Atheism Revisited

There have been a few things weighing on my heart recently, and atheism is one of those things. About two years ago I wrote this post on atheism and Christianity. In the post I stated my beliefs that Christians are a leading cause of atheism. I still stand by that statement - let me explain.

I have a very good friend that is a non-believer. I'm not sure WHAT his beliefs are, to tell you the truth, but he says that he doesn't believe in "any of it". By that, I take it to mean that he doesn't believe in ANY religion (he sports a few pagan tattoos and has a few books on druidism, so I thought that was what he was into, but I could be wrong). Now, here's the kicker. His brother is an out-and-out atheist. He believes in NOTHING - not any religion, nothing paranormal, nothing spiritual, NOTHING. As far as he's concerned, there is no point to man's existance on this earth. Now, on the other hand, their father is a devout Christian. He is a believer through and through. Quite often this family gets into . . . debate over religion, because one person will make a comment about the other's beliefs.

Here's my thoughts on this:

As Christians, it is our DUTY and our CALLING to teach others about Christ. That being said, there's a way to go about things and there's a time and a place for things as well.

For example:
Telling someone that they are going to hell because they're Muslim while you're in the middle of a shopping mall is not going about things the right way, nor is it the proper time and place.

On the other hand:
You have a friend notice a cross you're wearing and asks you about your beliefs. They make an offhanded comment about how "every Christian" believes a certain way. This is an opportunity given to you by God to teach the facts about your beliefs, thus opening up a dialogue where you can share your personal faith.

Shoving your beliefs down ANYONE'S throat - NO MATTER WHAT THAT BELIEF - is NOT the right way to go about it.

As I said in the previous post, people didn't come to Christ because he was shouting at them from the street calling them names and telling them they were going to hell. On the contrary, Christ sat and spoke softly to those that were surrounding him and wanted to listen. They may not have agreed with what he was saying, but they were listening because they WANTED to, not because he was forcing them to.

So . . . those are my two cents (again). It's just something I had been thinking about lately, that I wanted to share with you all. What are your thoughts on religion? I would love to hear YOUR two cents . . .