Yeah, I really do.
I just finished reading a book Save Me: An Atheist's Letter to the Christian Church by Barney Adler.
It's a good read. It is filled with the questions that every Christian should be asking about their faith. In the end, I think that the author truly wants to believe in God, but simply chooses not to. It really isn't that difficult.
Although there is ample evidence for the existence of a Supreme Being, there is also no hard proof. Proving that there isn't a God is just as difficult as proving that there is. From my perspective (as a skeptical Christian) the evidence that there is a God overwhelms the thought that there isn't a God.
And before you get all crazy about me calling myself a skeptical Christian, I say that because I believe that we should all be skeptics. We should all ask tough questions about the things that we choose to believe. Skeptics aren't people that doubt. They are people that question.
I once made the comment (in a Sunday School class) that I am a man of little faith. The pastor's wife turned to me and said, "John Hill! You are a Southern Baptist evangelist! How can you say that you are a man of little faith?"
I say that because the answers I've found to the questions I've asked lead me to the logical conclusion that my faith is believable and true. It is not a blind faith. It is a faith based on knowledge.
But even with that knowledge, if I choose to not believe in God I know that I could make a good presentation for why I made that decision. I also understand that Christianity goes beyond believing in God. It defines the character of God as a loving and just ruler that is willing to go to great lengths to provide for his creation and yet remain true to His holy nature.
Maybe I wouldn't make such a great atheist, after all. I'd probably a lot like this author and would end up missing this God that I no longer believe in.
My advise to you is -- question everything.
Carefully examine the evidence.
Choose well.
Choose truth.
John <><
Blind faith is what the blue collar Trumpetiers have. Are they in for a rude awakening.
ReplyDelete"Skeptics aren't people that doubt. They are people that question." That's a great point and well said.
ReplyDeleteWe all have our spiritual journeys. I once heard someone say, "On the spiritual path, we are all at the same point: a beginning."
I like that idea. It's a path not a competition!
Happy Thanksgiving John. I enjoy your posts.