I kept wondering why these commenters found it necessary to post links supposedly debunking her beliefs and why they kept saying she was acting purely on "feeling". I mean, she found meaning in life when she previously believed there was none, and now she is living her life. Why do these atheists care if some random woman became a Catholic?
I understand why Christians care if people are Christian or not. It's because they think non-believers are missing out and they want the non-believers to become believers. Granted, some go about it in an awful way. Someone walking up to me in the grocery store and saying, "Hi, do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior?" is pretty dang condescending in my opinion. But Christians (whether they be Lutheran, Methodist, Catholic, etc.) seem to be the only religious group to do that sort of thing. I mean, when was the last time a Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist knocked on your door and tried giving you a pamphlet? I am guessing never.
So why do atheists (not all, mind you) care about people "leaving" atheism? Would they do the same thing on a Jewish website? Or is there something particularly off-putting about the woman becoming a Christian? And not just any Christian, a Catholic! As far as I understand it, atheists believe there is nothing after death, and the only meaning in life is what an individual person ascribes to it (obviously, this is simply put). So who flipping cares if some woman (not a celebrity, not a scientist, not the president) wants to find religious meaning in her life? Atheists gain nothing from someone coming to their "side" except an extra place setting and bragging rights. Christians gain another brother or sister in a never-ending, pain free, indescribable life after death.
The moral of the story is: Do not ask random people if Jesus Christ is their personal Lord and Savior. Ask them their name and if they'd like to be friends. Because it's probably better they thought you a little strange and outgoing then a condescending ass.
You can read the conversion story and the comments here.
My response is that many self-described Atheists are actually quite like religious folk: instead of believing Christians to be damned or immoral they believe them to be ignorant and blind. They often see Christianity as a cancerous, erroneous, and oppressive force in the world, and therefore do not wish for others to be misled by its dogma. So, every person who believes in the religion is one step backwards for the future of a humanity free of a thought prison. Hope this comment helps you understand their point of view a bit, from a non-Christian and non-Atheist child of an Atheist :)
ReplyDeleteHi! Thanks for reading.
ReplyDeleteI was actually raised in a completely non-religious home, and I am the only Christian in my immediate family. So I do understand why atheists feel threatened by someone becoming a Christian. Perhaps my next post will be about how I went from being a very anti-religious and angry person to who I became after encountering God.
It is unfortunate that some people think all Christians are ignorant and blind, and rather prejudice as well. But I digress. Thank you for your thought provoking comment!
welcome to blogland-
ReplyDeleteit seems to me that regular atheists are almost like agnostics- they just don't care much- but militant atheists target Christians fr their belief...they don't seem to bother other religions (especially muslims!)