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June 6, 2005 Thank you for reading and responding, Russell. You are only a little mixed up and I am sorry for confusing you. “Dear Skip,” RUSSELL: “I am not a Christian, so I suppose I am qualified to answer your questions.” POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why it is so important to atheists to destroy a faith that promotes "love of neighbor" as a major tenet.” RUSSELL: “It is not important to me to destroy your faith. It is only important to me that I should be free to not follow your faith if I so choose. I note that in addition to "love of neighbor"; your religion also promotes the idea that unbelievers deserve to be TORTURED FOREVER after they die. Among many other issues, that is why I treat your religion with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.” SKIP: You are free to do anything you want except infringe on my freedom. That is what you're saying right? Are you being hypocritical? I am not trying to force any belief. I am only voicing my own belief. God does not suggest anyone "deserves" eternal torture. He has spent his entire relationship with men trying to keep them from that fate. Keep in mind - I do not write to unbelievers. I am writing to Christians to try to support their faith against all that has been spoken against God and Christ; which is a lot. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why it is Christianity that is so hated and despised by the atheist; that the atheist will not rail against the murderous Islamist, or the cults of the Jehovah's Witness or the so called Christian Scientist.” RUSSELL: “If one must wonder that, then one does not pay much attention. Certainly, because so many atheists live in America, the religion they come most in contact with on a daily basis is Christianity. However, you'll find no shortage of atheists arguing against Islam: http://www.infidels.org/library/modern/theism/islam/index.shtml Jehovah's Witnesses: http://members.aol.com/beyondjw/bj.htm (run by an atheist) Christian Scientists: http://www.cs.uwaterloo.ca/~shallit/Talks/cs.html and all the rest. So, you are mistaken.” SKIP: Well, this is my fault, surely. I do not normally enter the web sites of atheists and the only experience I have with unbelievers, are those who largely express hate toward Jesus; who they then say doesn’t exist. It can get confusing at times. This is inclusive of Islam and other so-called religions that declare Jesus is not the True God. What I pay attention to is the seriousness of the assaults against the Christian faith in America. You do realize that the arenas where the Bible and Christianity have been driven out are now the greatest promoters of evil, hate and sin in the world. I include the courts, and the public school system of America which have been in a steady moral decline, and the attempt to destroy the Boy Scouts of America by the tactics of the ACLU. But I apologize. Yes, there are atheists who speak against the cults and Islam. This is a good thing really; I just wish there were more of that on UK.com. Most all of the anti-faith vitriol there is against my chosen faith. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why atheists insist that all men believe as they do; that human existence is the epitome of some sort of improvable evolutionary experiment by an impersonal, natural force that could never be called "God". RUSSELL: “I, an atheist, do not insist that you believe as I do. I do not believe in God, and think you are probably mistaken for doing so, but you have the right to be wrong. SKIP: Thank you. This is a generous statement. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why atheists must resort to the slanderous accusations of "murderers" and "hate mongers" and "homophobes" to describe a group of people who follow a law of "peace and good will to all men". RUSSELL: “As a general policy, I try to avoid those labels except in the case of those who actually kill somebody (http://www.fadp.org/news/TampaBayOnline-20030903.htm), exhibit hate (http://www.godhatesamerica.com) or oppress gay people (http://www.matthewshepard.org/story_matthew.html). To the best of my knowledge you have done none of these things, hence I do not apply them to you.” SKIP: No, I haven’t engaged such thoughts or actions since I was saved over 30 years ago. RUSSELL: “Though again, your religion's laws not only include "peace and good will to all men" but "dissenters deserve to be TORTURED FOREVER." SKIP: Again, no one "deserves" eternal torture. The warnings are very clear. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why the atheist finds it important to place human attributes on a being that is essentially eternal and sovereign over the whole of creation so that they can claim their own opinions and foibles equal to that of God, in an effort to bring God to their own levels of immaturity and ignorance.” RUSSELL: “Atheists do not place any attributes on "God," because we do not believe in "God." Any features attributed to a god are entirely the product of those people who believe in one -- though they may be quoted or discussed by atheists.” SKIP: I don't believe I am misunderstanding the scenarios presented by the writers in UK.com. They clearly try to place God in a human built, paradoxical situations. God is sovereign. He can do anything he wants. In the same vein, he can choose to not do anything. They call God mean and spiteful; always thinking of ways to "eternally torture" the unfaithful. Amazingly, most will not accept God at his word that he prefers the salvation of all, to the death of all. I think you have to look again. I think you will see many human attributes labeling the True God coming from the keyboards in UK.com. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christians, why atheists would place themselves on the side of foolishness against the words of scripture that declare against them: "Only a fool says in his heart, there is no God." RUSSELL: “Because we do not put any more stock in that quote than we put in the rest of your book. Fools believing there is no God, talking snakes, water into wine, the whole shebang -- we don't believe your book is correct.” SKIP: Well, I place "stock" in the scriptures. It is the "message of God to those that believe, the Jew first, and also the Gentile". I did not write any portion of the Hebrew/Christian collection of works assembled as the Bible. But I do believe the collection to be much of what God told men during his period of physical, personal relationship with men on earth. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why atheists simply reject facts of history and the mystery of the survival of the Hebrew/Christian Bible over centuries of persecution and attempted destruction. Or why tiny Israel; at one point completely disbanded, is again a power in the world with the fourth strongest air forces on earth.” RUSSELL: “Atheists accept many of these facts, while at the same time not believing that there is any evidence of a supernatural being guiding it.” SKIP: Well, I don't believe enough thought is going into a conclusion like that. I’ve had a few write to me to explain to me how the entire Bible was “myth” with no base in “fact” and I believe that is dishonest. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why atheists are not martyrs, while there were thousands of men who have gone to their deaths rather than recant their belief in the only Son of God; and there are thousands more in places like North Korea, China, and the many belligerent Middle eastern countries who are imprisoned and killed because they dare speak of faith in Jesus.” RUSSELL: “Because atheists enjoy living and don't believe that there is eternal life coming afterwards. We think it's irrational to die for your beliefs except in really extreme cases. And we think that if, for example, the 9/11 terrorists had agreed with this principle, we would all have been better off.” SKIP: The differences I see in this reply are that the Christian will believe until someone kills him for his belief. He doesn't insist on grabbing the unbeliever and jumping into death while holding on to him. The Islamist gains points for killing while going into martyrdom. Jesus never taught that. The unbeliever does not care unless and until the situation will affect only him. Or, more very simply...One seems selfless, one seems a murderer and one seems selfish. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why atheists need vitriol to make a point; or why atheists are cruel in their writings; calling Christians ignorant and using many epithets that are unprintable in this forum.” RUSSELL: “True, atheists sometimes use vitriol to make a point. On the other hand, just in this article, you have called me "fool" and "hateful", referred to anything I may write as "tripe", and implied that I support "murderous Islam". Elsewhere in your site, you refer to atheists as swine and exhibit something very like glee at the notion of my future suffering. I believe there is a saying about a pot and a kettle that might be relevant.” SKIP: I do not call you a fool; I point out that is a scriptural reference. Hate is what I face and this, being only the third e-mail I've dealt with so far is at least a little more calm than the last two. Atheistic language against God is...in my opinion, "tripe" I will qualify that as my opinion. Atheistic language against me personally is just insulting, and it is something to be expected. God does not care that you do not believe. He only cares when one becomes a believer that they are careful not to bring shame on his name. The unbeliever is perfectly free to move on. God's messages are for those who believe. If I "implied" that you personally (I don't recall using any names) support murderous Islam, I will ask your forgiveness. Mr. Smith and I have been e-mailing back and forth and he is insisting that Islam is as valid as Christianity. I do not agree that murder is equal to love. Context may have helped there. "Swine" is also biblical symbolism. Again, I ask you to remember I write to Christians, not to unbelievers. The Christian knows the typology behind the words of Jesus. "Glee in future suffering"? Well, that's just wrong. I take no glee in seeing the message of Jesus rejected. I know what that means to the eternal standing of any person. POINT: “One must wonder, if one is not a Christian, why the Christians aren't fighting vitriolic fire with fire; why the Christians turn the other cheek; why Christians allow the spew of atheists to go largely unanswered.” RUSSELL: “They ARE. If you think that Christians don't spew, you are just not looking for it. And if you don't believe me, I can easily come up with a list of, let's say, five links to examples in about thirty seconds.” SKIP: Well, THEY ARE wrong. There is no need to "spew". Jesus takes some Christians like that and says he will "spew them from his own mouth". There are "lukewarm" Christians so-called, so steeped in their particular brand of man built ruler ship they hold the church laws of men with the same authority as scripture. The whole of that is wrong. Jesus did not fulfill the Law of Moses only to have it go to Hell under a set of man made laws about what can be done, eaten, drunk or played with. Yes, I can get to those same links. None of them speak of personal faith or a direct relationship with God. They speak of meditations, medications, self-help books, prayer rags and rugs, and holy cards. It is all religious (for want of a better word) crap! I speak of faith. I only speak of faith. "Religion" for the most part is spiritually worthless toward eternity with God. POINT: “Well, I am a Christian. I do not have to wonder at anything an atheist does. Jesus will be spoken against because Jesus is God. The Scriptures declare that all things were made by him and without him nothing was made that was made.” RUSSELL: “Of course you do not have to wonder at anything. Nobody can force you to be intellectually curious, and no one can make you care about other people's opinions.” SKIP: Here is the heart. I cannot say it is my opinion God exists. I just know that he does based on what I have personally experienced both before I knew Jesus and after I asked him to save me. Atheism does not declare that it is their "opinion" God does not exist. Atheism, for the larger part declares it a "fact" God does not exist. That, in my opinion, is arrogance. Now, I would care about "opinions". I might even readily debate "opinions" because "opinions" can be changed. I remember the story of "Antony Flew" who has recently explained his change of opinion concerning "intelligent design". Yet, over and over, I read Jesus is a "myth"; as if that makes all right with the world. Jesus is a "myth" because more people don't believe than do believe. Well, even the small number of actual believers was a prophecy if you know anything of remnant theology. It was "intellectual curiosity" that took me out of one of those useless religions, and brought me to true faith in Jesus. It is that same curiosity that caused me more than 30 years of study to determine "if these things were so". The difference? I believe these things are truthful based on years of "intellectual curiosity" and personal study. The Holy Spirit helps a lot too. POINT: “Atheists are lonely souls. They are lonely because they do not have any assurance. This is their only life; this one, single, finite life. They know they need to make an impact so they look for that 15 minutes of fame slandering innocent people because that is what gets them the press and the admiration of the masses.” RUSSELL: “I cannot speak for all atheists, but I am not lonely. I have a wonderful, supportive family, and very good friends, many of whom are also atheists. I admit that I feel a bit perturbed when I read an article so full of errors as yours, but by and large I enjoy being an atheist and don't feel the need to slander anyone.” SKIP: I will apologize to the atheists who did not fall into these categories. I should have been more specific in explaining that these are atheists I know personally and the more extremely slanderous ones who fill my e-mail with all kinds of very un-kind things. I am glad that you are content. Family is very important. It is misunderstandings like this I must avoid, so I will be sure to become more specific in any future columns when speaking of any other particular religion or atheists. I still do not wish to name names. There has been a history of personal slander in this forum so some can draw their conclusions. I shall endeavor to let only the scripture speak and leave the inappropriate personal commentary abated. POINT: “Jesus tells us to turn the other cheek, so we do. Paul says, don't bother to answer against their vain slander, and so we are careful not to judge or harm the ignorant. We are asked to give answers to those who ask us legitimate questions, and so we do.” RUSSELL: “Remind me what was your purpose in writing this article, if not to rail against atheists?” SKIP: I did not consider my column a "rail", a "rant", a "diatribe" or some of the more colorful descriptions thrown at me thus far. I write to support my brothers and sisters in Jesus. If you notice, I wrote "one must wonder if one is NOT a Christian". Christians need not wonder. We have been told. In a way, I was trying to tell Christians that we really don't need to battle and argue what we've been told will happen. When Jesus was falsely accused, he did not stand and argue the point. He let happen what happened and through that, not only was prophecy fulfilled, but even more people believed he was the very Christ. So perhaps, I could have found a better way to express all that I was feeling when I wrote that column. I shall work more carefully to make myself better understood. The bottom line is that Christians are to "live" their faith. Not take unbelievers to court. I wish the ACLU felt that way. POINT: “Christians do not battle against flesh and blood, because flesh and blood can only kill physically. The Christian battles against the spiritual principalities of the god of this world. His title is Satan. It is more important for the Christian to protect his spiritual welfare. We are not to be discouraged by the railings of unbelievers and followers of silly beliefs that openly declare their hatred of Jesus.” RUSSELL: “Atheists agree: People who follow Satan are silly. We don't approve of following ANY imaginary character. Except for the sorts of big nerds who care about whether Captain Kirk would beat Captain Picard in a fight.” SKIP: I personally think both Picard and Kirk could kick Janeway's butt! I wonder how Odo would fare against Data though. POINT: “I have read much of the tripe, vitriol and slander posted by those who call themselves atheists. They are proud of their titles of humanism and Satanism. They are satisfied that they cannot be civil enough to allow Christians their faith. They leave all other religions alone because the one true faith is the one that they need to destroy.” RUSSELL: “As I have already pointed out, you are incorrect. Feel free to ask for more examples of atheists debunking other religions, or you can just google it yourself if you actually care about writing the truth. SKIP: I will. Thank you. I care so much about the truth that I check the Book of Truth all the time. POINT: “I am a Christian. I do not wonder at the works of the atheists. Scripture has told me all about these people who believe in nothing.” RUSSELL: “I don't believe in nothing. I just don't believe in your god, either.” “Have a nice day.” Russell Glasser SKIP: Anyway, Russell, I do appreciate your notes and your comments. Critique is important to me. I see I must continue to be true to my faith, but I must ensure that I be much more specific in making my points. It is far too easy to be misunderstood when you are not specific. Sincerely, ST ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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