The Gods of Atheism Compared to Christ

I thought this week I would continue in the same spiritual direction as last week where I discussed the movie, The Case for Christ. The movie discusses a real life story of the spiritual journey of Lee Strobel from atheism to Christianity. This week I want to share thoughts from a book entitled: Jesus Among Secular Gods: The Counter Cultural Claims of Christ. The authors are Ravi Zacharias and Vince Vitale who are part of the RZIM team that speak often to university students concerning spiritual issues in a material world.

Their book speaks to the current secular mindset that is battling for the minds of people in the world. The secularists have been very successful in our school systems in mind numbing young people to think God is a figment of the imagination and that all life came to be by chance macro evolution. But is it based on truth or a leap of faith on the atheist standpoint? Ravi and Vince in their book clearly point out how the Secular Gods of this current age are based on faith. In my book, Living More Than OK, I point out in the spirituality chapter how the atheists are even starting churches to promote their views. This further reveals that they hold onto a belief system just as much as any other religion. We all are believers in something and I have admitted in my blog and book that I follow a belief in the Christian worldview. The book Jesus Among Secular Gods provides the Christian with ample evidence to believe that Jesus is superior to the Secular Gods.

Some of the “gods” of the atheists they showcase in the book are: Atheism, Scientism, Pluralism, Humanism, Relativism and Hedonism. Reading the book it helps to see that atheists carry differing emphasis just as many in other religions emphasize elements of their belief system. Atheism they point out is the denial of God’s existence. Rightly though, they present that belief is along a continuum of light agnosticism of those who admit they are unsure to what I think of as fundamentalist atheists who are obstinate and fully believe there is no God and that those who believe in God are the root of most of life’s problems. They have no proof that God does not exist yet act like they know for certain there is no God. This book provides a look into the belief system of atheism that helps to appreciate their beliefs along the spectrum of agnosticism to hard core atheism. What is also helpful about the book is that it compares the teaching of Jesus and the gospel to the various belief systems held by the atheists.

I will point to a few areas in the book that spoke to my thinking in hopes to encourage you in checking out this book no matter what spiritual journey you are on. One of my favorite chapters was on Scientism which shows how atheists place their faith in science. I have run into many people over the years who feel science has proven God does not exist. Looking at the facts there is no such proof. In my book, Living More Than OK, I point out that many of our great scientists in the past were of a Christian worldview – Kepler, Newton, and Pasteur to name a few. Vince in the chapter on Scientism discusses how science can be viewed as pointing to God. The rationale behind that is how the universe has a beginning, the universe is knowable, the universe is regular, and the universe is finely tuned for life.

For example just one thought to think about from their book is how did the whole universe begin in the first place? Vince presents 3 options: 1. God created the universe – this is what most Christians and other religions believe. 2. The entire universe popped into existence from nothing with no explanation – This is what most atheists believe. I call it the rabbit popping out of the magic hat in the sky. One moment you have vast empty space then bang- out pops a universe. Personally I believe it takes too much blind faith to believe that. 3. His last option is that the universe or series of universes have existed from eternity (pages 66 & 67). He then explores through the 3 options. Is there pure scientific proof for any of the options. I would say no - it boils down to a faith belief. Our worldviews on the beginning be they from an atheist or theist standpoint boils down to our personal belief.

The chapter on Scientism presents another issue that I have always felt moves me towards a belief in God. That is the section on “the universe is finely tuned for life”. The idea is also called the “anthropic coincidence” (of course I do not see it as a coincidence). When observing life on earth it looks like most everything was designed for the purpose of life on the earth. As Vince states, “If the Big Bang had been even the slightest bit weaker, gravity would have made the universe collapse back in on itself almost immediately, far too quickly for any form of life to develop” (p. 80). For myself the amazing beauty of creation and the complexity points to a creator God. If I go to a museum and see a beautiful statue I don’t shrug and think it came to be from happenstance. How much more is the complexity of the world around us. Just the other day, we were watching a hummingbird enjoying a red flower outside our kitchen. How did this amazing bird just pop into being by non-rational chaotic forces? Or in Springtime I am always amazed at the beauty of flowers. Why such variety and beauty of colors? It is like they were created to be enjoyed. Otherwise why didn’t just all plant life keep it simple with one or two colors? For myself, these are pointers to God.

Of course I said pointers to God. I did not say proof of God. Just as I say the atheist cannot prove there is no God I can’t say there is definite proof of God. God is so great why doesn’t He give us the proof? Don’t ask me -- ask God. Personally I think it goes back to faith. God is wanting us to have a faith relationship with him. As for atheism don’t believe the lie they try to foster that they are scientific and rational and Christians and other religions are ‘believers”. Atheists need just as much belief if not more for their belief in life with no God.

Reflection: Take some time to read Jesus Among Secular Gods by Ravi Zacharias & Vince Vitale – buy it or ask your local library to search it for you. Think through your belief system be it theistic or atheistic – why do you believe what you believe? Take some time to explore the wonders of creation around you. What is creation saying to you? Was this amazing wonder created by a Designer God or just popped into being like a rabbit popping out of a magician’s hat?

Reaffirming Reasons for the Christian Life Journey

This week I am beginning to explore a book written by a former classmate, Wiley Graf, (or I should say – Dr. Wiley Graf), from my hometown of Barberton, Ohio. Looking back even to elementary school in 5th and 6th grade I can say I was impressed with his intelligence. So when I reconnected with him on Facebook over a year ago I was not surprised in the least that he taught engineering. His first book which I have been looking forward to is – 100 Reasons To Believe the Bible is the Word of God.

In my blog I discuss a variety of topics often relating to positive psychology which is a passion of mine as well as topics of living an abundant life. I have been open here and in my book, Living More Than OK, that I come at life from a Christian worldview. It is my worldview of belief in Christ as the answer to ultimate meaning, that draws me to books such as Wiley has written. He brings out in his forward the importance of Christians having a foundation of evidence for why they believe. I am thankful when I was a teen my pastor pointed me to authors such as Josh McDowell and Francis Schaeffer who provided sound thinking for a Christian philosophy of life to provide evidence to show that the Bible was trustworthy. Wiley here in his book builds on their work.

In perusing through his book it is no surprise with a scientific mind of an engineer, he first speaks to the laws of thermodynamics which relates so well to the Biblical message on creation. Those were always points of thought I held onto during high school science classes and college science courses that promoted the theory of macro-evolution. It is a theory not a proven fact. Why else would atheists have such wild ideas as Dawkins has speculated that space aliens brought initial life to earth -- check out his speculations: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abugiGHOHg0

I won’t go through all 100 reasons here as I want you to buy his book. I will simply touch on a couple that stood out to me. The reader will appreciate a wide variety of examples from science, history and archaeology he uses in his book. My favorite is how he brings out several times the nation of Israel as a reason to believe the Bible. In one of my times of doubt, I pondered the overarching story of the Jews in the Bible. If you think about it here is this small people group, God chose for the Savior of the world to come through. During their whole history nations have tried to destroy them. Yet many initial enemies are no longer in existence such at the Amorites, Hittites and many other “ites”. Just from that standpoint it is a miracle the Jewish people survived through the ages and are now a nation again surrounded by enemies who want to destroy them. Think about it. Maybe the Bible is true. Also think about this. Why are so many people and nations against Israel?

Then another reason I enjoyed seeing is more experiential. It is the reason of “changed lives”. Reading what Wiley has to say took me back to my days in Chicago at Moody Bible Institute with Dr. James. One day Dr. James reminded us in days of spiritual doubt to remember times when God has answered prayer in our lives. No skeptic can take that away. If the Christian takes time they will see how belief in Christ has changed their lives with little and big miracles in their life journey.

Wiley’s book provides the believer in Christ solid thoughtful reasons to be secure in their Christian faith. Sometimes in doubt you need a reaffirmation and Wiley’s book can be a useful intellectual tool for that. The Bible points out that having a defense for why you believe in Christ is important. Here are a few examples:

1 Peter 3:15 but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ

Acts 17:15-34 -- Paul here debates with a group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers in Athens. Their response revealed that some believed and others replied “We want to hear you again on this subject.” Which shows it is important to be open in sharing while you believe in Christ but do so in a way that keeps the door open to dialogue. Too many times Christians browbeat and turn people off to Christ.

100 Reasons To Believe is a belief in Christ strengthener. It can help you as a Christian when you come up against the modern myth calling Christians “Believers”. That is a pet peeve of mine when I hear media types or the new atheists saying that. What does that mean “Believers”? It is often said in a snarky tone like Christians are leaving their brains at the door. Think about it—everyone is a Believer. It is just we believe different things. The Hindu believes the divine truth comes from the Vedas and they experience numerous reincarnations until they are absorbed into the divine. Is there factual proof for that? No, it is a belief. Atheists, are they believers? They try to pretend their thought is based on science. No -- they BELIEVE in inanimate matter that has either always been here or popped into being by chance. Their real belief is in random chaotic chance full of fiction stories of big bangs and macro evolution of a piece of slime plus millions of years turning into man. I am sorry there is no proof -- it is a belief. Go back to the Dawkin’s Youtube link I provided above. I read Darwin’s Origen of the Species back in high school and all that went through my mind was -- what an imagination! No proof. Christians are believers as well. We believe that God has revealed Himself in the Bible and personally through the person of Jesus Christ. We believe contrary to other religions that are focused on man trying to reach God; the Bible shows a loving God reaching down to man. Can I prove that? No, I readily admit that. But books such as Wiley Graf’s 100 Reasons To Believe provide a person with evidence to weigh against other worldviews and personally the Christian view makes the most sense to me.

Of course Christians need to remember what I have heard from Ravi Zacharias live and in his writings. Apologetic reasons are helpful but all discourse and lifestyle needs to be based in showing the love of Christ. Letting God’s Love show can win a person over more than all the arguments.

If you are a non-Christian reader I am simply stating my worldview here. I hope you can feel like the Epicurean philosophers and say “We want to hear you again on this subject.” I encourage you to check out books like Wiley’s and keep an open mind in your search for truth.

Reflection: Think over your personal Worldview-- be it Buddhist, Atheist, Hindu, Christian or whatever. Why do you believe what you believe and how does it help you on your life journey? Check out Dr. Wiley Graf’s website 100-reasons-2-believe.com

Learning Lessons From The Rich

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Just a few years ago the news was filled with the protests against the rich with Occupy Wall Street. The topic of income inequality is still strongly debated in some news circles and with certain politicians catering to the Occupy Wall Street types. Are all our problems caused by the rich? Do the rich pay their fair share? A study in 2008 showed that the top 1% paid 38% of all the federal income tax. The top 50 % of wage earners paid 97% of the federal income tax while the bottom 50 % paid only 3% (http://blog.heritage.org/2011/10/04/in-pictures-how-much-the-top-earners-already-pay-in-taxes/ ). So is the answer just keep squeezing the top earners for more money or can we learn from them to better our own economic lives?

Learning from the rich is the basis for a book by Thomas Corley who is a CPA. His book is Rich Habits: The Daily Success Habits of Wealthy Individuals. His book is not a dry fact filled non-fiction work. He shares in the introduction that he had spent years studying the lives of successful wealthy individuals. His books shares common principles he found that helped these individuals take advantage of what he calls “opportunity luck”. That luck is described as the results that comes from keeping good habits that improves life rather than tears down life. I will go through the principles here. I encourage you to pick up a copy of the book as it is an engaging read as he shares fictional stories of characters who you can see are down on their luck and are open to change personal habits to improve their lives.

The first principle Thomas presents is that the Rich follow good daily habits every day. I had a Sociology Professor in Chicago who always started each lecture reminding us that man was a creature of habits. The issue is what kind of habits – good or bad? So the first point is to be aware and take some time to look at your habits and see if they are helping or hurting you?

The second principle is to be a goal setter. The author states that the rich commonly have a habit of following daily, monthly, yearly and long-range goals. I have mentioned this point many times in past blogs as to the importance of being goal oriented. Having long range plans for a big picture mind helps with your future. I of course temper this with the thoughts of Dr. Jim Bright with his thoughts on chaos theory. With our goal mindsets be flexible is the chaos of life as chaos can make changes in our long range goals.

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Moving on to principle three which is to be intentionally engaged in self-improvement. Thomas states, “Successful people read for self-improvement. They are perpetual students.” (page 45). Being a Bookhead this principle is my favorite. I was listening to Ravi Zacharias in a presentation he was doing in Sweden the other day. In the Q & A time he told one attendee to “read well”. “Read for the heart and for the mind.” Also in reading well Ravi said to read a breadth of information to develop the mind. Mr. Corey on reading emphasizes rightly the importance of reading up on journals and books that relate to your career of choice. Many say there is no time to read? He suggests just read 30 minutes a day -- journals and books that will help with your success. That short time does not seem like a lot. But if you read just 30 minutes a day that would be over 182 hours a year. Imagine the knowledge increase that would add to your career life.

His principle number four is that the successful rich devote their habits to caring for their health. Exercise and healthy eating is important in their daily regimens. This gives them more energy to be at their best every day.

The fifth principle of successful people is making it a habit to build strong relationships. An important issue in career building today is networking. The successful know the importance of networking. They are not about using people instead of how can they help others. An important question is how can they keep improving relationships?

The sixth principle is that the successful live in a balanced state of moderation. They do not live in excess. This may be a surprise as many think of the rich living lives of wild excess. Of course some do but that is why the author keeps the focus on the truly successful.

The seventh principle is a mindset habit of doing things now instead of putting things off to later. This goes back to the goal orientation they carry with them.

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His eighth principle is that the successful engage in what he calls rich thinking. By that he means positive thinking and making use of positive visualization. They carry with their thinking a thankful attitude about their lives.

The ninth rich principle is the habit of being a saver. He mentions that the successful pay themselves first. I would differ in this from a Christian viewpoint, I believe the concept of the tithe in giving back to my church and charities that help the poor. That always comes first to my mind. Yet at the same time I agree with him that to be successful there needs to be a saving and investment mindset.

His final tenth principle is the habit of controlling thoughts and emotions. Thomas states, “They use the following technique when faced with a difficult situation that presents itself: ‘Think , Evaluate, and React’”.(65). Too many run into trouble by having that backwards – react, evaluate and by then it is too late to think as the damage is already done.

Will Thomas Corley’s book make you rich? Maybe yes maybe no. I do believe by following the guiding principles he has researched, you will be definitely moving more towards a Living More Than OK life. In the book he adds tips and ideas that go along with each of the principles. The book shows that it is more helpful to learn from the rich their habits instead of hating them out of jealousy.

Reflection: Which of the 10 habit principles are you strongest in? Which of the habit principles do you need to work on to improve?

Worldview Beliefs Shape Our Spiritual Life Journey

I have mentioned that I look at life from a Christian perspective. I believe Spirituality is an important aspect of the Living More Than OK life. Our morals, how we treat others, our purpose in life stems from the spiritual side of life. Personally belief in Christ’s death and resurrection in providing me a fix to the broken relation with God the Father is an all important driving force in my life.

In recent years I have read the works of the new atheists, Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins. I was interested in their arguments against religion. I wanted to compare them with Bertrand Russell’s writings as I read his Why I am Not a Christian? back when I was searching my doubts on Christianity years ago. I found nothing new in their recent books. I saw just the same extreme hate, misconstruing scriptures out of context and emotional ignorant statements that they states as fact when they are just personal beliefs. The same things they complain about religionists, the hate and emotionalism, they do in their writings but even more exaggerated.

The atheists are more rabid against Christians possibly as we are the dominant faith in the West. What amuses me is how in their writings and atheists I have heard on TV point to those who believe in a religion as following beliefs, (these beliefs are foolish in their viewpoint). On the atheists side they say they promote science so atheism has no aspect of belief. They act like it is known fact!. It is to that point I appreciated recently reading Peter Hitchens’ book- The Rage Against God. He tells of his journey from atheism back to the Christian faith that He and his atheist brother, (Christopher Hitchens) grew up in. I recommend this book as an insightful spiritual pilgrimage from atheism to Christian faith. In it he so rightly states the atheism just like religious faiths that believe in God are beliefs. He states, “As he has become more certain about the non-existence of God, I have become more certain that we can not know such a thing in the way we know anything else, and so must choose to believe or not. I think it is better by far to believe.” All of our world views are based on belief. Ask an atheist what is the scientific proof that proves there is no God? They can’t respond as there is no proof that God does not exist.

Of course I honestly admit I can not prove God exists. I believe it. In Christ we are to live by faith. Although, we are not called to live an unreasoned faith. I have had my times of doubt in the past and looked at the opposite sides of other religions and atheism and came back thinking Christianity made the most sense to me.

When I was young I remember looking up at the stars and night thinking there has to be something or someone great behind all this. When I have seen the Grand Canyon or recently visited Niagara Falls again I look at the majestic beauty and say how can anyone say a God does not exist. Nature seems to shout out like a billboard for God that He is! Appreciating nature won’t tell us what kind of God He is. That is where God would need to reveal himself. As a Christian I believe God has revealed Himself through the Bible.

Secular Atheists try to write of religionists and primarily Christians as nuts and fools. The reality is Christianity is a reasoned faith. The Apostle Paul used logical arguments with the Jews and the Greeks to persuade people in his days. Today there are great Christian thinkers like Ravi Zacharias, Charles Colson, Josh McDowell, and others who stand up for a rational faith. Ravi in his book The End Of Reason answers back to Sam Harris’ writings. Ravi shares his life story of being an atheist and shows how the emptiness of it never fulfilled him as his life in Christ has done.

The hate atheists show towards God is the funniest thing that puzzles me. If they do not believe God exists why are they spewing such hatred towards God? IT doesn’t make sense. Just state your case and let it be. Reading their God rants I picture in my mind a rabid dog frothing at the mouth barking wildly at a brick wall. What is this non-existent God doing to the poor atheist? Or is it that the true God is speaking to the conscience of the atheist and that is setting off their wild rants??

Several of the atheist writers mention how disappointed Christians will be when they die and they find out nothing exists in the afterlife. When I read those statements I ponder to myself will I really be disappointed. If the atheist is right will I be disappointed after I die. Will I feel regret that I did not have the pleasure of falling flat on my face drunk in a pool of vomit? That I missed the pleasure of nearly dying from an overdose of drugs? Or maybe missing the pleasure of sexual freedom with all the accompanying sexually transmitted diseases? Yes the true joys of living free without God??

Definitely I will have no regrets? Even if they are right Christianity has allowed me to live a life of purpose. My faith has given me a basis for living justly and showing kindness to others, it is the basis for living a thankful life for all of the good in life and nature. I can really enjoy life to the fullest and be happy and better yet with no hangovers! I turn the question around to the atheist. What if they are wrong and they find themselves before the God they told others did not exist? Often in their books from their comfy leather writing chairs they follow Bertrand Russel’s argument. They say they would stand firmly before God and politely tell Him he had not given enough evidence to convince them. Yeah right! In reality put them before God and they will be sprawled out on the ground sniveling and crying for their eternal destiny.

We won’t fully know what is beyond until the curtain falls on this life. The important issue is to understand your belief system and see how it fits with your purposes in life. Does your worldview make sense or are you living a lie? Doubts will come but they help us think through critically what we truly believe.

Reflection:
Take some time to think through your belief system your worldview. Try to draw a picture of it or write a poem about it. How do your beliefs affect your purpose and happiness in life? If you are curious about what this Christian thing and Christ is all about --try reading through the book of Mark or John in the Bible. As you read through reflect over who Jesus is and who he said he is?