One of the reasons that Christianity appeals to me is that it is a message of humility in an age of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism. What I mean by that, is that every other religion’s strategy for the hereafter is based on our good-enough-ness. Even the self justification of atheism is based primarily on being good enough. In fact, if you pay attention, you’ll see that down through history, every renewed effort on the part of atheists was made with specific reference to how moral atheists are without Creator God in their lives. So how do I get from A to B in the above statement?
. Ask people if they think that they’re going to heaven and most would answer “Yes.” Atheists would say, “Well, if I thought god or heaven or hell existed, then, ya, sure. I think god would let me in.”
. Ask “why” and most would reply something like, “I’m a pretty good person. I haven’t killed anyone. I try to be kind. I’m more honest than most people,” etc. At least one atheist would say, “I haven’t even thought of calling anyone a “camel jockey.” ;-)
. Ask people if they believe that some people deserve to go to hell and you’d get an answer like, “Ya, Hitler, Terrorists, Child rapists - people like that.”
What these people are really saying, is that they think they’re better than those who they believe DESERVE to go to hell. And that is where we run into the problem. If there is going to be some kind of standard determining who is good enough and who isn’t good enough, just whose standard should we use? Yours? Mine? Hitler’s?
I did work in a couple Federal prisons for ten years. Not once, not one single time did I ever meet a criminal who thought that he was a bad person. Not the drug dealers. Not the murderers. Not the rapists. No one saw himself as evil. In fact, each prisoner could point to someone who in his mind was a worse person. So who do we go to, to establish a salvation based upon some degree of goodness?
Here is where the beauty and the humility of Christianity comes in. Jesus pointed out with perfect clarity, something that we all know if we’re honest with ourselves. When held up to the light of God’s absolute Holiness, none of us are good enough to be in His presence. The Bible says as much. “All have sinned and all fall short of the glory of God.” When it comes to reality, I’m just as lost as any terrorist or murderer.
If Heaven and Hell are real, and I believe they are, then logic demands that there must be some other qualifying factor for entrance to Heaven; something other than our personal standards of good-enough-ness. The Bible says that the qualifying factor is an admission of one's sinful nature and faith in Jesus and what He did for us on the cross. Only an attitude of SELF-HONESTY and HUMILITY will lead anyone to repent of their sins and throw themselves on the mercy of God through faith in Jesus Christ.
Self-honesty, insight and humility are almost antonyms of atheism. One cannot possess these characteristics and remain an atheist. As one atheist said to me over at Fiery’s blog:
“You have no idea who you have tangled with. I am not the least bit humble; humility is the vice of those who believe they are either absolute losers, or who arrogantly pretend to be just another loser to sucker believers in altruism.”
Don’t atheists make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
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One of the reasons that Christianity appeals to me is that it is a message of humility in an age of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism.
Comedy gold.
“You have no idea who you have tangled with. I am not the least bit humble; humility is the vice of those who believe they are either absolute losers, or who arrogantly pretend to be just another loser to sucker believers in altruism.”
Don’t atheists make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
"...throwing God out of the public square, out of the schools, the abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked and when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad...I really believe that the pagans and the abortionists and the feminists and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way, all of them who try to secularize America...I point the thing in their face and say you helped this happen."
Don’t Christians make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
One of the reasons that Christianity appeals to me is that it is a message of humility in an age of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism.
Are you trying to say that Christians aren't judgmental? Because as Comhradh mentioned, that's soooo funny. So funny.
Here is a list of people Christians (in general, though certainly not all people of the religious inclination are so closed-minded) judge:
-Homosexuals
-Atheists
-Other types of Christians who happen to not be your denomination
-Any other religion
I just think it's a bit odd how you format your post. You first off say that Christianity promotes humility, and then confusingly follow that up with a condemnation of other religions and atheists.
You don't seem like a particularly humble person from anything of yours I've thus far read.
Humility does not blind a person to the iniquity or failings of another. Humility simply says, “I’m no better than you. And in fact you may very well be a better person that I am.” Humility is the ability to be honest with oneself and accept oneself as a deeply flawed individual.
Certainly it would be a horrible place if people were blind to the failings of others (though this is not me conceding that homosexuality or atheism or any number of things you wouldn't like are "failings." They are not). Though it would definitely be easier to get a job.
Thank you, I know what humility means.
But if you are humble and claim to be "no better" than anyone else and "a deeply flawed person" then what gives you the authority to proclaim this "an age of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism," referring to non-Christians? If you are indeed humble, why do you feel the need to belittle others for having different beliefs than you? The very act of claiming your own religion as the one and only true path shows that you have an attitude of superiority over any non-Christians.
I don;t think there's anything wrong with you believing your religion is the one true path, because that is the nature of faith, right? (Just as long as you also believe that other religions have the right to think the same thing about their own religion).
But you can't think you are the best, and at the same time claim to be humble.
“Certainly it would be a horrible place if people were blind to the failings of others”
My main point is the horror that the world faces when people are blind to their OWN failings. This happens with atheists whose creed: “I don’t need God in order to be a good person” forces them to believe that they actually are good people.
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"But if you are humble and claim to be "no better" than anyone else and "a deeply flawed person" then what gives you the authority to proclaim this "an age of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism," referring to non-Christians?”
Does it seem that I leave Christians out of the pool? Yes, I suppose it does. Perhaps I wasn’t clear. That’s often the case. To understand what I’m saying, it’s critical that you distinguish between Christianity, the belief system, and the Christian individual who tries to follow the belief system.
I’m saying that “Christianity” the religion, the concept based on the teachings of Jesus the Christ is the most humble path that I’ve seen. On the other hand, part of the reason that we become "Christians" or followers of Jesus the Christ is because we’ve recognised that we are NOT humble, that we ARE arrogant that we ARE judgmental that we ARE hypocritical and bigoted and liars and adulterers and on and on. We become Christians because we’ve recognised that who we are is not ok and that we need forgiveness. I’m not sure that you can see the difference - because of your own bigotry (it affects all humans) -but there is a difference to be sure.
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“If you are indeed humble, why do you feel the need to belittle others for having different beliefs than you?”
Well, if you’ll take the time to notice, I pretty much just focus on atheists and leave most everyone else alone. Why? Because atheists, in the face of glaring absurdities, claim that logic and reason are the domain of atheists. That seems to compel me to address the absurdities put forth by atheist on their blogs.
While Christians are able to acknowledge truths in every religion, atheists rant how everything single religion is wholly wrong.
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“The very act of claiming your own religion as the one and only true path shows that you have an attitude of superiority over any non-Christians.”
Hmm, yes, I can see how an outsider would see it that way.
First of all, it isn’t MY religion. I’ve chosen to become a follower of Jesus the Christ because I believe that what HE taught is correct, absolutely correct, ultimately correct. As C. S. Lewis wrote, Christianity is like a solution to a mathematical problem. In any mathematical problem, there will be only one correct answer. There may be many, many other answers, some of them closer to the correct answer than other answers. However there will always and only be one correct answer while all of the other answers will always and only remain incorrect.”
In my mind we can’t have One God (Christianity) and several thousand gods (Hindu). We can’t have One God (Christianity) and no God (atheism). We can’t have God as Creator, separate from, but involved in His creation (Christianity) and god as creation (Pantheism). There are other beliefs of course but they can’t all be correct.
Wouldn’t you agree? Don’t you actually believe that atheism is correct and the others are wrong? Does that cause you to see yourself as superior to others who think differently?
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“But you can't think you are the best, and at the same time claim to be humble.”
Of course. I do believe that I’ve been given the best / correct without any basis for deserving what I’ve been given. I do feel tremendously grateful, but I don't feel better than.
It seems to me that you have a healthy dose of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism.
Mixter
Mixter - I think I already admitted that. One thing Christians aren't is self-righteousness. Part of becoming a Christian is admitting that in and of ourselves we have no righteousness.
Jill - Well, most religions have some variation on the Golden Rule although it's reversed from Jesus' version > Jesus said "Do to others as you would have them do to you."
Other religions said, "Don't do to other what you don't want them doing to you."
The biggests truths that other religions have is acknowledging that we, humans, are not the top of the line.
There is a Creator.
There is such a thing as evil.
We, humans are the main problem.
I just came back from picking the kids up from camp so I'm too tired to go into it more than that.
Christians aren't self-righteous and judgmental? Dude, you're the freaking definition of self-righteous! Confident of one's own righteousness, esp. when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others. Your blog is dedicated to judging atheists! Are you really as inane as you make yourself seem?
Mixter
Hmm, yes, I can see how an outsider would see it that way.
Jumping to conclusions much? I'm no "outsider" as you put it. I've been Christian since birth and I've gone to church every damn week since. I've grown up with the beliefs, lived with a religious family, yet I can look at the world with objectivity because I choose to. I've grown to see that the Bible is full of contradictory messages. I take issue with many aspects of Christianity from the "inside" and I still think that your writing is full of arrogant superiority.
Wouldn’t you agree? Don’t you actually believe that atheism is correct and the others are wrong? Does that cause you to see yourself as superior to others who think differently?
I'm not an atheist. I'm a disillusioned Christian, fed up with organized religion. That's me, my personal feeling. My beliefs are my own, they concern me only. I don't feel superior. I don't think others are wrong for what they believe. Unless they are hurting others with it, I believe above all else that people have the right to think as they want, worship what they feel like.
On the other hand, part of the reason that we become "Christians" or followers of Jesus the Christ is because we’ve recognised that we are NOT humble, that we ARE arrogant that we ARE judgmental that we ARE hypocritical and bigoted and liars and adulterers and on and on.
So maybe you should focus more on yourself. Fix your own flaws instead of finding all the flaws in other people.
Mixter: It seems to me that you have a healthy dose of arrogance and self-righteous judgmentalism.
Makarios: Mixter - I think I already admitted that. One thing Christians aren't is self-righteousness.
At long last, you finally admit that you're not a Christian!
Alice - People aren't "born" Christian. They don't become Christian by going to church or by growing up in family with Christian parents or by being taught Christian principles. People don't become Christians by serving in the Church or singing in the choir. Becoming a Christian is beginning a healed and forgiven relationship with Jesus. If you WERE a Christian you'd know that.
Comrade - Please explain.
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