You Can’t Have it Both Ways
[Three brief discussions on difficult Christian topics]
1. Faith/Reason Oxymoron
2. Gay/Straight Sexuality
I have considered being a “evangelistic atheist” at times in the past. I have since abandoned this idea and am content to reaching out only to those that are open to reason.
I
haven’t forgotten that I once
held Christian beliefs for 23
years.
Some atheists feel that
Christians are really stupid
people.
I beg to differ with
these smug atheists. Many
Christians have never been
presented with a proper case
against Christianity.
And once presented with
this information, it may take a
long length of time to digest
what was found.
I had once considered enrolling at Liberty University to pursue a degree in apologetics. Had I had done this; I would have had to confront a difficult oxymoron. This is the absurd idea of faith and reason co-existing together in perfect harmony.
Dear
Christian, you want to be
accepted for believing by faith,
and you want skeptics to accept
your reasoning that is built
upon the foundation of faith.
This is amazing!
You switch back and forth
between faith and reason
whenever it pleases you to do
so.
Once
you choose faith to understand
the Bible. True reason becomes
your enemy. Reason is the cause
that has made all of us
ex-Christians abandon our
journey of faith. Christian
apologetics can give reasons for
the hope that their belief
brings. But all these reasons
are based upon faith….not true
reason.
As
I earlier mentioned, I don’t
think that Christians are
stupid. That is until they start
to earnestly contend with a
skeptic with an irrational
mixture of faith and reason.
Faith and reason don’t
mix!
Christians accept faith,
skeptics don’t. Faith
overrides the domain of reason
(logic, science, history) in the
Christian mindset. When a
skeptic uses reason, the
Christian presses their “mute
button” of faith to muzzle the
message of reason that was
delivered.
Basically, this explains why I am not an “evangelistic atheist”. Christians deny reason; skeptics deny faith. The result is a standoff and a waste of time. The problem here is a standard ethics breach by the Christian. The Christian denies reason when it suits their needs, but then tries to use reason when they have found someone that allows them to get away with it. If you (Christian) deny reason, then don’t be a hypocrite and try to later use it! If you’re against reason, be consistent, and don’t use it to convert others to your religion!
I
am content with Christians
riding their “faith bus”,
but don’t get the idea that I
will allow you to steal a little
reason from me when we have
discussions. You chose faith to
determine your path; I chose
reason to determine mine. Dear
Christian, you can’t have it
both ways!
I
must admit that I cannot
understand the sexual attraction
between members of the same sex
to each other.
I am only attracted to
women and I sense that this is
the way that it was meant to be.
When you discuss the argument of
design (sexually), it just seems
natural that members of the
opposite sex were made for each
other.
Please remember this last
point.
I
think it is awful that people
dislike and actually hate
another person because of sexual
preferences (gay/straight). Gay
people are one of Christian
Fundamentalist's favorite pet
peeves. Yea, I know, they hate
the sin, but love the sinner
(yea…. whatever).
Gay
people claim that they have
natural sexual desires for each
other. If this is what they say
they feel then who should deny a
subjective claim such as this?
Usually, the person that
says this isn’t natural, but
it is, in fact, a personal
choice that a person makes is
normally a Christian
practitioner.
Now, let me interject a
thought here that I have never
heard anyone else bring up or
defend when I bring it up.
Dear
Christian, what do you do when a
person is born with both male
and female genitalia?
You know a hermaphrodite
(a individual in which
reproductive organs of both
sexes are present). They were
created this way according to
your worldview. That same
argument of design is now thrown
into chaos. This person can
choose either sex for a sexual
partner because they were born
with male and female genitalia.
Would you deny this?
Or would you just deny
them their sexuality?
I
laugh
to
myself
when
I
hear
Christians
try
to
explain
why
a
member
would
leave
the
fold
of
Christianity
to
be
a
skeptic.
In
my
case,
I
haven’t
heard
any
Christian
repeat
back
to
me
the
truth
on
why
I
left.
As
Dan
Barker
has
well
said,
“I
just
lost
faith
in
faith”.
Don’t
expect
a
Christian
to
state
this
as
the
reason
for
a
castaway
leaving
the
faith.
Why
can’t
Christians
be
moral
and
just
simply
tell
the
truth
when
asked
about
someone
who
left
the
faith
for
intellectual
reasons?
Being
an
ex-minister
for
nine
years
now
affords
me
the
opportunity
to
hear
about
these
castaways.
Castaways
are
a
term
that
Christians
will
label
an
ex-Christian.
Castaways
are
not
supposed
to
happen.
The
Apostle
Paul
was
concerned
about
himself
becoming
a
castaway.
Some
Christians
feel
that
castaways
never
were
a
true
Christian,
they
simply
lived
a
life
of
deception.
The
main
arguments
you
hear
when
Christian’s
discuss
castaways
are:
1)
“you
never
really
had
it”
2)
Tares
and
the
wheat
3)
Parable
of
the
seeds
4)
Calvinistic
debates
5)
Hebrew
6:1-8
which
states
that
it
is
impossible
for
a
believer
to
fall
away
and
to
come
back.
One
thing
that
I
never
hear
when
this
subject
arises
is
the
case
about
C.
S.
Lewis.
C.
S.
Lewis
abandoned
his
faith
and
became
an
Atheist,
only
to
come
back
to
Christianity
after
some
time.
You
don’t
believe
me?
Go
to
Wikipedia
and
type
in
his
name
and
read
their
biography
about
Mr.
Lewis.
According
to
the
Bible
(Hebrews
6:1-8),
C.
S.
Lewis
did
something
that
was
impossible
to
do.
Dear
Christian,
would
you
say
that
C.
S.
Lewis
never
had
it?
Or
do
you
claim
C.
S.
Lewis
as
a
Christian?
If
so,
then
what
will
you
do
with
people
such
as
myself
and
all
the
other
people
who
were
true
believers
that
have
abandoned
their
faith?
Wait
if
you
want,
but
I
am
not
coming
back.
Wither
the
case
about
castaways?
Dear
Christian,
you
can’t
have
it
both
ways!
Brian Worley Ex-minister.org Dec. 2007 All rights reserved.