Wow. Atheists positioned as the oppressed minority.
The key idea that the billboard proposes is: There are lots of good people who don't believe in God. They pay their taxes, don't cheat on their wife (singular), give to the poor and contribute to society. If model citizens can be produced without reference to some supreme being, then where is the necessity for that supreme being? We'll set aside questions of how to define "good" in the absence of some sort of absolute standard, which tend to boil down to living a life described as "harmless" or "mostly harmless".
Hmmm...I wonder what God thinks about all of this. Two points:
- Who You Know. The Christian faith teaches that goodness is given not gained. The billboard for Christians is: "Are You Bad Without God? We All Are." What is our attitude towards and relationship with Jesus? Do we seek him or spurn him? Obedience follows relationship. "How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot" (Heb. 10:28) . God rewards those who earnestly seek a relationship (Heb. 11:6)
- Why You Go. An implicit assumption in the billboard's message is: who care's what you "believe" as long as the result is good. Sort of a "black box" mentality. But Christian obedience stems from a transformed character. Jesus' harshest words were for those whose inner lives were a mess but who managed to pretend well-enough on the outside.
We all know lots of good people. We all know some scoundrels. We are them (Titus 2:12), sometimes at random. Our opinion of ourselves tends to range from self-loathing to self-promotion.
In the end, though, it is God's opinion that counts. What does he think of you? How do you know?
I suppose the question that needs to be asked here is "why?"
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that people have to believe in god? At what point are we allowed to cross the street without holding Daddy's hand? I mean, sure, it's scary the first time, but after a while, you learn to look both ways, and you're fine.
Why do you assume that there is no hope without Jesus? What is this "hope" doing for you, anyway? Your house can still be repossessed, your dog can still be run over by a car. And wouldn't the bad things that happen to you still be God's fault? I mean, you can't go saying that only the good things that happen come from God. And I know a lot of very pious people who get slammed their whole lives, and a lot of irreligious people for whom everything goes right.
The sun shines on the holy and unholy alike; and in the same way, the rain falls on both, as well.
You have no evidence that there's really an afterlife, do you? And for that matter, all those myriad sins you've got piled up on the "bad" side of the ledger? At what point do they outweigh any good you might have done? You could just be gradually sliding into hell without even noticing - now THAT would be a "no hope" situation.
Do you subscribe to the theory that "accepting Jesus into your heart" is all that's required to go to heaven? Because, if that's the case, are you telling me that Jeffrey Dahmer might well be in heaven right now?
See, you make the assumption that, because you believe that there's an afterlife, then we have to, as well. So therefore, if we're faced with an eternity without fluffy clouds and harps, we must therefore fall into despair. But why would that be?
To be honest, an eternity listening to harp music doesn't sound like an unending joy to me...
If you accept that this is all there is, then you have to live your life as well as possible on this side of the grave. Why is that such a bad thing?
I hear you. Setting aside other issues, would you agree that the question of whether God exists is an important one and, if the answer to that question was 'Yes', it would have important consequences for your life and behavior?
ReplyDeletePursuing excellence of character is a worthy goal for every man and woman. Your answer "to live your life as well as possible" makes me wonder who or what defines "well" for you. I think if you answer that question, you have found who or what is God in your life. As Bob Dylan said, "You've Gotta Serve Somebody"
Peace, Tim.
Well, to be honest, the question "Does God exist?" is not very important to me. I've never seen any compelling evidence that there is a God, or a Ganesh, or, for that matter, a Satan. Nor have I seen any evidence that there weren't unicorns at one time. And it makes no difference in my life.
ReplyDeleteI have a very clear moral code, I treat people right, and am a remarkably happy person, overall. So my "inner life" is pretty good, with neither loathing or promotion (well, except here, I guess - but that's more by way of explanation).
Yes, Dylan did say "You've gotta serve somebody." But he also said "Everybody must get stoned." So is he really the perfect philosopher to be following?
I myself decide what is "well" for me. As do we all, in the end.
And in the larger sense, how would the answer "Oh, that's where God is" change how I'm living? (Other than to pile "prayer" into my schedule, as well as everything else.) I like to think that I'm a good person - not to self-promote, but certainly better that a christian who believes that torture is acceptable (I know several of them). And if they're going to heaven despite an inability to follow ten little commandments, and I'm not, despite breaking only one of them, that's a club I don't want to belong to, particularly.
Let's look at it this way. Are you going to tell me that God the Father, the omnipotent, omniscient being who created the Heavens and the Earth and all things therein, who set the planets in motion and created each of us, is going to get cranky if we don't spend every hour of every day praising His name? That's kind of petty and vindictive for an all-powerful Guy, isn't it? (But then, I guess "omnipotent" doesn't have to be a synonym for "mature," does it?)