From time to time I think it is useful to review what we’ve done and how we got where we are. My first post for Off the Map was in February of last year. I’d come from posting on the Friendly Christian site where Bill had encouraged us to discuss and debate our views on religion. This is something that I’m always going to be grateful for. Helen was kind enough to extend an invitation to blog here and that’s what I’ve done for more than a year.
Re-reading my first post this paragraph leaps out at me.
The most relevant thing about me for this blog is that I am an atheist. I am well aware of the path that led me to atheism. More accurately, I am well aware of the path that did not lead me to theism. I think that the distinction is important. People learn religion. I never did, so I’m an atheist.
I’m still an atheist. I’ve still not learnt religion and, if anything, I’d say I was further away from being religious than I was back then. At least I can say that this is not for want of trying. While I haven’t “opened my heart to Jesus” I have explored a number of aspects of faith. I’ve had my preconceptions challenged and my view of religion’s place in society has softened somewhat. I still balk at some things that some theists get up to and some beliefs they promote but I better understand that the vocal proponents of these things are are minority. Religion can help society in some ways although I still think that it can also hurt us too if misapplied.
Posted in Atheist/Christian Dialog, Jason | 4 Comments »The Friendly Atheist forums have had a recent discussion about the spectrum of Christianity or what it means to be a Christian. There are atheists with a wide variety of opinions including ex-Christians but there are also some Christians who comment. There is a great deal of disagreement on what a Christian is. They range from my own view that the only thing that is needed to be a Christian is that a person calls themselves a Christian to much stricter views that include belief in the following;
- The Trinity.
- That Jesus came to be sacrificed for our sins, and accepting Him into your heart saved you.
- The Bible as the inerrant, “God-breathed” word.
- The existence of God and divinity of Jesus.
- The existence of Heaven/afterlife with God.
- Prayer as a means to communicate with God (at least one-way communication).
- The resurrection and virgin birth and other miracles from the Bible as well.
- The duty to evangelize, as instructed by Jesus before he went back to heaven.
- Particular Christian beliefs as the only way to be saved from damnation.
- Belief that God has a plan for everything and everyone.
- Belief that being a Christian is generally a prerequisite for being a good person, or for being trustworthy.
- Belief that pastors hold a certain amount of authority as counselors and generally wise people.
Not being a Christian and not having been raised in the Christian tradition I have no way to tell what a Christian is beyond their own claims to that identity. A Christian can even reject everything that is supernatural from the bible as Thomas Jefferson did and still identify as a Christian. Is Christianity then a philosophy of living? Could an atheist who follows this philosophy be a Christian if they chose to adopt this label?
Posted in Atheist/Christian Dialog, Jason | 16 Comments »
In life we make a lot of assumptions. I’m not keen on that old management training axiom that assume makes an ass out of u and me. It’s an oversimplification and it denies the very many benefits that making assumptions can have in life. I assume that I’m not going to fall down a well on my way to work and that allows me to leave the climbing gear at home, I assume I’ll need a computer as I work in IT so I take my laptop with me even though some days I don’t switch it on, I assume the trains will be running so I walk to the train station rather than get a bus or drive to work. Sometimes my assumptions are proven wrong (particularly about the trains, but never so far about the well) and this can be enlightening and life enhancing as well as embarrassing and annoying. Some assumptions about Christians and atheists show this to good effect.
The Christian church began life within the Roman Empire. Early Christians enjoyed many freedoms in religion as a result of Roman rule but also some issues of conformity. The state demanded certain core moral values but the early Christians suffered from three widespread stereotypes: Christians practiced atheism; Christians practiced cannibalism; and Christians practiced incest. How’s that for making assumptions?
I always had my suspicions about Christians you know. ;)
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