things become new", as He says. Man will not find the truth of God by his own weak reasonings, and the risk is much too great to trifle with eternal destiny. - RLD]
"2. In my experience, it seems that the arguments in favour of Christianity can be categorized as either scare tactics (hell), wishful thinking (dead relatives/friends happy in heaven), or appeals to ignorance (ie no one knows how the universe started). How can I tell the difference between Christianity and a cult which people cling to in order to make them feel better?" [I really don't know how you can always "tell the difference" between truth and fiction, but I am satisfied by faith and logic that my Creator has shown me the pathway to Heaven and all blessings in my sojourn, for He wants me there; and has revealed truth and direction in His holy "Word of Truth" as He has declared. God will not hold anyone responsible for understanding what He did not show them. One can believe it or not, and also remember: there will be a day of reckoning, and that will be without negotiations, for God requires faith directed to Him here and now. Remember, even science says: "no energy is lost, it just moves on" ---applying also to our eternal soul when we leave these bodies. - RLD]
"Again, i assure you I mean no disrespect. I try to be blunt in order to not blur the nature of my question. I look forward from hearing from you. Sincerely, ______" [I think, my friend, you need to first resolve in your mind there is a Creator-God in order to understand anything about Christian truth (as stated in Hebrews 11:6 --a fundamental). Eternity is before us, whether we believe it or not ---the soul is eternal. There is an urgency to get a hold on truth, for we don't have long in this world. If you are a sincere seeker I suggest you visit www.icr.org and see what faithful scientists who are Christians say about your concerns. You can pose your ideas to them. I am not a would-be scientist, but a simple believer "born again" by the Holy Spirit (John 3). While I don't know everything, I have been studying the Word of God for over 50 years and I am very confident of my eternal destiny and faith in the living God. Look up! -RLD]
A CURIOUS ATHEIST
A Challenge By One Who Has Drawn Near, Yet Refuses Faith
A Challenge By One Who Has Drawn Near, Yet Refuses Faith
Dear friend:
Thanks for sharing your thinking, and I will try to respond intelligently to your comments within your letter below. If you should sometime in the future wish to see what Holy Scripture teaches about redemption way, church truth, and spiritual life, I recommend a visit to the very sound web site at biblecounsel.net.
"Thanks for taking the time to respond. I assure you that de-conversion was never my intent. I ask these questions because when i would have considered myself a Christian, these are the questions that I always wondered about. Atheism has no dogma to be instilled into people, and i assure you I have bigger concerns then the state of others' beliefs; but I am still very curious about the belief itself. Surely if any (hypothetical) attempt at de-conversion by me wont work, then there is no harm in reasonable discussion, 1 Peter 3:15 seems to show that it is what Jesus would have wanted." [It is good to see you are not like some Atheists who spend much time and energy opposing Christianity. I always wonder about those who cannot just "not believe" and leave it at that; but get upset and publicly go after Christians.
I personally believe that the Creator-God not only gave mankind a spirit and soul when He made them "in His own image" as He said, but a God-consciousness, and that gnawing of the conscience within one is what upsets those Atheists. In your case, it may just work to cause you to seek some understanding, I suppose. It is called a "quickening" in biblical language, whereby every soul is stirred to consider their Creator. Some will totally reject the Spiritual awakening, and then in time will seal their fate, as God has said --a sad thing; but when we respond and see the truth of salvation in God’s beloved Son and call upon Him in real faith, the Father responds with the indwelling and sealing of the Holy Spirit --new spiritual birth. How precious that is to have the Spirit of God dwell in one! It is not just an intellectual thing as reasoning, but a true internal experience many have found. Certainly our enemy, Satan, will always seek to turn us away from this relationship with the Lord and learning His Word, so it is good to be diligent to learn more. -RLD]
"With that in mind, doesn't faith allow for a vulnerability to false beliefs? I dont wish to overgeneralize this to you, but many people accept the "word of God" through the word of man (eg. Paul of Tarsus), and surely man is corruptible. If one accepts things told to him by man on faith, he is leaving himself unable to discern truth from fiction by accepting things which he cannot prove." [All men accept many things they cannot prove (you included) --a fact of life for all (think about that a bit). If one is not in tune with the Creator in a search for truth, but is only into some intellectualism, they will surely conclude the whole matter with "false beliefs", as you say. Real Christians see that God did not leave mankind in the dark, and gave us His inspired and spoken Word (the Bible), so we can know what He expects. The Apostles were ordained of God and given certain gifts to establish the church and teach fundamentals of the faith. If one begins to challenge God's Word and presume to know more about truth than God, he will surely later regret that. I am fully persuaded that by faith one will be eternally saved, but by reasonings he will only wander further into darkness (see Heb. 11: 1-6). The Bible is the Word of God and we can rest assured that God has not deceived us. If we place our hope in God and His Word we will do well, and if we choose to trust reasonings of men and our own imaginations we will perish --plain and simple. Are you willing to go that route without faith in the Creator? - RLD]
"And surely this must be the case. I do not know which denomination you would consider yourself, but you must conclude that the vast majority of claims accepted on faith are false ---Islam, Judaism, Mormonism, Catholicism, Protestantism, Buddhism, Greek mythology etc. all have contradictory claims which are accepted on faith. The majority of them must be false, but it seems faith does not provide a reliable method of distinguishing fact from fiction." [I agree that all religious ideologies & organizations, and sectarianism (also Atheism) is dangerous ground, and I see it as some deceit of Satan, the enemy of man's soul, as God tells us. We need Bible-only for our authority and a personal spiritual relationship with the Saviour ---Jesus, the Christ of God, who is real and waiting at the door of faith; that is, if you are a serious seeker, friend (see John 1; John 3; John 14; John 17. ). - RLD]
"Faith must also be resistant to change, even if it is demonstrably wrong, as that is the character of faith. It is not accepted due to reason, but rather despite it. If faith were not in conflict with logic, then there would be no need to distinguish between the two." [Well, I am not sure I follow all your thought here, but faith is not in conflict with God, but might be with the rationales of men called logic. Faith in Christ is a living conversation with the Creator-God through His beloved Son: Jesus Christ. Your faith seems to be in your ideas and trust in what Atheism teaches, from all that you have expressed to me. - RLD]
"I would hope that you could answer two questions for me. I know that many could consider these questions "offensive". However, to refrain from asking you because out of fear of you becoming "offended" means that I dont think that you could answer them without diverting from logic and resorting to an emotional response, which consider more disrespectful. So i will continue:
"1. How can i be able to differentiate between faith, and gullibility and hardheadedness, without simply saying that faith applies to questions about gods?" [I surely don't speak about faith in everything, or about "gods", so "gullibility and hardheadedness" is mute. Your thought of logic seems to be vain, friend, and not at all seeking after truth. I am convinced logically that the Creator has gone beyond just saying to believe, and He shows the truth of much of what He says. Some things He does not tell us, because our finite minds could not grasp it; and so He tells us all that man needs to know to be saved and acceptable to Heaven, and go forth in this world in a Godly way. If one will cease challenging the Word and begin reading it in an honest search for truth, he will learn much (I suggest again to see the verses stated above here, as a beginning). God has consistently replied and rewarded sincere seekers worldwide down through history with His indwelling Spirit (God in man). A soul will not get eternal salvation, however, by anything short of receiving God's great gift in His beloved Son --the Lord Jesus, the Christ of God, as He says. In that, one will thus receive a "new birth" spiritually (John 3) and then "all things become new", as He says. Man will not find the truth of God by his own weak reasonings, and the risk is much too great to trifle with eternal destiny. - RLD]
"2. In my experience, it seems that the arguments in favour of Christianity can be categorized as either scare tactics (hell), wishful thinking (dead relatives/friends happy in heaven), or appeals to ignorance (ie no one knows how the universe started). How can I tell the difference between Christianity and a cult which people cling to in order to make them feel better?" [I really don't know how you can always "tell the difference" between truth and fiction, but I am satisfied by faith and logic that my Creator has shown me the pathway to Heaven and all blessings in my sojourn, for He wants me there; and has revealed truth and direction in His holy "Word of Truth" as He has declared. God will not hold anyone responsible for understanding what He did not show them. One can believe it or not, and also remember: there will be a day of reckoning, and that will be without negotiations, for God requires faith directed to Him here and now. Remember, even science says: "no energy is lost, it just moves on" ---applying also to our eternal soul when we leave these bodies. - RLD]
"Again, i assure you I mean no disrespect. I try to be blunt in order to not blur the nature of my question. I look forward from hearing from you. Sincerely, ______" [I think, my friend, you need to first resolve in your mind there is a Creator-God in order to understand anything about Christian truth (as stated in Hebrews 11:6 --a fundamental). Eternity is before us, whether we believe it or not ---the soul is eternal. There is an urgency to get a hold on truth, for we don't have long in this world. If you are a sincere seeker I suggest you visit www.icr.org and see what faithful scientists who are Christians say about your concerns. You can pose your ideas to them. I am not a would-be scientist, but a simple believer "born again" by the Holy Spirit (John 3). While I don't know everything, I have been studying the Word of God for over 50 years and I am very confident of my eternal destiny and faith in the living God. Look up! -RLD]
