Ok, I had an epiphany the other day. I declare I am an atheist. When I say that; what goes through the mind of a Christian? Ultimately Christians believe in a god. Therefore "He" exists (in a Christian belief system), period .
Now. Talk about delving into the minds of others. I actually do realize that maybe most Christian believers will assume that I am "in the hands of God", be it negative or positive/heaven or hell. Therefore "His" influence is inescapable (however laughable). Laughable in the fact that I don't believe in a god, anyway.
Beliefs are reality in the minds of the believer. Perception of the world we live in and the teachings of how we should live in our world (ie scripture).
What about my reality? Things that are real to me should invariably be real to others in the simple fact that these are things I hold dear and altruistically to my being, it is who I am.
Back to what Christians may think about someone being an atheist (not of atheism itself). I have come to the conclusion that most Christians will think that I have forsaken God. That I have lost faith. That my prayers weren't answered and I have turned my back on the Lord. With the simple rationale that there IS a god.
Not it. NOT IT AT ALL, REALLY. WAY OFF THE MARK!
As a child I was brought up secular, yet "church and stuff" was and is the prevailing mode. For most of my life I could categorize myself as agnostic. "You can't really know", that's what I used to think anyway (sometimes I still hold that view, but not about religion). I am not agnostic about religion anymore because of history. Yes, history. Real facts and evidence. Reading about the real goings on about how Christianity pretty much attempted to obliterated anybody and any ideology or belief system that stood in its way. Not because of the one true God, but because of power and money. I could go on with a history lesson here but I do think I pointed this out in another blog (about the fall of Rome and the beginnings of the Holy Roman Empire).
My point here is that I have never been "saved", never gone to church and thought that god or whoever was looking down in appreciation (not that I wanted to be there in the first place). Never have I ever sat down and prayed for something to be answered, redeemed or sequestered.
Never have I bought the myth. NEVER.
Most people associate their own experiences as being replicable in others. Hence, the idea that what is true for "me" is and can be true for others. Wrong. We all live separate lives and have very unique experiences since birth. We are formed by our environment, our suroundings and what we are taught by our parents and peers. We are not all taught the very same thing.
(A thought: Evangelism. The purpose of which is to spread the gospel. In some, maybe most cases, with utmost zeal. With the purpose of converting the "unbeliever".)
I suppose that one could say that my zeal could be lumped into the same category. Maybe, maybe. Disbelief requires no argument or evidence. Belief has to be proven.
Now. Talk about delving into the minds of others. I actually do realize that maybe most Christian believers will assume that I am "in the hands of God", be it negative or positive/heaven or hell. Therefore "His" influence is inescapable (however laughable). Laughable in the fact that I don't believe in a god, anyway.
Beliefs are reality in the minds of the believer. Perception of the world we live in and the teachings of how we should live in our world (ie scripture).
What about my reality? Things that are real to me should invariably be real to others in the simple fact that these are things I hold dear and altruistically to my being, it is who I am.
Back to what Christians may think about someone being an atheist (not of atheism itself). I have come to the conclusion that most Christians will think that I have forsaken God. That I have lost faith. That my prayers weren't answered and I have turned my back on the Lord. With the simple rationale that there IS a god.
Not it. NOT IT AT ALL, REALLY. WAY OFF THE MARK!
As a child I was brought up secular, yet "church and stuff" was and is the prevailing mode. For most of my life I could categorize myself as agnostic. "You can't really know", that's what I used to think anyway (sometimes I still hold that view, but not about religion). I am not agnostic about religion anymore because of history. Yes, history. Real facts and evidence. Reading about the real goings on about how Christianity pretty much attempted to obliterated anybody and any ideology or belief system that stood in its way. Not because of the one true God, but because of power and money. I could go on with a history lesson here but I do think I pointed this out in another blog (about the fall of Rome and the beginnings of the Holy Roman Empire).
My point here is that I have never been "saved", never gone to church and thought that god or whoever was looking down in appreciation (not that I wanted to be there in the first place). Never have I ever sat down and prayed for something to be answered, redeemed or sequestered.
Never have I bought the myth. NEVER.
Most people associate their own experiences as being replicable in others. Hence, the idea that what is true for "me" is and can be true for others. Wrong. We all live separate lives and have very unique experiences since birth. We are formed by our environment, our suroundings and what we are taught by our parents and peers. We are not all taught the very same thing.
(A thought: Evangelism. The purpose of which is to spread the gospel. In some, maybe most cases, with utmost zeal. With the purpose of converting the "unbeliever".)
I suppose that one could say that my zeal could be lumped into the same category. Maybe, maybe. Disbelief requires no argument or evidence. Belief has to be proven.
