06 Nov '11 13:02>
PK, there is always going to be an enmity between atheists and Christians. From your post, I can see that you seem confused as to why this should be.
The basis of it is this.
To Christians and to God, rejecting God is a sin. Not only is it a sin, it is probably the only sin that cannot be atoned for by the redemptive salvation of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. That is why it is an especially heinous sin. And why causing other people to reject God is equally heinous. Even capital murder can be atoned for with honest repentance and acceptance of Christ as Savior. But not so the rejection of God.
This is basically why Christians fight with atheists. To possibly convince one or more of their error in judgement and bring them back to God and save their immortal soul. And they fight with the hard-core atheists to possibly prevent them from compounding their sin by causing others who might accept Christ from rejecting salvation.
The problem with me being truthful and presenting it this way to you is that you simply do not believe me. This leads you down the road to assuming I'm just all full of myself. This is what atheists often don't get. That a Christian's faith is REAL to them. My faith is another fact of life to me, just as the sun rising in the east is a fact. Just as everything I've told you is a fact. That you disbelieve it doesn't change that for me. It just means you're temporarily blind to the truth.
It's just like the Black Knight standing there hopping on one leg after the other was chopped off saying, "It's just a flesh wound!" It doesn't change the fact he's standing there bleeding to death.
My job is to get you to open your eyes and believe it. It's a huge challenge, but I keep trying because I've seen the miracle of one who begins to believe and is dragged back from the precipice. A lot of Christians have so much passion for the challenge that they go overboard, effectively handing the drowning man a brick instead of a life preserver. And like saving a drowning man, you have to keep your distance, lest he drag you both down. We only hope God will forgive us for trying and failing.
(I've already typed a lot more but deleted it all because I know you're not buying anything I'm saying. Forgive me for trying.)
The basis of it is this.
To Christians and to God, rejecting God is a sin. Not only is it a sin, it is probably the only sin that cannot be atoned for by the redemptive salvation of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. That is why it is an especially heinous sin. And why causing other people to reject God is equally heinous. Even capital murder can be atoned for with honest repentance and acceptance of Christ as Savior. But not so the rejection of God.
This is basically why Christians fight with atheists. To possibly convince one or more of their error in judgement and bring them back to God and save their immortal soul. And they fight with the hard-core atheists to possibly prevent them from compounding their sin by causing others who might accept Christ from rejecting salvation.
The problem with me being truthful and presenting it this way to you is that you simply do not believe me. This leads you down the road to assuming I'm just all full of myself. This is what atheists often don't get. That a Christian's faith is REAL to them. My faith is another fact of life to me, just as the sun rising in the east is a fact. Just as everything I've told you is a fact. That you disbelieve it doesn't change that for me. It just means you're temporarily blind to the truth.
It's just like the Black Knight standing there hopping on one leg after the other was chopped off saying, "It's just a flesh wound!" It doesn't change the fact he's standing there bleeding to death.
My job is to get you to open your eyes and believe it. It's a huge challenge, but I keep trying because I've seen the miracle of one who begins to believe and is dragged back from the precipice. A lot of Christians have so much passion for the challenge that they go overboard, effectively handing the drowning man a brick instead of a life preserver. And like saving a drowning man, you have to keep your distance, lest he drag you both down. We only hope God will forgive us for trying and failing.
(I've already typed a lot more but deleted it all because I know you're not buying anything I'm saying. Forgive me for trying.)