Re: What is it like to be an atheist? -
04-19-2012, 07:11 PM
I imagine it's the ultimate in emptiness.
Just think, Sister. An atheist believes that after death, he will cease to exist. Not only that, but everyone he ever knows, and any difference he makes in the world, will also pass away.
The atheist even believes that eventually the sun will swell up and destroy the Earth!
So really, nothing an atheist does can possibly matter outside of a very limited scope. The most famous person today will be forgotten in the blink of a cosmic eye. So, they may as well seek out reward and avoid punishment, yet they insist on "creating meaning in life" and helping others in silly ways, like providing food without Gospel, or designing cities (usually without churches but with all sorts of pleasant public spaces), or giving free legal or medical help to the poor! Some even become social workers, living in poverty and trying to help others fix their broken families. This is a sad, sorry attempt to fill the God-shaped void.
Compare this to the Christian. I know, for example, that as long as I obey God, I get to spend all of eternity praising Him for His perfection, living in a vast city with streets of gold! What a wondrous reward! And even more, He promises to bless me in this life as well. And bless me He has.
And I also know that there is only one important way to make a difference, by helping others find Jesus and be Saved too. Any failures, either in my own obedience or in my witness to others, will lead to either me or the person I've failed to help being burned alive for all eternity in God's Lake of Fire. What a horrible punishment, and one that never ends!
As you can see, the Christian is motivated by selflessness and a love of God and man, a desire to exercise the Will of God. The depraved atheist is motivated solely by the hedonistic, reward-or-punishment that we see in lower animals.
Bible boring? Nonsense!
Try Bible in a Year with Brother V, or join Shirlee and the kids as they discuss Real Bible Stories!
You can't be a Christian if you don't know God's Word!
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