Angry Atheism and Our Response


Last night as I was relaxing and reading I ran across this nugget of an article in USA Today about Atheists attacking Christians (and in this case mormons as well).  As I read it I had to chuckle through moments of righteous anger as it reminded me the world is and always will be opposed to the cross.  Paul says as much to the church in Corinth when he writes "For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing..." (1 Corinthians 1:18, NASB)  But then I wake up to this article this morning about a water park that was giving discounts to church groups but not to anyone else.  Again a group of atheists have gotten involved in the private sector demanding private owned companies to do their bidding or face lawsuits.

It seems to me that many atheists are just plain angry and they are not afraid to let you know it. They are like the kid on the playground who wants attention and will do anything to garner it.  They will put up billboards letting you know it and they will threaten legal action to get you to acknowledge their agenda.  Oops, did I say the word agenda? Yes I did!  You see they employ every tactic they claim to be against, they have made atheism a religion of sorts, one of course absent of any creator or "higher power".  (Let me add that they set forth a faith system that would have one to agree and accept that everything (all of creation, I mean the earth and all that is in it) came from nothing (lets face it, nothing cannot produce something and no one has ever proved otherwise) and you must accept that as truth.)

Their anger is sensed in their outright attacks on religion, especially Christianity.  So how do we as Christians handle this issue?  Well, we could do silly things like put our own billboards up or attack them publicly, but then we are doing exactly what they want and expect.  We are acting pious and it is not about Christ but about attacking them and looking foolish in the process.  Our call is to love them through the eye's of Christ which isn't always easy when someone is spitting in your face.  Yet isn't this what happened to Christ, and not by those claiming no God but by those claiming they were in fact of God?  Didn't He die for those apart from Him that they might know eternal life?   

Our response to these attacks should be that of Christ.  How will we ever reach those so diametrically opposed to Christ if we act just like them?  They are not of Christ so it should not surprise us that they are angry at us.  Unfortunately there are many so called "christians" who either find themeselves attacking anyone and everyone or they are so liberal theologically that they just go along with the world.  We are to adhere to the inspired word of God and be imitators of Christ to a lost and dying world.  Let them see we are different, in a good way.  Let them know we are Christians by the way we treat one another and the way we interact with them.  It should never amaze Christians when an unbelieving world does the unbelievable, let our actions give glory to God instead of providing a moment of fleshly comfort that inevitably makes us look ridiculous.  Remember, you once were lost but because of repentance, and grace being given, you have life, pass it on... 

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