Another terrible slaughter has hijacked our thoughts and refueled our fears.  So far the information points an idealistic motivation.  I’m sure Major Hasan expected to die as he carried out his mission and is surprised to be alive.  Speculation will continue until it is overwhelmed with the actual facts.  We’ll have to wait for the full story.

One matter is beyond speculation: the consequences. Here are a few that come to mind:

1. Increased terror. Isn’t that the objective of all terrorist activities?  No ground is won, no hills taken, no booty is accumulated.  Instead, fear is generated by bombing, shooting, torturing, kidnapping and executing.
2. Increased vigilance. We are quickly becoming a nation nervously looking over her shoulder for the bad guys.  “Report anything suspicious,” we’re told.  Long, drawn-out airport security checks, warrant-less wiretaps, ubiquitous security cameras, etc.
3. Racial profiling. It will be difficult in the days ahead for those who look Middle Eastern or have Arabic sounding names.  It will also be more dangerous when traveling to look European.
4. Religious stereotyping. Peace-loving Muslims will be lumped together with extremists and jihadists – a tragedy.
5. Increased calls to end the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Why should our youth be sacrificed to prop up corrupt regimes?  Why should those who fought and died for their own liberty foist democracy on countries that will no doubt descend into sectarian and tribal violence as soon as the coalition forces have gone home?

Every action has a reaction.  Every decision has results.  Long after other events distract us, the consequences of Major Hasan’s murderous actions will continue to haunt us.

Long ago and far, far away some soldiers with crosses on their shields and murder in their hearts slaughtered untold thousands in the name of Christianity.  Those who know that Jesus Christ would strongly condemn  such ungodliness still live with the consequences.

The truth is, I am writing this when I should be doing something else.  But it is also true that if I don’t write it when I’m thinking it,  it never gets done.

Right now I am thinking about the press to make laws about abortion, marriage, the rights of the sexually deviant, etc.  It occurs to me that while we must legislate morality or descend into anarchy and pandemonium, it can only be a band-aid on a laceration.

Here’s the truth: you can legislate morality but immorality will continue among the immoral.  The only true defense against immorality is a moral mindset and lifestyle.  As Christians, we must be about the business of moral persuasion and modeling morality.  We must change ourselves, our neighborhood, community and nation.  That will not happen in the courts and the halls of legislature.  It will only happen when the teachings of the Master transform us into His likeness.

Most atheists argue there is no God because there is no proof. Theists believe the only sensible, plausible explanation for what we see around us is an intelligent designer, the one we call “God.” Of course, no one has to believe there is a God. Let us be clear, however, that not believing will get you in deep trouble if you’re wrong. That’s not a mere threat. It’s just the truth. “Pascal’s Wager” is a pretty good bet.

The apostle, Paul, wrote to the Roman church: “…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19,20). “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Hebrews 11:6) Here’s the point: there are two sides to this issue and because the consequences of unbelief are so dire, it would seem wise to make a thorough investigation before coming to a conclusion.

It is impossible to absolutely prove or disprove God’s existence. As you might imagine, there are strong arguments on both sides. I found some comments on a recent atheistic blog provocative. The writer said, “I believe plenty of scientific, historical, philosophical, and psychological evidence proves there is no god. The evidences in support of theism and deism are highly interpretable at best and weak at worst.” Theists say very similar things in support of our position. Let the buyer beware.  Do science, history, philosophy and psychology really settle the matter? If so, then why are there strong believers in each of these disciplines?

Another writer said, “We all see lots of complexity and design, but that is the byproduct of evolution, not a designer. Otherwise, you have to explain all the crappy design everywhere along with the good design.” Design without a designer? True evolution has no design to it. It is a random, accidental, unintended process. One has to decide whether this is the possible outcome of billions of years of chaotic chance or the intended product of intelligent design.

Crappy design? This is a frequent argument by those who surmise that if God was involved in the creation, life forms would be perfect. What is overlooked is that God never claimed his creation to be perfect…only “good.” Perfection was never the claim. Indeed, like everything else in the universe, life is designed to come to an end. Can you see the flaw in the argument? One side says that life is evidence of intelligent design and other side says it is evidence of a long series of accidents.

Still another commentator wrote, “I believe there is no god. If there was a god, the world would be a lot different to the way it is.” “…the world seems to be created to be painful for those who live in it for no purposeful reason. A freshman philosophy student can concoct a better world system than the one that exists.” Would you trust a “freshman philosophy student” to create your world? I didn’t think so. This life is an existence filled with a mixture of both joy and pain, good and evil, light and dark. Another writes, “…science is doing very well at taking god myths, creationism, near-death experiences, and similar wishful thinking to pieces.” If that is true, the question naturally arises again, “Then why are so many eminent scientists believers?” If you reply, “The majority are non-believers,” you may be right but you still have to deal with the fact that many are theists. So, you don’t like what you see and read about God? OK, but mark you, God is sovereign. He gets to do whatever he wants whether you and I like it or not. Go ahead, place your bets. But, if you bet on unbelief, the payoff may be a nasty surprise. If you don’t like the returns, it was not because you were not thoroughly warned by an evident God who loves you and wants all of humanity to be saved.

A friend sent me this and, since I really like wordplay, I cleaned it up a bit and now present it for your humorous consideration.

FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THE PHILOSOPHY OF AMBIGUITY, AS WELL AS THE IDIOSYNCRASIES OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE…

1. DON’T SWEAT THE PETTY THINGS AND DON’T PET THE SWEATY THINGS
2. ONE TEQUILA, TWO TEQUILA, THREE TEQUILA, FLOOR
3. I WENT TO A BOOKSTORE AND ASKED THE SALESWOMAN, “WHERE’S THE SELF- HELP SECTION?” SHE SAID IF SHE TOLD ME, IT WOULD DEFEAT THE PURPOSE
4. WHAT IF THERE WERE NO HYPOTHETICAL QUESTIONS?
5. IF A DEAF CHILD SIGNS SWEAR WORDS, DOES HIS MOTHER WASH HIS HANDS WITH SOAP?
6. IF SOMEONE WITH MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES THREATENS TO KILL HIMSELF, IS IT CONSIDERED A HOSTAGE SITUATION?
7. IS THERE ANOTHER WORD FOR SYNONYM?
8. WHERE DO FOREST RANGERS GO TO “GET AWAY FROM IT ALL?”
9. WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU SEE AN ENDANGERED ANIMAL EATING AN ENDANGERED PLANT?
10. IF A PARSLEY FARMER IS SUED, CAN THEY GARNISH HIS WAGES?
11. WOULD A FLY WITHOUT WINGS BE CALLED A WALK?
12. WHY DO THEY LOCK GAS STATION BATHROOMS? ARE THEY AFRAID SOMEONE WILL CLEAN THEM?
13. IF A TURTLE DOESN’T HAVE A SHELL, IS HE HOMELESS OR NAKED?
14. CAN VEGETARIANS EAT ANIMAL CRACKERS?
15. IF THE POLICE ARREST A MIME, DO THEY TELL HIM HE HAS THE RIGHT TO REMAIN SILENT?
16. WHY DO THEY PUT BRAILLE ON THE DRIVE-THROUGH BANK MACHINES?
17. HOW DO THEY GET DEER TO CROSS THE ROAD ONLY AT THOSE YELLOW ROAD SIGNS?
18. WHAT WAS THE BEST THING BEFORE SLICED BREAD?
19. ONE NICE THING ABOUT EGOTISTS: THEY DON’T TALK ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE
20. HOW IS IT POSSIBLE TO HAVE A CIVIL WAR?.
21. ATHEISM IS A NON-PROPHET ORGANIZATION.
22. IF ONE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMER DROWNS, DO THE REST DROWN TOO?.
23. IF YOU TRY TO FAIL, AND SUCCEED, WHICH HAVE YOU DONE?.
24. WHOSE CRUEL IDEA WAS IT FOR THE WORD ‘LISP’ TO HAVE ‘S’ IN IT?.
25. WHY IS IT CALLED TOURIST SEASON IF WE CAN’T SHOOT AT THEM?.
26. WHY IS THERE AN EXPIRATION DATE ON SOUR CREAM?.
27. CAN AN ATHEIST GET INSURANCE AGAINST ACTS OF GOD?

It is one thing to reject and another to ridicule.  Rejection of an exposed belief system or opinion is expected.  Put an idea on the market place and it is only logical that there will be a mixture of acceptance and rejection by those who follow such markets.  But ridicule is quite another thing.  Ridicule takes rejection to the level of insult.

I am a messenger of the gospel of Christ.  It is my job, my passion to place the good news of reconciliation of Creator and created in the public square and let people have a chance to accept it or reject it.  I think that’s what Jesus did.  In the past, that included a bit of ridicule of those ideas I deemed to be worthy of it.  Upon reflection, however, I can’t recall a single time when ridicule accomplished anything but a cheer from those “on my side.”  I am persuaded that ridicule is not only counterproductive but downright ungodly (I Peter 3:15; Galatians 6:1; Philippians 4:5; 2 Timothy 2:25; Titus 3:2; Colossians 4:5-6; Ephesians 4:29).

These days I am out of the business of garnering cheers from anyone.  I just want to lovingly and respectfully tell it like it is (or seems to be at the moment) and let people take it or leave it.  If they leave it, we might, with mutual consent; move to discussion where persuasion might result in acceptance.  In the business of persuasion, ridicule accomplishes the exact opposite of what I am trying to achieve.

Ridicule is pejorative, not persuasive.  One who changes his opinion or belief system because of ridicule has shamefully succumbed to peer pressure.  That poor, cowardly sheep has been caught up in the groupthink of the sneering mob.  As someone named Philip Guedalla has observed: any stigma will do to beat a dogma.

These days, I want to walk away from a discussion with four goals accomplished.

1. I want to do my best to persuade the other person of the truth of God, His Christ and His word.
2. I want to achieve a better understanding of the other person’s point of view.
3. I want to adjust my own position if I am wrong.
4. I want to part as friends.

Ridicule results in no persuasion, no understanding, no personal growth and the end of friendship.

The Restoration Movement (aka Stone-Campbell Movement) arose out of a desire to achieve unity among believers in Jesus Christ.  Drop the baggage that makes us separate and, bingo!  Unity!  It never really worked very well because people love their denominations more than they love unity.  It was a noble cause driven by noble minds but it was misguided (I know I’m getting in hot water here).  Jesus prayed for his followers to be one (John 17) and Paul chastised the Corinthians for their division (I Corinthians 1) but our mission is making disciples (you know the passages) not unifying those who would rather be divided.  It is vanity and a striving after wind.

Thank God there are other things to do!  Jesus commands us to make disciples.  We accomplish that when we communicate (proclaim and model) the good news about Him.  Yes, it is just that simple.  Maybe that’s why his followers keep missing the point.

And here’s the surprise bonus: if we simply do what Jesus did, unity happens.

Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us. For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things (Ephesians 3:17-19).

The most effective enemies are those of which we are unaware…the ones we fail to recognize as enemies.  In our subconscious we probably already know some entities are not helping the cause of Christ; that they are, indeed, major hindrances.  They are hindering enemies especially because we have become familiar and comfortable with them.  It is much like making a pet of a tiger.  We pet them, feed them, love them…and then one day, they have us by the throat.  They are attitudes, actions and situations that divert us from truly following Christ.  The world notices and these same diversions become hindrances to unbelievers and ammunition for anti-Christian activists.  And here is the kicker: so often, we shoot ourselves in the foot (pun intended).  This is a post that hopefully will challenge us to do some thinking about who and what our enemies are.  As usual, your comments, pro and con, are welcomed.

Striving for Acceptance

It’s not easy being different.  And yet, being different is part of our Christian walk.  We are different from the world not because we try to be but because following Christ separates us from those who aren’t.  Sadly, many who claim to be Christians lie, cheat and steal just like their worldly counterparts.  But the similarities don’t end there.  Too often our values and ambitions are the same as those outside of Christ.  To place our hope in riches, to ignore injustice, to place comfort above compassion and status above service proves we are still of the world.  Here’s the truth: the way of Christ runs counter to the ways of the world.  Never forget it.

Acceptance is good if it can be accomplished within the context of imitating Christ.  Outside this context, it becomes our enemy.  Inevitably, truly following Him eventually places us in opposition to our increasingly immoral and unethical culture.  Every day it becomes more obvious we will suffer persecution for our stand on marriage, sexuality, civility and salvation.  I am not suggesting an Amish or monastic sort of separation from the world but we must never forget we have been called out from it (2 Corinthians 6:16-18).  We are in it, not of it (John 17:15-16).  The world will not see the Christian difference unless we embrace being different.

Inclusion and Exclusion

We have proven over and over that we are a reactionary people.  We bounce between two extremes.  Some Christians exclude and dismiss everyone “not in our camp.”  Others include and embrace those who are teaching obvious error.  As in most dichotomies, the best path is somewhere between the extremes.  Dialogue between those with different viewpoints is essential in the quest for unity.   On the other hand, blind accommodation and acceptance is harmful to the whole process.  We must humbly keep in mind that truth is not our special and exclusive possession.  And yet, that which was not truth before, whether “ours” or “theirs”, is still not truth now.  Should we be friends with those who disagree with us?  Absolutely.  Should we overlook or downplay our differences for the sake of that friendship?  Absolutely not.

As error is the enemy of truth and vice-versa, the real sin is allowing the darkness of error to remain undisturbed by the lamp of truth.  So how do we address differences in a way that proves we can disagree and still love one another?  Is it possible to speak the truth in love?  Apparently (Ephesians 4:14-16).  Is it possible to correct and be corrected with gentleness and respect?  So it seems (Galatians 6:1; 2 Timothy 2:25).  Anything less than love, gentleness and respect simply provides one more reason for outsiders to dismiss anything we say or do.  The world sees our division, chuckles softly in derision, and logically refuses to believe there is a God who sent His son into the world (John 17:20,21).  Unloving exclusion or reckless inclusion will become our enemy, turn on us and run us through with our own sword.

The Edifice Complex and the Elevation of Assembly

I have been accused of being “anti-building.”  I, of course, disagree.  The saints need to assemble and need a place to do it.  If a public hall or other place of assembly cannot be found (in good weather you might just assemble in a park or public square and let people actually see what’s going on) then the church needs to, if possible, construct something.  Just don’t call it a “church building.”  Only the very courageous non-Christian ventures into a “church building” without an invitation or unaccompanied by a friend.  In that sense, our edifices, far from being an aid to evangelism become a hindrance.  My suggestion (it would be a command if I had the authority) is, if building a place of assembly is absolutely necessary, build a “community hall.”  Make it a neutral place where the scouts, support groups, clubs, and others could meet.  Reserve it for the church on the two days a week churches usually assemble and let others use it the rest of the time.  As a result, it might actually become an asset instead of a liability.

Buildings have become the albatross around the necks of so many churches.  The resources expended on their construction and maintenance is hard to justify in the tear-stained face of a needy, lost world.  Far from being an aid to our work in the world, too frequently their walls separate us from the very people we were sent to reach with the gospel.

Assembly is a very important part of our lives as Christians.  Essential things are accomplished there.  Ideally, saints are edified and encouraged as we worship together and renew the ties that bind us.  Christ is proclaimed in the Lord’s Supper and the reading of Scripture.  Brothers and sisters are taught, admonished and rejuvenated as we sing to one another.  But we have made “going to church” the most important part of our lives as Christians.  We have made it an end instead of a means to an end often to the exclusion of other, equally important aspects.

Think a minute…what do we disagree, fight and divide over?  Almost all of our internal skirmishes have to do with what is done or not done in our assemblies…in our buildings.  Because church buildings and assemblies are elevated to a position alien to the Scriptures, we either ignore or sadly neglect the lost souls living in the homes surrounding our structures.  I am sure Jesus is saddened and angered by our willful disregard of his command to make disciples in favor of making buildings.  To make one aspect of our Christian walk our major focus also makes it our enemy.

Silence

I think Satan loves it when we ignore his work.  Most of his evil statements and deeds are allowed to stand unopposed by the very people who ought simply to say, “This is wrong and here’s why.”  I always think of John the Baptist preaching to and about Herod.  I think of Jesus speaking clearly regarding religious error.  I think of Paul boldly exposing evil and its eternal results.  But today, with the exception of a few brave souls, Christians are strangely silent about the evil taking place all around us.  Just take a look at the evening news: child abuse, greed, lies, pornography, injustice, abortion, homosexuality, substance abuse, political and corporate corruption, violence…you name it.  Will opposing these things make us popular?  If you speak of those who love the darkness, no.  If you speak of those seeking the light, yes.

Christians also seem to be turning a blind eye to religious error.  Some outrageous comment is made by some religious pundit, and we just ignore it.  Some televangelist rakes in the dough by preaching a “prosperity gospel,” and we just let it ride.  Some cult makes a weird statement and we pretend they didn’t.  Some performer knocks down a sick person and pronounces him “healed,” and we just change the channel.  If we don’t tell the truth, who will?

We don’t even have to shout, wave placards or be unkind to oppose these errors…we just need to quietly, gently and consistently preach the truth in love.  Sadly and tragically, if we preach at all about error, we preach to ourselves…in our assemblies…in our buildings.  If we sold our unneeded buildings and spent the money on getting truth into the marketplace, we might make some headway for the kingdom and message of Christ.  As it is, our silence becomes our enemy.

Thoughtless Faith

Why do we believe in a Creator?  Why do we believe this Creator loves us and sent His Son to live among us?  What is our purpose in this life…in this world?  Is the Bible the Word of God?  Why do we believe that?  Was Jesus really a historical person?  How did life begin?  Is evolution true, partly true or false?  If there is a God, why does He allow suffering and evil to go unchecked?  Do we have even the beginnings of answers to any of these questions?

The day is coming and now is when we will need to have thoughtful answers for these questions.  Do the names Dawkins, Hitchens and Harris sound familiar to you?  If they are not now, they will be.  They are some of the leading lights of the “New Atheists,” and they are on the warpath.  They make the mistake of clumping all religions together into one convenient target and aiming for the bull’s-eye…if they could just find it.  They are not out to prove faith in God wrong, they are out to obliterate it.  They believe religion, any religion, is harmful and should disappear.  These new strident, militant atheists are using science and scientific speculation (“Scientism”) as a weapon.  Ignorance of scientific discoveries and advances and the ways they are used against us is inexcusable and dangerous.  We need to be aware that science and religion are not mutually exclusive; plenty of eminent scientists are believers.  I would suggest frequent visits to the website of John Clayton, perhaps the best of the ordinary person’s apologists of which I am aware.

The answers most Christians use when confronted with these questions are usually poorly thought-out and, hence, pretty lame.  It seems many who have faith have not thought much about why they do.  Some have made a decision to believe in God but can’t really give good reasons why.  This is not to say an unbeliever would accept any reason we give…they usually have their minds made up.   But when people want to know why we believe, why we live the way we do, the reason for our hope of eternal life and abundant life now; we should be able to answer in ways making it obvious we have at least thought about it (1 Peter 3:14-16).

The advantage of a good soldier is his or her training.  Training provides a strategy for dealing with all possible situations encountered on a battlefield.  The worst enemy of any soldier is a lack of preparedness.  We Christian soldiers have enough enemies without adding thoughtless faith to the list.  Speaking of soldiers, do we know what our mission is?

Ignorance and Neglect of our Mission

One of Satan’s greatest ploys is to distract us from our mission.  From all appearances, he’s very successful.  And yet, our mission is very simple: follow Christ.  What does that mean?  It means to do what He did.  It means to continue His work on earth as the Body of Christ.  His work becomes our work.  It is our job and ours exclusively.  Jesus not only stated our mission but modeled it.  It seems, however, we have done everything else but what He told us to do.  Very little of the average church’s resources and energy are spent in seeking, saving and serving.

This does not go unnoticed by observers in the world.  What do they think as they watch us go to our assemblies, have lunch and go home?  What impact does our expression of Christianity have on our communities?  Is the good news of Christ proclaimed, the naked clothed, the exposed sheltered, the hungry fed, the suffering comforted, the hopeless given hope?    The answer will be found in the budget and official programs of our local church.  Where is the effort expended and the money spent?  This will tell us where our church (and, subsequently we) has placed the emphasis.

Very few churches have any concrete plan or strategy to bring the good news of Christ to those living in their communities. Those that do are so notable they end up in The Christian Chronicle (insert your own denomination’s newspaper here) center spread. Missionaries will testify that gaining the support of churches to do what Jesus said to do is their greatest challenge.  The ignorance and neglect of our mission is one of our worst enemies.

The Conclusion of the Matter

There are so many understated enemies we could address: the failure to exercise church discipline, the movement away from the priesthood of all believers in favor of professionalism, involvement in party politics, mistaking autonomy as isolation, the appointment of unqualified leaders and the lack of Biblical knowledge in our leaders, teachers and preachers to name a few.

Anything blocking the pursuit of our mission of following Christ and continuing His work is our enemy.  The trick is making a positive identification of these clandestine interlopers.  These enemies can be disarmed when they become obvious.  They become obvious when we are alerted to their intrusion.  What keeps us from being Christ in this world?  These are the enemies.

Here is another offering from Anonymous.

• Growing old is inevitable, growing UP is optional.

• There is no key to happiness. The door is always open.

• Silence is often misinterpreted, but never misquoted.

• Faith is the ability to not panic.

• Laugh every day, it’s like inner jogging.

• If you worry, don’t pray. If you pray…don’t worry

• As a child of God, prayer is like calling home everyday.

• Blessed are the flexible for they shall not be bent out of shape.

• The most important things in your home are the people.

• When we get tangled up in our problems, be still.  God wants us to be still so He can untangle the knot.

• A grudge is a heavy thing to carry.

• He who dies with the most toys is still dead.

• We do not remember days, but moments. Life is moving too fast so enjoy your precious moments.

• Talking is sharing. Listening is caring.

• Nothing is real to you until you experience it, otherwise it’s just hearsay.

• It’s all right to sit on your pity pot every now and again. Just be sure to flush when you are done.

I would really like to know who gathered the following information but it is really by our old friend “Anonymous.”  According to atheists, life is the result of a series of propitious accidents and random mutations that just happen to be beneficial.  If they take the time to read this, they will attribute each example of intelligent design to unintelligent processes.  Whatever your belief or lack of it, this is pretty good food for thought.

God’s accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.  For example,

• The eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
• Those of the canary in 14 days;
• Those of the barnyard hen in 21 days.
• The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
• Those of the mallard in 35 days.
• The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.

(Notice, they are all divisible by seven).

God’s design is seen in the making of an elephant. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other Quadruped is so made.  God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs.

• For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.
• The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first.
• A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first.

God’s wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

• Each watermelon has an even number of strips on the rind.
• Each orange has an even number of segments.
• Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
• Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
• Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
• All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks

The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.

God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified  times during the day, so that Linneus, the great botanist, once  said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil,  moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night  by the flowers that were open and those that were closed!

Design is evident.  Design requires a designer.

Many have decided not to believe and that is certainly their prerogative.  For myself, I choose to believe in a Creator.  Too much of what I see is inexplicable without Him.

In Romans 1 Paul writes, “…that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made…”

Is morality safer in the hands of atheists or theists? I’ve been contemplating this for some time and just want to share a few thoughts for consideration.

I’ve noticed that atheists rejoice when some prominent Christian takes a nose dive into sin. It is a “See, I told you all along that Christians are a bunch of hypocrites,” moment. A blog I subscribe to is very adept at this. It is an opportunity to gleefully point out that Christian claims to strong moral standards are bogus. This same blog and others of its stripe often deride and mock people of faith as being deceivers and deceived. Believers are all painted with the same brush: ignorant, superstitious, unintelligent, uninformed, unscientific, etc. Unfortunately, I am sure this is an accurate description of all too many theists. An interesting article along these lines can be found here.

It is to the shame of Christianity that there is so little difference in the conduct of professed believers and professed atheists. According to solid research, professed believers fornicate, lie, cheat and steal only slightly less than professed atheists.

The truth is that all humans are sinners (Romans 3). The difference between theists and atheists is not so much in the quantity or quality of sin but in the struggle against it (Romans 7). Personally speaking, I have several areas that I struggle with…sometimes winning…sometimes losing. In the struggle I am always aware of most of my sins (Psalm 51:3). As a Christian I know that as long as I genuinely struggle against sin I am somehow forgiven (Romans 7:24-8:4; 1 John 1:5-10). This is not to excuse the conduct of those who profess belief. There is no excuse.

The atheist, on the other hand, needs no forgiveness for there is no God from whom to seek forgiveness. Atheistic moral standards are built upon human values. Those values are ambiguous, imprecise and undefined. For the most part, they are culturally and socially determined and a matter of self-preservation. When transgressed, there may or may not be consequences.

It is no surprise then that most atheist bloggers I read are in favor of the open practice of homosexuality, same-sex marriage and abortion. And while empathy and altruism are by no means limited to Christians, actions and attitudes defined in Scripture as “sinful” may have no counterpart in morality as defined by an atheist.

I have learned a lot about atheistic moral standards by reading atheist blogs and subsequent comments. I have been stung and challenged by the perceptions and truths revealed there. But I have also been sickened and disgusted.

One particularly obnoxious blog design features a naked female nailed to a cross as part of the design of the site. Previously, designed obviously to shock, it depicted a full-frontal female nude in the place of Christ in a version of the “Last Supper” painting. I used to read this generally civil and rational blog. I can simply no longer stomach his immoral choice of artistic expression.

And, speaking of comments, some of the language is anything but moral. Since most of the commentators are fellow-travelers obscenities are spewed-forth with abandon. And why not? Most standards of civility and acceptable speech valued by Christians are derived from Scripture. Since there is no written code for atheists, as social ethics decline (as is most certainly the case), standards of acceptable speech also decline.

But back to the question: Is morality safer in the hands of atheists or theists? My answer is the latter…but apparently only slightly so. This answer is completely unacceptable. And who is to blame? I always think of the line from the Pogo comic strip, “We have met the enemy and he is us.” With too few exceptions (but there are, thankfully, exceptions), Christianity throughout the “Western World” has become more like a social club. Tremendous energy and resources are dedicated to ourselves: our buildings, our comfort, our social acceptance. We meet and talk and talk some more then meet some more. We even hire people to talk to us in our meetings as a profession! No wonder we are not taken seriously! We are so concerned with matters completely foreign to the concerns of Christ that we have become something markedly different to what He intended. As an appalling consequence, our actions and attitudes offer little difference to that of our atheist neighbors. Until that fact changes, the answer to our question will remain the same.