Atheism and Chrsitianity

Or rather, is atheism anti-Christian in the symbolic sense? In scripture?

In John 2:18 the bible says that "...this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour."

And John 2:22: "Who is the liar? It is the man who denies that Jesus is the Christ. Such a man is the antichrist—he denies the Father and the Son."

John 4:3: "but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world."

John 1:7: "Many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist."

Could the antichrist be not so much an individual as a movement of disbelief that has been with us since long before Christ?

From a Christian perspective I would be quite frightened/elated for the end times and the Second Coming. As atheism is on the rise this should be a prophetic herald of Jesus' return.

At times I am confused as to why Christians abhor atheists. It would seem, in my estimation, that they should foster atheism in order to bring about their messiahs return. If they are "with God" then they should have no qualms about making unfounded assumptions/hypothesis about the origins of the universe and such things as so-called "miracles" and other types of bullshit (oh wait...they already do) then I don't see what the problem is with atheists, skeptics and unbelievers. After all this is what (according to John) Christians should be fostering in order that Armageddon, the Rapture and Second Coming come to pass. Isn't it?

Additionally, I've had conversations with Christians claiming that a "paperless currency" is a sign of the end times. Credit cards, checking cards and such.

There are signs all over if one is willing to throw ones rationality to the wind. A rationality that is invested in perpetuating a life lived on nonsense. But it's NOT nonsense to those who believe in it. How do atheists wrestle with such rationale? We can't in my estimation.

There is this invisible barrier that just can not be broached unless an individual is thoroughly (and I mean THOROUGHLY) open-minded enough to throw everything into their mental trash bin and start all over from scratch. This is not easily done at all I assume. I myself have never been indoctrinated (therefore I've had my life and belief system pretty much devoid of religious influence since I can remember) so I can't imagine what ex-Christians go through in grappling with their new found skepticism and disbelief.

It must seem quite blasphemous, "Satanic" and anti-Christian to first acknowledge that one does not believe in Jesus as the Christ, the King of Kings, the Son of God or even that he existed at all. In essence this is indeed being or succumbing to the "antichrist". It must be something that is quite frowned upon in their communal settings; being ostracized can not be a happy occurrence. I can only imagine how disconcerting this could be.

Atheists are indeed the antichrists. Make no mistake. There is nothing "satanic" about being an atheist. But being an atheist is indeed anti-Christian. One can not doubt the divintiy of Jesus and be pro-Christian. It's not feasible!

To be honest. I would very much like to dig into the mind of the Christian. Without them trying to evangelize/convert me. To be honest I don't think I've ever had a conversation with a Christian that did not turn to invoking scripture when that conversation turned to their faith. I get quite upset/saddened when this happens because it signifies that the individual is relying on something (scripture) other than what they would otherwise be freely willing to disclose without resorting to what they believe to be factual and real but is not. This is not to say that these individuals are not well meaning or base in their endeavors to live a "good" upstanding life but that often times they are so focused on their faith as to inadvertently create a blind spot when it come to thinking freely.

I dunno. I'm at a loss in this regard.