Sunday School for Atheists?

[From TIME]

On Sunday mornings, most parents who don’t believe in the Christian God, or any god at all, are probably making brunch or cheering at their kids’ soccer game, or running errands or, with luck, sleeping in. Without religion, there’s no need for church, right?

Maybe. But some nonbelievers are beginning to think they might need something for their children. “When you have kids,” says Julie Willey, a design engineer, “you start to notice that your co-workers or friends have church groups to help teach their kids values and to be able to lean on.” So every week, Willey, who was raised Buddhist and says she has never believed in God, and her husband pack their four kids into their blue minivan and head to the Humanist Community Center in Palo Alto, Calif., for atheist Sunday school.

An estimated 14% of Americans profess to have no religion, and among 18-to-25-year-olds, the proportion rises to 20%, according to the Institute for Humanist Studies. The lives of these young people would be much easier, adult nonbelievers say, if they learned at an early age how to respond to the God-fearing majority in the U.S. “It’s important for kids not to look weird,” says Peter Bishop, who leads the preteen class at the Humanist center in Palo Alto. Others say the weekly instruction supports their position that it’s O.K. to not believe in God and gives them a place to reinforce the morals and values they want their children to have.

Read about it here.

[From me]

Something about this story just breaks my heart.  I just don’t get it.  It is one thing for a mature adult to reject God but to teach children in a Sunday School…Breaks my heart….

What do you think?

Is Atheism is in?

[ Christian Post & Christianity Today]

Some of the most prominent evangelical leaders and Christian apologists recently addressed thousands of believers amid a trend of atheist outspokenness.

“Let’s face it: Atheism is in,” Stan Guthrie wrote in Tuesday’s column in Christianity Today magazine.

But arising to disprove atheist claims are not just Christian arguments of faith or citations from Scripture, but evidence.

“We have a defensible faith that stands up to scrutiny and investigation,” said Lee Strobel, a former atheist and author of the bestselling book The Case for Christ.

Read about it here and here.

[From me]

Guthrie makes some excellent points.  Christianity is questioned and bashed by some people who come to this site on a regular basis.  But the Bible doesn’t hide any of the flaws of it’s “heroes”.  Think about it–David was called a “man after God’s own heart,” yet he was an adulterer.  Peter couldn’t control his language.  There are murders and multiple wives, etc…  Humans can’t be good without God.  I’m a follower of Jesus because I have seen Him work amazing things in my life and others.  Other religions try to cover up their dirt.  What I love about Christianity is it is OK to be real.

What do you think?

Flips by an atheist & a pastor.

[New York Times]

Bart D. Ehrman is a professor of religious studies and his book is titled “God’s Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question – Why We Suffer.” A graduate of Princeton Theological Seminary, Ehrman trained to be a scholar of New Testament Studies and a minister. Born-again as a teenager, devoted to the scriptures (he memorized entire books of the New Testament), strenuously devout, he nevertheless lost his faith because, he reports, “I could no longer reconcile the claims of faith with the fact of life . . . I came to the point where I simply could not believe that there is a good and kindly disposed Ruler who is in charge.” “The problem of suffering,” he recalls, “became for me the problem of faith.”

Antony Flew wrote “There Is a God: How the World’s Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind.” Flew, a noted professor of philosophy, announced in 2004 that after decades of writing essays and books from the vantage point of atheism, he now believes in God. “Changed his mind” is not a casual formulation. Flew wouldn’t call what has happened to him a conversion, for that would suggest something unavailable to analysis. His journey, he tells us, is best viewed as “a pilgrimage of reason,” an extension of his life-long habit of “following the argument no matter where it leads.”

Flew and a co-author, the Christian apologist Roy Abraham Varghese wrote his new book. Flew’s “conversion,” has cast him into culture wars that he contentedly avoided his whole life. Although Flew still rejects Christianity, saying only that he now believes in “an intelligence that explains both its own existence and that of the world,” evangelicals are understandably excited.

Read about it here & here.

[From me]

Ehrman’s story is sad to me.  He attended the same Bible School my parents did, Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, IL and transfered to Wheaton.  Both schools are known for their great Christian heritage.  Moody is named after the great evangelist Dwight L. Moody.  What would cause a man headed to the ministry to become an agnostic and a renowned atheist to change his mind in the twilight of his life?  I realize Flew has not become a follower of Jesus yet, but I do find it interesting that he accepts there some being that created the earth.  Isn’t that what the Apostle Paul argued in Romans 1?

What do you think?

eight-in-ten Americans say that they have no doubt that God exists

[Pew Research Center]

About eight-in-ten Americans say that they have no doubt that God exists, that prayer is an important part of their lives, and that “we will all be called before God at the Judgment Day to answer for our sins.”

Read about it here.

Can we be good without God?

[Ottawa Citizen]

Can we be good without God? That’s a very old question believers like to ask because, the author suspects, the answer is very pleasing to believers.

Some would say — faith has eroded over the centuries. Today, substantial numbers of people have decided that until such time as there is proof of the existence of Santa Claus, they will not believe Santa Claus exists. Ditto for god. And they’re open about their disbelief.

“People who don’t believe in God can be good,” writes Reginald Bibby, a theist and University of Lethbridge sociologist. “But people who believe in God are more likely to value being good, enhancing the chances that they will be good.”

Read about it here.

[From me]

I have no question that there are people who act good and have no relation with Jesus.  But no one is good.  We all have selfishness, hatred, anger, lust, etc… That is why I believe the only pure goodness that we can have comes from a personal relationship with God.

What do you think?

I-Curious?

For some reason debates between atheists and followers of Jesus have become more and more common. The Washington Post writes about a debate between .professor of historical theology at Oxford University, Alister McGrath and atheist Christopher Hitchens here.

In my home state of Alabama there was a debate between biologist Richard Dawkins and mathematician John Lennox last week. Read about it here.

I wonder if this is something that is new or has the internet, cable TV, satellite TV, blogs and other media just brought this out more? I am intrigued at the many atheists, pagans, Mormons and other non-Christians come to this site on a regular basis. I’ve never thought of myself as a Christian Apologetic expert. I read Lee Strobel, Josh McDowell and Bob Larson but it is not necessarily a passion of mine. My passion is to see people’s lives changed by Jesus. I make no bones about it. I’m glad people of different faiths or lack of faith feel like you can give your views here. I’m just curious as to why you keep coming back. I want you too continue feel welcome. I’m just curious what draws you to comment and read what is said here?

Curious?

Can we have morality without God?

[Christian Post-ChuckColson]

One of the biggest obstacles facing what’s called the “New Atheism” is the issue of morality. Writers like Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens have to convince people that morals and values are possible in a society that does not believe in God.

It’s important to understand what is not in doubt: whether an individual atheist or agnostic can be a “good” person. Of course they can, just as a professing Christian can do bad things.

The issue is whether the secular worldview can provide a basis for a good society. Can it motivate and inspire people to be virtuous and generous?

Not surprisingly, Richard Dawkins offers a “yes”—grounded in Darwinism. According to him, natural selection has produced a moral sense that is shared by all people. While our genes may be, in his words “selfish,” there are times when cooperation with others is the selfish gene’s best interest. Thus, according to him, natural selection has produced what we call altruism.

Read about it here.

[From me]

I know many fine moral people who don’t consider themselves believers.  I have a question though.

For those who do not have a relationship with God–what is the reason you are moral?  Why do you?  Who holds you accountable for your actions?

For those who are believers–what motivates you to be moral?