tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post7065378906643168608..comments2023-11-02T01:43:20.189-07:00Comments on At Wisdom's End: Fair Questions: How do people become atheists?Samuel C Bunchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13931395216787784171noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post-61619419649168905852016-04-29T18:04:39.786-07:002016-04-29T18:04:39.786-07:00Good points, Jack. I don't know of any author...Good points, Jack. I don't know of any authors at the level of Lewis, Chesterton, and Tolkein currently. Of course, that could be because I stopped reading fiction many years ago.Samuel C Bunchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13931395216787784171noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post-39151494609685959592016-04-28T19:35:26.418-07:002016-04-28T19:35:26.418-07:00It is sad that the modern Christian apologetic has...It is sad that the modern Christian apologetic has become so adversarial toward atheists. I myself have come to the realization that atheism has some intractable problems, such that even if my Christian beliefs were entirely debunked and dismantled, I would still have to cling to some sort of basic theism/Deism in order to make any sense out of consciousness and morality. Even though don't find atheism particularly compelling, I still have to give it the respect it deserves as a growing philosophy of choice for many intelligent people.<br /><br />The idea that we should seek to understand those who disagree with our Christian traditions is not a new one. In 1 Corinthians chapter 9, St. Paul said that he became all things to all people, in order that he might win some of them. Read the Acts of the Apostles. Paul didn't go around quoting Psalms to the Greeks like he did to the Jews. He understood that the traditions of the former did not regard the Scriptures of the Jews with any particular esteem, so he hit them from a different angle, quoting their own pagan philosophers in order to point them to Christ. But this "becoming all things to all people" goes beyond a mere intellectual understanding of what non-Christians believe. When we live this precept out in a Christ-like way, we actually seat ourselves at the table of the unbelievers and sup with them. <br /><br />St. Therese of Lisieux, during the last 18 months of her life, experienced a "dark night of faith," which she described as follows: "When I sing of the happiness of heaven and of the eternal possession of God, I feel no joy in this, for I sing simply what I WANT TO BELIEVE." -(Story of a Soul, John Clarke translation, page 214). Rather than framing this as an individual trial that had only to do with her, she thought of it liked this:<br /><br />"Your child, however, O Lord, has understood Your divine light, and she begs pardon for her brothers. She is resigned to eat the bread of sorrow as long as You desire it; she does not wish to rise up from this table filled with bitterness at which poor sinners are eating until the day set by You. Can she not say in her name and in the name of her brothers, "Have pity on us, O Lord, for we are poor sinners!" Oh! Lord, send us away justified. May all those who were not enlightened by the bright flame of faith one day see it shine. O Jesus! if it is needful that the table soiled by them be purified by a sould who loves You, then I desire to eat this bread of trial at this table until it pleases You to bring me into Your bright Kingdom. The only grace I ask of You is that I never offend You!"-Story of a Soul, page 212.<br /><br />At the risk of sounding cliche, she saw the unbeliever not as "other," but as "brother." Since our faith itself is a gift of God's grace, we cannot boast in any inherent goodness of our own that sets us above unbelievers. Therese most often described unbelievers, not as "evil" or "sinful" (epithets which could describe any one of us, really), but as "poor" or "unfortunate." For she knew that the pure grace of Jesus could bring them to know Him, just as it had drawn her to His heart.<br /><br />My fear is that the Christian subculture in the United States has gotten into such a warrior mindset that it thinks that the only way to gain ground for Christ is by brute force. Rather than engaging the world through the arts, we produce our own movies and books that are about as subtle as a bag of sledgehammers and that don't make much of a cultural impact beyond convincing the already-convinced. This results in perpetuating an "us vs. them" mentality and does little to further intelligent dialogue. Correct me if I'm missing something, but I don't see any contemporary equivalent of a C.S. Lewis, a G.K. Chesterton, or a J.R.R. Tolkien, who is unabashedly Christian and yet produces works of literature that are actually taken seriously outside of Christian circles.Jack DisPennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01999955744311475772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6204664686568393114.post-85911371434619135802016-04-28T19:33:23.903-07:002016-04-28T19:33:23.903-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Jack DisPennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01999955744311475772noreply@blogger.com