Conversation yesterday:
Little sister: “I proved I’m stronger than Jamie.”
Big brother: “Can you prove it again?”
Little sister: “If Jamie lets me.”
***
Why do people who insist they don’t believe in God get angry at what He does? Isn’t that a wee bit self-contradictory? Why are they upset with Him about the suffering in this world if He isn’t there?
Why do they get upset with what He says about the moral quality of their behaviour, if they think He doesn’t exist?
Why do they get upset at the suggestion that God would actually punish sin and even send people to Hell, if they are sure that there is no God?
If you really are stronger than someone, you don’t need to have that person “let you” prove it. You can prove it whenever you choose. Either you are stronger, or you aren’t.
If you really think God doesn’t exist, you really don’t need to worry about what He says and does. Either He is there, or He isn’t.
But people are bothered, because deep inside, they know there is Something Else, something beyond themselves and this life. God IS there. When people fight against Him, complain about Him, object to what He says, they acknowledge His existence, whether they like to admit it or not.
Psalm 14:1
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God….
Mind Renewers 
*sigh* There are still people who didn’t get that? Strange, but ok, here, again, for you personally:
Atheists are not angry at god. They are, sometimes, angry at religious people.
When talking about the suffering in the world, it’s not about blaming god, it about showing that reality is not consistent with your belief – and reality won’t change, but your belief can.
“He” doesn’t say anything about their behavior, religious people do. And there we are again at… They are, sometimes, angry at religious people.
They do not upset because some fictional being does punish sin, but because religious people use that stupid idea trying to manipulate people, especially children.
And no, they do not bother about “god”, but about “religion”. That’s the difference. “God” has no power, but religious people have and what they do with that power can be a problem. So, your complete lack of understanding about such a basic thing only shows that you never really informed yourself about the topic. You just are making stuff up,
Well, friend, all I can say is you don’t speak for all atheists, because many do exactly as I described. But I suspect you actually know that, even if it doesn’t describe you personally.
Honestly, no. Atheists are defined by NOT BELIEVING IN GOD. If you are angry at god, you believe in him, thus you are no atheist. Simple as that. I’ve heard your “arguments” a dozen times and all these times it’s just the sad try to convince yourself that the atheists in their deepest heart DO believe in god. After all, you can’t be wrong, can you, so everyone else must feel exactly like yourself, so atheists can only be people who don’t admit that. But that’s WRONG. Atheists do NOT believe in god. There’s no hidden belief in everyone. If you were born in China, you would probably be an atheists, too. If you were born in Pakistan, you would probably be now a muslim. If you were born in India, you would probably now be a hindu. Religion is taught, you are not born with it.
And “many”? How many? Can you show statistics? Or is it just some vague term to prevent that you would have to actually show some proof?
There are inconsistent atheists. That’s the whole point of the post. ” If you are angry at god, you believe in him, thus you are no atheist. Simple as that.” I agree. That’s exactly what I said. 🙂 It would be as ludicrous for you to argue that all atheists are consistent as it would be for me to claim that all so-called Christians are consistent.
There are millions of Christians in China, by the way. Estimates run anywhere from 8-12% of the population, pretty amazing considering the levels of persecution in the past and that there are still very strict limits on teaching Christianity to children. It means people become Christians as adults, not as children, which invalidates your assumption that faith is simply a matter of environment.
Reblogged this on Christians Are Us and commented:
Short and sweet. I love how Jon brings this across. Atheists get so upset when God does something but they don’t believe that He exists. Give it a read. It’s worth your time.
Thanks, Mark.
It is a bit typical, that Atomic Mutant, would shift the topic from “God” to “religion.” This is usually done by those who are unwilling to actually address the issue at hand, just change the topic/terms a bit and plow forward. Please, stay on the topic that Jon has brought forward. Jon has a valid point which you are unwilling to address. Many atheists, indeed, do have a problem with someone else acknowledging God’s existence. Personally, I don’t have a problem with you insisting that there is no God. Doesn’t bother me in the least. You are entitled to your beliefs…and their consequences, just as I am. There are many atheists who are just as crusading at trying to remove God from mankind as we believers are in spreading the news of the saving grace of God that was accomplished in the death, burial, and resurrection of God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This battle has raged since time began and will continue to rage until time ends.
I’ve given this thought to many atheists. If you are right (this is hypothetically speaking) and I am wrong, then my life lived is no worst than yours. Sure, some would say delusional but a life lived uprightly before men. But if I am right and you are wrong, then our outcomes are vastly different. For I will spend an eternity with God in heaven with blessings unimaginable and you shall spend an eternity in hell in torments unimaginable. Outcomes which any one should honestly endeavor to look into by reading the Scriptures.
Thanks, Brian. I’m sure Atomic Mutant is indeed one of those you mention that does not want anyone to believe in God. I was at a funeral this week in which there was great joy in the promise of a resurrection and the life to come.
Puddleglum in The Silver Chair: “Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow.”
I’ve been at a hopeless humanist funeral where there is no joy, no confidence. And I stood beside my friend’s grave this week and we sang triumphantly, “It is Well with My Soul.” We sang that our sins are nailed to the cross and we bear them no more, and that we look forward to the day when the clouds will be rolled back like a scroll, when the dead in Christ shall rise. I saw a family with smiles on their faces moments before a husband and father was lowered into the grave, with friends smiling through tears as the bagpipes played, “What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see….”
Atomic Mutant and his friends can campaign all they want, but they’ll never make anyone’s life better by taking that faith away. It must be hard to sell despair when the competition is selling joy.
Indeed, Jon. The reality of the relationship that we have with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, cannot be taken away. As pastor Ackley well wrote, I serve a risen Savior, He’s in the world today, I know that He is living whatever men may say, I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer, and just the time I need Him He’s always near. He lives, He lives, Christ Jesus lives today, He walks with me and talks with me along life’s narrow way, He lives, He lives, salvation to impart! You ask me how I know He lives? He lives within my heart.
I’ve heard the story but have not seen it in print that pastor Ackley had heard a man proclaim that God was dead. This got into his “craw” and he preached two messages on the living God the following Sunday. Still not out of his system Sunday night while talking with his wife, his wife said why don’t you write a poem then. Which he did.
The funeral of a believer is such a blessed occasion. We sorrow not has others who have no hope. There’s coming a day when we will be re-united with those who have gone on before us.
Thank you, Brian. I’ve not heard the story behind that hymn before. I looked it up on Robert Cottrill’s site, and he has less detail, but does attribute the song to a “God is dead” statement. http://wordwisehymns.com/2010/01/21/today-in-1815-matthias-claudius-died/
Atheism just can’t compare, whether the atheist is consistent or not.