What you (Christians) think of Atheists

[Chesterton]

When you talk to an atheist, be it your friend or otherwise, does it ever cross your mind that you believe they will be spending eternity in hell?

Yes.

And secondly, do you believe they deserve eternity in hell?

Yes.

 

[Mrs. Luther073082]

Nice answer.

So now that everyone (that wants to) has answered, I have a new question:

When you talk to an atheist, be it your friend or otherwise, does it ever cross your mind that you believe they will be spending eternity in hell?

And secondly, do you believe they deserve eternity in hell?

To the first question -- No. When I am talking to an athiest, I'm not constantly thinking about them being an athiest. I'm thinking about whatever we're talking about.

To the second question -- I don't want people to spend an eternity in hell, but I am not the one to judge what they deserve. I am not the one who went to the cross to suffer for them.

 

[AlexBP]

I'm back after a long hiatus. I kinda like asking one or two questions every couple of months and here is my question today:

What do you think of atheists? (Assuming you are a Christian)

I pity them. Because I started out as an atheist, beginning from when I first had a conscious opinion on the matter and continuing until age 23. I remember vividly how much suffering I underwent at the time, and how much I could see mirrored in many of my relatives and other people around me who were also atheist or agnostic. So, when I look back on that period in my life, I sometimes wonder at the fact that I survived at all, and I certainly would not wish to inflict the things that I remember onto anyone else.

When you talk to an atheist, be it your friend or otherwise, does it ever cross your mind that you believe they will be spending eternity in hell?

No, because I don't believe that. Nowhere did Jesus say that atheists would spend an eternity in hell, and since he wasn't shy about talking about the afterlife and qualifications for it, I assume it wasn't an accidental omission.

 

[Mess]

I pity them. Because I started out as an atheist, beginning from when I first had a conscious opinion on the matter and continuing until age 23. I remember vividly how much suffering I underwent at the time, and how much I could see mirrored in many of my relatives and other people around me who were also atheist or agnostic. So, when I look back on that period in my life, I sometimes wonder at the fact that I survived at all, and I certainly would not wish to inflict the things that I remember onto anyone else.

No, because I don't believe that. Nowhere did Jesus say that atheists would spend an eternity in hell, and since he wasn't shy about talking about the afterlife and qualifications for it, I assume it wasn't an accidental omission.

Let me ask you this then, what according to you is the punishment for leading a life full of Sin without ever repenting? And how can one escape that punishment if not through The Lord Jesus Christ? And if there is no punishment, why then did Jesus have to die? Very interested to read your answer.

 

[NewHope2010]

I'm back after a long hiatus. I kinda like asking one or two questions every couple of months and here is my question today:

What do you think of atheists? (Assuming you are a Christian)

Living in Australia, I do not come into contact with a whole lot of very religious people. Most of my friends are atheists and the ones that aren't are deists and they respect my views as I do to theirs.

What I am interested in knowing is what a religious person (in this case, Christians) think of non-believers. I don't mean to place stereotypes or offend, but my perception of what Christians think of atheists is a pretty negative one.

Before I ramble on, let me know your answer

Edit: I find it kind of ironic that the avatar for an atheist on the forums is a person with a brain...Why is that?

As a Christian, my feelings about atheists (as opposed to agnostics) is that atheists refuse to believe there can be anything greater than themselves (read: human intelligence). I believe that if you have nothing else to go off of that would cause you to believe that a God exists, then at the very least, you can look at yourself.

Now, before I get accused of blaspheming, please hear me out: When you look at yourself as human, you see what we are capable of as human beings. If you see what we are capable of, you can also see where we are lacking as human beings. Even if you can conceptualize the "perfect person" that acts without any limitations, you have to realize there is something/someone who is greater than that person, that doesn't have those limitations. If you refuse to believe that, then I believe you are essentially saying that the human race is the cream of the crop and there is no hope of anything better - we're supposedly it.

An atheist then, seemingly has no hope other than what mankind, or that individual can accomplish on its own. And to me, that's sad.

 

[camethodactor]

Most of the atheists I know in my life are loving, compassionate people who live life to the fullest and seeks honestly the mysteries of life, creation and the universe. However, there are a good number of atheists that are rude, abrasive, arrogant and condescending in the tradition of the "New Atheists"

 

[A_maize]

I'm back after a long hiatus. I kinda like asking one or two questions every couple of months and here is my question today:

What do you think of atheists? (Assuming you are a Christian)

Living in Australia, I do not come into contact with a whole lot of very religious people. Most of my friends are atheists and the ones that aren't are deists and they respect my views as I do to theirs.

What I am interested in knowing is what a religious person (in this case, Christians) think of non-believers. I don't mean to place stereotypes or offend, but my perception of what Christians think of atheists is a pretty negative one.

Before I ramble on, let me know your answer

Edit: I find it kind of ironic that the avatar for an atheist on the forums is a person with a brain...Why is that?

I thought Australia was actually a pretty non-religious country.

But personally, I kind of understand where non-believers are coming from, as being an ex agnostic atheist myself. Many times either the church or Christians around them did something very wrong and turned them away from faith, so who do we have to blame but ourselves?

There are a lot of non-religious folks around me that do good acts, or show a sense of responsibility that puts me to shame. They also point out inconsistencies in our Christian lives, so there are many things that we have to learn.

But I do wish certain atheists would give God a chance. That Christianity isn't nearly all what you see on TV, nor a bastion of rules and dogma, instead of openness, love and support.

When things seem dark and dreary, or life seems completely meaningless, God was the only thing keeping me from losing sanity and hope. And it's comforting to know he will always be there for you, not to mention following in Christs teachings brings unreal blessings. I do wish those around me had that same kind of... security or reliance in this world.

 

[Deleteriousnonsense]

Atheism is an illusion. There is not one single person who ever went to their death in the certain hope that God did not exist.

 

[Deleteriousnonsense]

Everyone doubts. Faith makes the difference. To die in doubt with hope is preferable to dying in doubt with no hope..............for everyone, professed atheist or not.

 

[Sketcher]

What do you think of atheists? (Assuming you are a Christian)

Depends on the atheist, and how said person acts towards me and towards my faith.

When you talk to an atheist, be it your friend or otherwise, does it ever cross your mind that you believe they will be spending eternity in hell?

Sure.

And secondly, do you believe they deserve eternity in hell?

Everybody does, they're no exception.

 

[mulimulix]

Thanks again for the numerous responses. I can't reply to all of them, so I'll try and cover everything.

No, because I don't believe that. Nowhere did Jesus say that atheists would spend an eternity in hell, and since he wasn't shy about talking about the afterlife and qualifications for it, I assume it wasn't an accidental omission.

I'm actually not too sure about that. I'm certain that if you blaspheme against the holy spirit, it is the one unforgivable sin. I can't really be bothered to find the verse now, unless your particularly want me to. I know this is not exactly being an atheist, but I figure that basically any atheist has blasphemed.

Many of the other answers were usually said that you believed atheists did deserve eternity in hell. This actually surprised me, but on the other hand, if you said they didn't, it would be kind of contradictory.

I've heard some atheists say they get extremely offended when they hear Christians say they will spend eternity in hell; I on the other hand, am not offended, but I suppose disappointed at this threat for a couple of reasons:

1. The first reason being that I simply don't understand why people believe I (for example) deserve to be punished for eternity for not believing in god
2. Second, I am confused as to why an all-loving god would want to send me to hell for not believing in him
3. And third, why I am punished for not believing in god in the first place. Obviously, if god revealed himself to me, I would believe in me. It is not my fault I don't believe in god. I have weighed up the evidence for and against believin in him, and I storngly feel that there is no god. And if he thinks that is punishable by eternal torture, well, I don't know if I'd want to worship a god like that.

I have kind of touched on the last point before, but doesn't this seem fair enough from a logical point of view? I have absolutely no reason to believe in a deity, let alone the Christian god, so how can I be punished for not doing so? Isn't that like the government making a law without telling anyone, then sending people to jail for breaking that law?

 

[Mess]

There are three things you need to consider.

It is not OUR standard by which we are measured it is HIS holy standard.
He does not want you to spent eternity in hell if He did He wouldn't have sent His son to die on a cross.
He has revealed himself, for many people there is enough evidence to believe in God. You have chosen not to, and that is your right, but there are consequences to it. Consequences we would all face if it was not for Christ.

 

[ivebeenshown]

That's a problematic statement, since I would qualify that I do not want to live forever, but I would also clarify that I don't want to live without God, since in my view, the term is ill defined to begin with and being so beyond any kind of falsification that it's not as if I can want to live without something that I don't even know an iota about no matter how much people explain it. I simply want to live. God is essentially a non issue in terms of my living, because I don't see it as something that motivates me either way: to love or hate the thing called "God", only to treat it with apathy.

How many atheists can you genuinely say want to live forever to begin with, though? Just a thought

It's not necessarily 'wanting' to live forever without God... it's having it in your heart that you are living without God or without knowing God, and that it doesn't make a difference to you who your God is, and that you are content with this stance regarding God. If you woke up tomorrow and did something and forgot all about the fact that you don't know who God is (Jesus Christ) and went about your business, you would be just as content.

God is perfect, and righteous... God is love. The Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word became flesh. The Son of God Jesus Christ was in the flesh, God incarnate, and he was love. He was the perfect example of a human being, being love incarnate.

 

[Sir Wilshire]

1. The first reason being that I simply don't understand why people believe I (for example) deserve to be punished for eternity for not believing in god

Non-Christians are punished for all their sins, not just their lack of faith in Christ. Jesus covers your sins before God through faith, so if you don't have him, there is nothing to protect you from God's wrath. Furthermore, the eternal nature of the punishment is due to two things. First off, it's a qualitative matter. Sin is a honor offense against God. His honor is qualitatively different from human honor. So how could the punishment of shame for a being with only human honor every satisfy an honor offense against a being with divine honor? Secondly, hell is very much in one sense God giving non-Christians what they showed they wanted with their whole lives, and you are no longer given to the opportunity to change. If you didn't want God for 70 years and didn't accept him despite the evidence he has for you on earth, why would you in hell?

2. Second, I am confused as to why an all-loving god would want to send me to hell for not believing in him

First off, the Love of God spoken of in the Bible is more akin to the modern idea of "Tough Love." It's also centered on the group. It is more loving to all of humanity to eventually separate out those want Jesus and those who don't.

3. And third, why I am punished for not believing in god in the first place.

I think what I said above answers this well.

Obviously, if god revealed himself to me, I would believe in me.

Not so obvious. Jesus himself said some people would not believe even if they personally saw someone rise from the dead.

It is not my fault I don't believe in god. I have weighed up the evidence for and against believin in him, and I storngly feel that there is no god.

The thing is, if the evidence actually is sufficient, and you still say this, it is your fault.

And if he thinks that is punishable by eternal torture, well, I don't know if I'd want to worship a god like that.

Where does the Bible say the punishment is physical torture?

I have kind of touched on the last point before, but doesn't this seem fair enough from a logical point of view? I have absolutely no reason to believe in a deity, let alone the Christian god, so how can I be punished for not doing so? Isn't that like the government making a law without telling anyone, then sending people to jail for breaking that law?

I thinking raising a man from the dead with an immortal body to vindicate his claims made before death that he would die and rise, and that he is God counts as "telling" people.

Why do you think Jesus didn't rise from the dead?

 

[ephraimanesti]

Edit: I find it kind of ironic that the avatar for an atheist on the forums is a person with a brain...Why is that?

MY BROTHER,

You will notice, however, that the brain area of the icon is darkened in to signify the darkness of thought under which atheists attempt to function--the very reason they are unable to comprehend, accept, and access God Who is Light.

How do i feel about atheists? Sad. Most of them are intelligent and usually very personable (except, of course, when attempting to debunk Theism). It is unfortunate that their willful blindspot is a spiritual death sentence and so they are stuck in the meaningless life--work, play with their toys, procreate, sleep, die--of the "evolved animal" they hold themselves to be! There is so much more to the REAL life they were created in God's image/likeness to enjoy!

ABBA'S FOOL,
ephraim

 

[98cwitr]

I'm back after a long hiatus. I kinda like asking one or two questions every couple of months and here is my question today:

What do you think of atheists? (Assuming you are a Christian)

Living in Australia, I do not come into contact with a whole lot of very religious people. Most of my friends are atheists and the ones that aren't are deists and they respect my views as I do to theirs.

What I am interested in knowing is what a religious person (in this case, Christians) think of non-believers. I don't mean to place stereotypes or offend, but my perception of what Christians think of atheists is a pretty negative one.

Before I ramble on, let me know your answer

Edit: I find it kind of ironic that the avatar for an atheist on the forums is a person with a brain...Why is that?

As a former atheist I think they are only other people. There are many different types of atheists and reasons why they do not believe. We as Christians are to love them as Christ loves us, so that through Christ, they may be brought to Him.

 

[Asvin]

I view all human beings as equal.. I give everyone a basic respect no matter what he/she may believe in, say, act like, or wear... I don't judge someone if he/she is an atheist.. I get to know them more and share my knowledge!!

 

[AlexBP]

I'm actually not too sure about that. I'm certain that if you blaspheme against the holy spirit, it is the one unforgivable sin. I can't really be bothered to find the verse now, unless your particularly want me to. I know this is not exactly being an atheist, but I figure that basically any atheist has blasphemed.

In the Parable of the Sheep and Goats [Matthew 25:31-46], Jesus provides a description of the Last Judgement.

31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

So, there are two key points that he emphasizes here. First, this is not a splitting based on the personal preferences of God deciding that some persons deserve reward and others deserve punishment. It is a splitting based on the nature of the persons. The sheperd in the does not determine whether each animal will be a sheep or a goat; he merely looks at each animals and sees what its nature is. So, in metaphor, we are told that God will not choose based on preference who goes into the first group and into the second. Instead, He will look at the nature of each person and determine which group they already belong to. A sheperd might put ten goats into a group of sheep, but then it wouldn't be a group a sheep anymore. Likewise, God could not place the wicked into the group of the righteous and still have it be a group of righteous.

The second thing that Jesus emphasizes is that members of both groups will be surprised by what happens. On the last day, many people who thought they were guaranteed entrance to Heaven will not get in, and many people who had no idea they were serving God in their lives will.

I've heard some atheists say they get extremely offended when they hear Christians say they will spend eternity in hell; I on the other hand, am not offended, but I suppose disappointed at this threat for a couple of reasons:

1. The first reason being that I simply don't understand why people believe I (for example) deserve to be punished for eternity for not believing in god
2. Second, I am confused as to why an all-loving god would want to send me to hell for not believing in him
3. And third, why I am punished for not believing in god in the first place. Obviously, if god revealed himself to me, I would believe in me. It is not my fault I don't believe in god. I have weighed up the evidence for and against believin in him, and I storngly feel that there is no god. And if he thinks that is punishable by eternal torture, well, I don't know if I'd want to worship a god like that.

I have kind of touched on the last point before, but doesn't this seem fair enough from a logical point of view? I have absolutely no reason to believe in a deity, let alone the Christian god, so how can I be punished for not doing so? Isn't that like the government making a law without telling anyone, then sending people to jail for breaking that law?

A cynic might remark that governments do that sort of thing all the time. But, in all honesty, I'm in agreement with most of what you say here, in that I'd wish defenders of Christianity wouldn't bring up the subject of hell to outwisders, as Peter said to the exiles we should give positive reasons for what we believe. [1 Peter 3:15].

But the disagreement between us arises because we understand the concept of God's judgement differently. You keep insisting that if God doesn't allow a person into Heaven, it must be punishment. But it's not a punishment. God's grace is a gift that He offers us, which each of us has the ability to accept or reject, but those who reject God's grace do not have God's grace by logical necessity. Or to put it another way, God is at the door welcoming anybody who wants to come inside. However, one cannot insist on staying outside and enter. You can't eat your cake and have it to.

On the issue of what is deserved, we must recognize that such a discussion rests on an assumption about what fairness is. But has there ever been a standard of fairness that was not based mainly on justifying what the wealthy and powerful in society want to do? I was raised with countless advertisements telling us that we deserve whatever we want, self-esteem campaigns saying that no matter what we do we should be rewarded, and a culture that prized non-stop praise for everybody. When I grew up, I understood that what my culture had taught me was not what wise men and women throughout history have believed. They have understood the necessity of separating good behavior from bad. So the current standards of what anyone deserves are, I believe, so skewed as to be meaningless.

 

[seashale76]

1. The first reason being that I simply don't understand why people believe I (for example) deserve to be punished for eternity for not believing in god
2. Second, I am confused as to why an all-loving god would want to send me to hell for not believing in him
3. And third, why I am punished for not believing in god in the first place. Obviously, if god revealed himself to me, I would believe in me. It is not my fault I don't believe in god. I have weighed up the evidence for and against believin in him, and I storngly feel that there is no god. And if he thinks that is punishable by eternal torture, well, I don't know if I'd want to worship a god like that.

I have kind of touched on the last point before, but doesn't this seem fair enough from a logical point of view? I have absolutely no reason to believe in a deity, let alone the Christian god, so how can I be punished for not doing so? Isn't that like the government making a law without telling anyone, then sending people to jail for breaking that law?

You're looking at it wrong (You and a lot of people who call themselves Christian). The ancient Christian view of this isn't the Calvinism view. An unloving angry God doesn't send anyone to hell. A person who rejected God is tortured for eternity just experiencing God's love like a burning fire. It will be unbearable for them. Hell and heaven are two vastly different experiences of the same thing- God. The light of heaven and the fire of gehenna is God.

I'm swiping this from here Christian Forums - Where Christian Community Meets Faith as it says it better than I could:

The Orthodox teaching is that Heaven and Hell are the same "place" , standing in front of God. The Judgment is individual perception, determined by one's relationship to God. This perception will determine whether or not one experiences it as paradise (Heaven) or agony (Hell) eternally .

Here is a quote from an old Wikipedia article on the topic (that doesn’t seem to be around anymore) that I thought explained it pretty well:

"For many ancient Christians, Hell was the same "place" as Heaven: living in the presence of God and directly experiencing God's love. Whether this was experienced as pleasure or torment depended on one's disposition towards God. St. Isaac of Syria wrote in Mystic Treatises: "... those who find themselves in Hell will be chastised by the scourge of love. How cruel and bitter this torment of love will be! For those who understand that they have sinned against love, undergo greater suffering than those produced by the most fearful tortures. The sorrow which takes hold of the heart, which has sinned against love, is more piercing than any other pain. It is not right to say that the sinners in Hell are deprived of the love of God ... But love acts in two ways, as suffering of the reproved, and as joy in the blessed!" This ancient view is still the doctrine of the Eastern Orthodox Church."

 

[ivebeenshown]

I can't say I can live without "God" without knowing "God" in some sense, so honestly, you seem to have answered your question for me. I basically live in the sense that God is an incoherent and meaningless concept. Therefore, it's more like apatheism than atheism for me. But apatheism could be considered a nuanced form of atheism in an umbrella sense of various beliefs regarding God as essentially negative or privative, including antitheism, contratheism, apatheism, nontheism, theological noncognitivism and ignosticism.

I am content with this notion about "God". I have no qualms saying that it doesn't matter whether God exists or doesn't exist. Denis Diderot said it pretty concisely. "It is important to distinguish hemlock from parsley, but not whether God exists or doesn't exist"

Thanks for sharing.

I believe that God is right in front of you, expressing Himself everyday, working through all sorts of means so that you might know who He is: Jesus Christ who is Perfect Love incarnate. His Spirit works through many different avenues of the universe. I feel that we all have one chance to recognize who God is and confess that He is real and true and did become incarnate and dwell amongst men to suffer so that all might know who He is.

And when that chance is past, and the reckoning comes, to those who did not acknowledge His Truth he will say "You were content to not recognize that I AM, so I do not recognize you," and they will spend the rest of a conscious eternity entirely devoid of the presence of True Love, because they declared in their hearts that they were content with carnal love.

And they will know I AM but they will not be able to feel I AM because I AM will not know them... the best way I could even imagine such a fate is to feel on the brink of suicide growing in melancholy at a rate approaching infinity for eternity... like one of those graphs that declines towards negative infinity on the y scale as the x scale progresses yet it can never cross the zero on the x scale. A state of total perdition.