Image via WikipediaThe Church's message is not, "look at us". It is look at Christ. The Christian's message is not, "look at me". It is look at Jesus.
Image via WikipediaDissatisfied with the "is" of your life? Look to the "Ought".
You want to see moral perfection? Look at Christ. You want to see God-at-work? Look at Christ. Want to hear words of wisdom? Listen to Christ. Want to see a man who loves God with all his heart, mind, soul, and body? Look at Christ. Now, look at him on the cross.
Do you want to see evidence of the saving power of God at work -- the power of God to overcome the evil of this life and "make things right"? Look at Christ raised from the dead, ascended, and seated on high. Do you want reason to hope that evil will be finally overcome? Look to Christ, the soon-coming King of Kings and Lord of Lords who will establish the rule and dominion of God on this earth.
Speaking of dominion, do you want to know what Canada's destiny is? "He shall have dominion from sea to sea."
"We preach not ourselves, but Christ crucified".
3 comments:
Rick,
Every time you start a sentence with “Atheist believe…” or “Atheists think…” the rest of the sentence is something very unfamiliar to most atheists I know. I think you need to stop reading things about atheists and actually meet a few. Always good to know the enemy, as Sun Tzu would say.
A good starting point is Skeptics in the Pub, it is informal, friendly, fun. And there is one every month in your home town: http://www.skepticscanada.org/events/
Naturally, I would suggest you avoid admitting your beliefs at first, as I think you will learn more if you allow people to open up to you before you hit them with your faith. Just as I wouldn’t stand up in a church service and yell out “this is crap!” I would suggest you go there to ask a few questions and learn, and save your outright criticism for the blog. You will find people at a SitP event like to discuss issues, and especially like a respectfully dissenting voice in the crowd. Note: not all skeptics are atheists, and not all atheists are skeptics, but there is a pretty good overlap between the groups.
Well, I didn't start a sentence the way you suggested.
I did use an Alister McGrath quote -- a quote I don't necessarily agree with. I also use quotes at times by atheists I don't necessarily agree with -- I think I have used stuff by you.
Are these skeptics skeptical about darwinian evolution and/or the basic integrity of their own minds -- or are they only selectively skeptical?
I don’t know. Just as there are many types of atheists, there many types of skeptics.
My understanding of “skepticism” as a thought system is to always doubt your own assumptions, and the importance of recognizing your own biases and blind spots. I suspect (an assumption coming from my physical science background) that most will look at evolution by natural selection as being so well established as to require extraordinary evidence to dismiss it; much like gravity and the oblate spheroid shape of the earth. But the point of my suggestion wasn’t to have to go there to try to debate them on creationism, but to actually meet the people and see what they actually think, believe, care about, etc. You spend so much time here speaking out against them, but I’m not sure you understand them.
Post a Comment