Monday, September 10, 2012

Atheism's Big Time Revival

Remember Madalyn Murray O’Hair?  She was an evangelist for atheism back in the 60’s and founded an organization that still calls itself American Atheists. She claimed to be “The most hated woman in America.”  For some strange reason atheist groups have come on strong the last few years. Men like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins and the late Christopher Hitchens have presented strong cases for atheism. The problem with most of their writings is that I would protest the same kind of religion they decry. They don’t seem to know that there is healthy faith and unhealthy faith. This is a free country and so if atheists want to believe God is only a delusion—that is their right. But I am really disturbed by their billboards that seem to be cropping up everywhere. These are some of their messages:     

   Are you Good without God? Millions Are.

   Atheism, simply reasonable.

  (Or the billboards around the Democratic Convention—

   Christianity is sheer silliness and has no place in politics.

   Or the image of Jesus on burnt toast labeled:

   Sadistic God: Useless Savior...Promotes Hate, Calls it ‘Love’.
 

The New York Times Magazine recently carried a six page feature article telling the story of a former Pastor who has begun an organization called: “Recovering from Religion.” He claims to have over 100 chapters scattered across the country.  

Seems like these organizations are determined to try to stamp out all religion. Robert Parham, executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics says the billboard campaign crosses a line. “Unable to make a compelling case for atheism, atheists launch hateful billboards mocking faith.” He goes on to say: “Imagine the outrage in the media had a group said bigoted and hateful things about gays, or women or Hispanics or African-Americans.” There would be outrage were these targeted groups names were smeared across billboards—but have we forgotten Rush Limbaugh and all the other talk-show fanatics? And then we all know that just barely beneath the surface today there are a great many people who hate gays, despise women, Hispanics and African-Americans. Look at the abuse our President has taken since his election. But we know there are precious few voices raised defending these American citizens.

After the article came out in The New York Times Magazine there was a letter that I want to share with you. I wish I had written it: 

“If these people are really atheists, then why do they feel the need to proclaim their (non) faith? If God doesn’t exist, why is it so important to deny his existence and to do so publicly? Do they feel the need to publicly deny the existence of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny (to say nothing of the Great Pumpkin)? This seems to be a case of ‘You can take the man out of evangelicalism, but you can’t take evangelicalism out of the man.”(Sic)
   A.N.S., Alexandria, Va. 

Remove all the great efforts that faith has done in this country and we would be poorer indeed. Orphanages, hospitals, schools and colleges and programs for the poor and the homeless. Millions of dollars are dispensed by local congregation to those who knock on church and synagogue doors crying: Help me.  I would have had a hard time getting a college education without my little church and the school that helped me along the way.

We have had a few missionaries around the world who have done more damage than good but I think of all those who serve unnamed all their lives to help people in troubled places. They are in the majority and they have made an incredible difference.. I think of all the relief work that was done after Katrina and many more places. I have a hard time thinking that Habitat for Humanity has hurt more than helped thousands of families.
 

I remind the atheists and all of us—there is a healthy faith and an unhealthy faith. God give us the wisdom to know the difference.

 

8 comments:

  1. The "new atheists" are making the same mistake that many comparative religion classes made in the past: comparing other religion's worst with our religion's best to make it seem as though we are superior.

    A while back I heard a spot on NPR about a minister who had "come out" as an atheist and was attending a convention of atheists where she was being warmly welcomed. It all sounded so much like a revival meeting of the sort that evangelicals have to welcome the lost into their fold. We just need to give the atheists time to cool down and get real.

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    1. Oh come one. New Atheists are objecting to religion first and foremost because its teachings are false, not because of what it does. We don't give "moderate" religion a pass either. To claim that we compare "the worst of one religion with the best of another" is just a straw man attack. Have you read Dawkins's "the god delusion"?
      Also, comparing an atheist event welcoming a new comer to an evangelical revival ignores countless other contexts in which the same can happen: a physics conference, a medical conference, a politcal rally, even a baseball game. Would all those remind you of revival meetings as well?

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  2. "Imagine the outrage in the media had a group said bigoted and hateful things about gays, or women or Hispanics or African-Americans."

    Being gay, female, Hispanic or African-American never caused death, war, hate, ignorance or discrimination (although hate for those people has resulted in such things). Also, none of those is a choice. Religion is.

    "If God doesn’t exist, why is it so important to deny his existence and to do so publicly? Do they feel the need to publicly deny the existence of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny (to say nothing of the Great Pumpkin)?"

    No one believes in those crazy ideas. But religious people do believe in crazy ideas.

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  3. When we took down some supplies to people in McClellanville after Hugo, the man told us that it was only the churches who were trying to help everybody. "It's dog eat dog except for them." This is just one example, and I'm sure there are many, of how churches reach out and make the world better. However, I believe there are unfortunately an almost equal number of people who have been hurt (mostly emotionally) by churches. And Aaron is right in that many of the world's greatest atrocities have been committed in God's name. Christians in this country are a far cry from being persecuted no matter how many billboards are put up. Gays and ethnic minorities are and have been beaten up, discriminated against and killed. Christians have in no way suffered as in comparison to them. It is simply our job to live in a way that makes people want to believe in the God we worship.

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  4. "If God doesn’t exist, why is it so important to deny his existence and to do so publicly? Do they feel the need to publicly deny the existence of Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny (to say nothing of the Great Pumpkin)?"

    If the majority of the US population were insisting that these characters were REAL and that belief in them was necessary upon pain of eternal torment as well as insisting that the belief in these characters must dominate political policies such as gay marriage and women's rights... Would you NOT stand up against such lunacy?

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  5. Judgement, hate, divisiveness, have become the presenting image of Christianity for many. It is written that whatever we did not do for the least, we did not do for Jesus. So often I see Christians condemning people to damnation- even our political candidates who both profess Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. It is no wonder that there is a resurgence against Christianity. "With the tongue we praise our Lord, yet curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God". There are no exceptions- except Gays, except Democrats. Yet we spew hate in our quest for righteousness. There is so much good in the Church and in its missions. Jesus was compassionate to the poor, the sick, the outcast, and the hated. The war we must win must be fought with kindness, compassion and under standing. By the way, you baptized me in 1977. It's is great to see your blog.

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  6. I must say that I found this post utterly unconvincing. Here is my full response:
    In defense of Jerry DeWitt
    http://www.skepticblogs.com/nocrossnocrescent/2012/09/11/in-defense-of-jerry-dewitt/

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