- Dec 21, 2013
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I'm still fairly new to these forums, but I have already come to realize a common trend. Of the contributors to many threads there is a group of those who consider themselves as atheists who were once Christian. In other words, if they had once truly accepted Jesus the son of God as their Savior, they are a Christian who has fallen away from God. In my opinion these individuals may not be what I would consider intellectual atheists, the ones who simply deny the existence of God and the teachings of the Bible, but rather affectional atheists, those who view God as an obstruction to something they want or desire.
C.S. Lewis said “All that we call human history — money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery — is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." I believe this is the struggle of our affectional atheist, and it is a tragedy. For those who have known God and turned away to serve another god (money, lust, etc.), I am truly saddened by this. How can you experience true happiness apart from God? What do you think you can accomplish on your own?
The problem is not that there are atheists in the world; the problem is that we all universally identify with this affectional atheism at the core of our motives. Every one of us is born with a twisted desire for happiness, and that desire must come at the cost of others. This is how I lived my life for many years, and regardless of how 'happy' I thought I was, it was at the expense of someone else because I was selfishly fulfilling my desires.
I think this is a fundamental flaw with all humans, and the broken world around us is proof of that flaw. Exploiting one another for personal happiness, however subtly it appears, eventually leads to personal conflict in many lives. James 4:1-12 tells us the reasons why this is. We lust for the pleasures we think will bring us happiness. We are blind to what will bring our hearts the satisfaction it longs for. We cannot see God’s beauty or enjoy the pleasures of God, so we seek to substitute it with the pleasures of the flesh. Our hearts are so backwards they are dead.
Having come to know the Lord later in my life I understand the fundamental need to fill our lives with some purpose and desire. He can give us true happiness by filling that void within us. Having come to know Him has given me a new purpose and new desires. At first I felt unworthy due to my selfishness and sin. But I have learned that I am still a sinner, and will continue to sin because I haven't reached that point of perfection yet, and never will. That is why we need Him, because He has already wiped that slate clean. God created us to have a relationship with Him, and to do that He designed us to seek.
Again, this is my opinion based on my beliefs and my understanding of an atheist who once was Christian. This does not apply to those who openly reject the existence of God, but the former Christian. To have been a Christian meant a belief in God at some point, and since God is unchanging the cause must have come from the believer. If I am wrong, I'd love some help understanding because I do not want this to happen to me.
C.S. Lewis said “All that we call human history — money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery — is the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." I believe this is the struggle of our affectional atheist, and it is a tragedy. For those who have known God and turned away to serve another god (money, lust, etc.), I am truly saddened by this. How can you experience true happiness apart from God? What do you think you can accomplish on your own?
The problem is not that there are atheists in the world; the problem is that we all universally identify with this affectional atheism at the core of our motives. Every one of us is born with a twisted desire for happiness, and that desire must come at the cost of others. This is how I lived my life for many years, and regardless of how 'happy' I thought I was, it was at the expense of someone else because I was selfishly fulfilling my desires.
I think this is a fundamental flaw with all humans, and the broken world around us is proof of that flaw. Exploiting one another for personal happiness, however subtly it appears, eventually leads to personal conflict in many lives. James 4:1-12 tells us the reasons why this is. We lust for the pleasures we think will bring us happiness. We are blind to what will bring our hearts the satisfaction it longs for. We cannot see God’s beauty or enjoy the pleasures of God, so we seek to substitute it with the pleasures of the flesh. Our hearts are so backwards they are dead.
Having come to know the Lord later in my life I understand the fundamental need to fill our lives with some purpose and desire. He can give us true happiness by filling that void within us. Having come to know Him has given me a new purpose and new desires. At first I felt unworthy due to my selfishness and sin. But I have learned that I am still a sinner, and will continue to sin because I haven't reached that point of perfection yet, and never will. That is why we need Him, because He has already wiped that slate clean. God created us to have a relationship with Him, and to do that He designed us to seek.
Again, this is my opinion based on my beliefs and my understanding of an atheist who once was Christian. This does not apply to those who openly reject the existence of God, but the former Christian. To have been a Christian meant a belief in God at some point, and since God is unchanging the cause must have come from the believer. If I am wrong, I'd love some help understanding because I do not want this to happen to me.
