Have You Hugged an Atheist Today?

Here is something I have always found interesting/entertaining- according to some Christian denominations both atheists and Catholics are going to hell. We "Whores of Babylon" and those "Deniers of Christ" have a one-way ticket to that burning inferno. Maybe it is this line of thinking, plus the fact that I have a couple friends and family members who are atheist, that causes me to look at atheists with lenses of love rather than lenses of condemnation and hate.

While I lived in Maryville, I had a very good friend who was an atheist. He was one of the nicest, funniest people I knew. Although we've grown apart he taught me a lot of what it means to be a Christian in a world where not everyone shares my beliefs.

When I was attending Benedictine, he and I exchanged a few emails. Since I was beginning to grow in my spirituality I asked him why he was atheist. He emailed me back a very long and detailed letter of why. There were the typical reasons I had heard before: the Bible is a fake. If God is so good, why is there evil in this world? There are too many "man-made rules." I had to admit that these thoughts had popped into my head more than once, but I took the time to learn about these topics and realized that by using logic and faith that these arguments weren't rational and just didn't hold up.

However there was one point he made that really struck me. He said that one reason he wasn't Christian was because there were people around him that declared themselves "devout Christians" were anything but. They went to Church every Sunday but they were cheating on their wives, drinking every night, cheating other people, lying, and were just plain uncharitable.

Now there was something I couldn't refute.

I am not making excuses for my friend, but I can see his point in why it is hard to want to be a Christian when there are other Christians around that are hypocrites or who teach false teaching.

Maybe this is my Pollyanna, can't-we-all-just-get-along, Miss America "I want world peace" view of the world that makes me want approach atheists with love and tenderness. Will an atheist want to learn anything about God when we are condemning them left and right and cramming religion down their throats? I doubt it. Will they want to learn about God when they see someone genuinely happy and joyous by following God's will and following Christ's commandment of "love you neighbor as yourself"? Perhaps...

I had a Theology professor at Benedictine who told us that we shouldn't be quick to assume that all atheists were going to hell. There could be many atheists who have a better chance of getting to Heaven over those of us who have all the tools of salvation. He mentioned what my atheist friend had written about in his email- many people may be atheist due to hypocritical Christians or because they have been misinformed of Christian teaching.

That being said, I will say that I have a low tolerance for those atheists that try and tear God out of every sphere of human living. I can't stand those atheists who think Christians are un-educated and superstitious. They post offensive writings and create sacrilegious works of art. Sometimes I wonder if these people really don't believe in God. They seem to believe in God, but they just hate Him SO much they don't want anyone to know Him. We as Christians have the right to defend our beliefs. They need to realize that most Christians who try to evangelize to them are doing it out of genuine love. We want our atheists brothers and sisters to be happy to their fullest extent.

The door swings both ways when it comes to being charitable. If Christians are supposed to be kind and compassionate toward atheists, then atheists should also show that same courtesy. If the mantra of the atheist way of life is to "be a good person" then shouldn't atheists refrain from being rude and obstinate toward Christians? Pride caused the fall of human nature. I believe pride gets in the way of charitable dialogue between Christians and atheists. A Christian "wants to be right" and "prove a point." An atheist refuses to be open minded and learn about what all this God stuff is about.

We as Christians should be loving toward everyone, and that includes people who have different beliefs. We should be careful to examine our own way of living before we condemn others.

On an end note, I just have to say that the Christians I most admire are those who were former atheists. Their spiritual life and the lessons they teach are so rich, full of Truth and simply beautiful! I know of an atheist who is in the formation process of becoming a priest. Jennifer Fulwiler writes a beautiful blog called "Conversion Diary." She was a former atheist who describes her past way of thinking as "vocally anti-Christian." I have learned so much from those people who used to be atheist.