I have a Friend who … Believes
all Religion is Bad
As
presented by Rev. Jonathan Mills, Pastor at Kanata Baptist Church.
2008-09-28
Subject: A
look at some of the contemporary literature which claims that the
world would be a better place of all religious groups were to vanish.
Also considers how we might respond to our friends/neighbours who may
subscribe to this view in a way that helps them to overcome their
reservations.
Scriptures:
James 3:13-18
Two Kinds of Wisdom
Who is wise and understanding among
you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the
humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and
selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the
truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but
is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish
ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the
wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all, pure; then
peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit,
impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of
righteousness.
1
Pet 4:12-19
Dear friends, do not be surprised at
the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though
something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you
participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed
when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted because of the name
of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests
on you. If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any
other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. However, if you suffer
as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that
name. For it is time for judgment to begin with God's household, and
if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not
obey the gospel of God?
Introduction
At Christmas time, I had
a chance to visit an old friend I hadn't seen in a few years. Around
the kitchen table the parents caught up while the kids were off
having fun playing.
Later on, after the kids
were in bed, my friend wanted to talk to me about my views on a
number of issues including; Creation, Evolution, Intelligent Design,
and a number of other issues he had been thinking about. We had
talked about a few of these things in the past, but he was more
deliberate about his questioning and there was more intensity as he
probed my views on these issues.
Eventually, it came out
that had read Richard Dawkins' book “the God Delusion”
which he found quite convincing. But he wanted to ask a committed
Christian that he trusted and respected (ie. me) how I would respond
to the questions that were raised in the book.
It was an intense and
wide ranging conversation—which we both enjoyed … so
much so, that we did not realize that we had talked until almost 3 in
the morning.
When I expressed my
reservations about Dawkin's book, my friend said; “I can
understand if you're not a big fan of Dawkins, but I thought that he
was very reasonable in his arguments and respectful of other views –
merely presenting a response from an atheistic perspective.”
It was the next day when
it suddenly occurred to me: “Hey, wait a minute: how can you
say he is 'respectful' when the book title is “the God
Delusion?”
That is hardly a
respectful way of approaching the issue.
A) The New Atheism
Richard Dawkins,
Christopher Hitchins, Sam Harris and others represent a disturbing
new breed of aggressive atheism which has taken aim at all religious
life and thought. These defenders of rational atheism have been
described by some as “atheistic fundamentalists.” [That
sounds like an oxymoron, doesn't it?]
In the past, most
critics of religion held mostly to the big questions: Does God exist?
Is there life after death? Is it reasonable to be a person of faith
in the light of modern science?
The new breed are
leveling a far more direct attack at the heart of religious life and
values—claiming that faith is fantasy and that in this age of
enlightenment it's time accept that science has made religion
obsolete.
Bill Maher. Religulous
Bill Maher—host of
the television program Politically Incorrect and popular
American talk show host—has also weighed in on the issue. Last
year, he joined the voices of the critics of faith by producing a
film called “Religulous.” (that word is made from
combining 'Religious' and 'Ridiculous' in case you missed it).
Basically, it is a
critique of Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Here is a little short
sample from the film. In this scene, Bill Maher is interviewing a man
who has converted from Judaism to Christianity.
[Start 27:20.
“Now, you're an Ex-Jew...”]
[End 29:26. “…
one man listening to everyone murmuring – that I get!”
(sigh)]
Most of the film is just
a silly romp poking fun at religious people—in particular,
fundamentalists of every stripe.
But at the end, Maher
makes some remarkably pointed comments in his concluding tirade;
“The plain fact is:
Religion must die for mankind to live.”
“… religious
people [are] irrationalists ...”
“Faith means making a
virtue out of not thinking.”
“This is why rational
people—anti-religionists--must end their timidity, must come
out of the closet and assert themselves.”
“If you belonged to a
social club that was tied to as much bigotry, misogyny, homophobia,
violence and sheer ignorance as religion is, you'd resign in
protest.”
The Rejection of the Gospel
Those are very sharply
barbed accusations.
This is nothing new.
Go back to Sigmund
Freud—the father of Psychology—and you'll find one of the
great intellectual atheists.
“Religion
is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it
falls in with our instinctual desires.”
“In the
long run, nothing can withstand reason and experience, and the
contradiction religion offers to both is palpable.”
“When a
man is freed of religion, he has a better chance to live a normal
and wholesome life.”
As
an aside, Freud also said this:
There have been
countless skeptics and scoffers through the ages. In fact, right from
the very beginning, the message of the Gospel was rejected.
1 Corinthians 1:20-25.
Jews demand miraculous signs
and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a
stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those
whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God
and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's
wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
From the very beginning,
the message of the Christian Gospel has been rejected. In particular,
the sophisticated Greeks felt that the message of a crucified Saviour
was foolishness.
Some things never
change.
B) Responding to Maher: The Good, the
Bad and the Ugly
A Few Immediate Responses
Now, we do not have time
to get into a detailed analysis of Maher or Dawkin's critiques of
faith – besides, a sermon isn't the best forum for that kind of
discussion anyway. However, let me just make a few quick comments.
1) Science and Atheism
are not synonymous. You can be a scientist without being an atheist.
In fact, there are a number of scientists in our congregation.
2) It is also possible
to be an atheist without rejecting the value and importance of
religious groups in the world. In fact, very recently, I was talking
to a man who identified himself as an atheist and who said that he
was embarrassed by the Bus Ads. He feels that they go against the
very principles of atheism–which do not need to prove
anything is not there, or disprove anyone else's views. Atheism is
simply the belief that there is no God.
3) It is totally wrong
to lump all religions together as if they are all the same. To
compare historical Christian denominations to the Puerto Rican
preacher who believes he is the second coming of Jesus Christ –
or the teaching of Scientology – is really not helpful. That's
like saying “All Democrats are left-leaning socialists.”
That may be true about some Democrats, but it is untenable to argue
in generalities about such a broad and diverse group.
4) The link between
Religion and Violence gets lots of press—but it is not a given.
Tragically, and regretfully, there are some who use religion as an
pretense for violence. But there are many more who use religion as a
pretense for doing good—a fact largely overlooked by atheistic
fundamentalists. Of course, the other side of the discussion, which
is also not mentioned in Maher's film, involves asking what proof or
evidence does he offer to suggest that a world run by Atheists would
be a safer and better world? Three leaders who defended atheism were
Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot. Human history is littered with activists who
argue a philosophy based on ideals, only to find that it collapses
under the rigours of real life. The flaw is not the system, it is the
people who run the system—and that is the specialty of
religion; addressing the deficiencies in the human heart.
5) The Bus Ads say
“there Probably is no God.” That's the best that science
can do—suggest that God probably doesn't exist. God can
neither be proved, nor disproved by science.
(actually, that raises
an interesting point: the best attempt to unify Quantum Mechanics and
the General Theory of Relativity is String Theory. String Theory
suggests that there are several dimensions which exist of which we
have no experience. // Fundamentalist Atheism argues as if modern
science now knows enough that we can basically discount anything that
cannot be empirically measured or studied—as if science has
made it impossible to believe anything outside the realm of our
material world. Yet, to be consistent with contemporary research,
scientists must accept that there are unknown dimensions)
/
Incidentally, there is a
book by Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath called “The
Dawkins Delusion?” While it is always dangerous to recommend a
book one has not read—I will make an exception with this one
because this is one of the reviews:
“The God Delusion makes me
embarrassed to be an atheist, and the McGraths show why.”
----Michael Ruse, Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy, and
Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science,
Department of Philosophy, Florida State University.
Crackpot Religions
While an initial response to these
kinds of attacks might be to get angry – or to strike back with
counter-arguments in favor of faith – it might be wise for us
to take a deep breath and recognize that there is some truth to the
criticisms leveled against people of faith.
There are a lot of crackpots and
weirdos out there. Bill Maher did not have to go very far to find
some pretty outrageous religious groups. He didn't have to look too
far to find outspoken religious leaders inciting bigotry, racism, and
violence against others in the name of God.
One of the more prominent
offenders—and I use that word quite literally—is Westboro
Baptist Church, which is well known for its offensive and ugly
protests. [Photo: “God Hates America”] This is the only
picture I felt I could use—the others are deeply offensive. I
don't know if you've read anything about this church, but they picket
the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq with signs like
these. It's disgraceful.
The Truth: Majoring on the
Minors
As much as it rubs me the wrong way
to watch Bill Maher lampoon the Christian faith, it bothers me more
that Christians have allowed their faith in God to be dominated by so
many things … that have so little to do with the teaching of
Jesus.
Jesus said; remove the log from
your own eye before trying to remove the speck from your brother's
eye; yet Christians have been criticizing and condemning others for
centuries.
Jesus said; put away your sword;
but Christians have been marching to war under the sign of the cross
since the time of Constantine.
Jesus was a friend to tax
collectors and 'sinners'; but the church has often been a social club
where men and women come to parade their self-righteousness ...
rather than a place for humble service to the poor, the marginalized,
the outcast, the dispossessed.
//
This week, one of the missionaries
from Canadian Baptist Ministries shared with us this quotation from
an African leader:
“When the missionaries came
to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said, 'Let us
pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and
they had the land.”
Let's have the humility to accept
that the people of God have often failed to live out the ways of
Christ.
Embracing Heavenly Wisdom
In James, we are asked to consider
two types of wisdom: the first is earthly wisdom. Earthly wisdom is
self-centered and leads to evil.
“...where you have envy
and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil
practice.”
There are many passages of
Scripture which look at the contrast between a self-centered life and
a life spent in the service of God. Here we see envy and selfish
ambition leading to disorder and evil.
In contrast to this earthly
wisdom, James goes on to encourage his readers to pursue heavenly
wisdom which expresses itself in a
person's good life through humble acts of kindness.
“The wisdom that comes
from heaven is first of all, pure; then peace-loving, considerate,
submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”
If we are living in the sphere of
heavenly wisdom, then we will bear good fruit; we will sow peace and
reap a harvest of righteousness.
//
It is interesting to me that these
things all fall under the label of “heavenly wisdom.”
Normally, when we think about 'wisdom' we tend to think about a
person who is very smart.
But that's not what this is about
at all.
Pure; peace loving; considerate;
submissive; full of mercy … these are the things that we ought
to associate with God's wisdom.
C) the Power of Christian Love
Not Apologetics as much as Love
So where are we going with all
this?
Well, today's message is the fourth
sermon in a series on sharing one's faith, and the focus today is
responding to the person who is deeply suspicious that Religion is a
source of bad things in the world, not good.
This points to the need to continue
to develop a strong, clear Christian Apologetic. (Apologetic, doesn't
mean “apologizing” for our faith, but rather, the
development of reasoned arguments in defense of the Christian faith).
Some excellent books are available, including;
the classic: Mere
Christianity by C.S. Lewis
The Reason for God by
Timothy Keller
and, the Dawkins Delusion?
If you want to take a chance on a recommendation from someone who
hasn't read it yet.
More importantly, I think it is
most pressing that we keep the most important things … the
most important things. That we do not get drawn into endless
arguments about faith—instead of growing in
Christ-likeness and impacting others through his love and grace.
Our wisdom is not all up here [in
our heads]. Our wisdom—divine wisdom—comes from living in
the presence of Christ. Allowing ourselves to be conformed to his
image.
By ourselves, we can do nothing.
In Christ – all things are
possible.
As An Atheist I Really Believe
Africa Needs God
So what happens if we invest
ourselves in connecting with the world with love and grace?
Well, people will see the
difference … and they will come to understand that God is
alive.
There is an interesting article in
the London Times in December. The title of the article is: “As
an Atheist, I Really believe Africa Needs God.”
Matthew Parris is the author, and
he tells of his recent journey through several countries in Africa.
He writes:
“Now a confirmed atheist,
I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian
evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular
NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone
will not do. Education and training alone will not do.”
In Africa Christianity changes
people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is
real. The change is good.”
He goes
on to say that he used to think it was a pity that 'salvation' was a
part of the “package” that the Missionaries brought. If
only they could do their work healing the sick in hospitals, teaching
people to read and write in schools and so on without all the faith
baggage.
“But this doesn't fit the
facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also
transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so
immensely, and which I cannot help observing.”
Parris describes the Christians
that he knew.
“The Christians were always
different. Far from having cowed or confined its converts, their
faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them. There was a
liveliness, a curiosity, an engagement with the world - a directness
in their dealings with others - that seemed to be missing in
traditional African life. They stood tall.”
… “Whenever we entered
a territory worked by missionaries, we had to acknowledge that
something changed in the faces of the people we passed and spoke to:
something in their eyes, the way they approached you direct,
man-to-man, without looking down or away.”
This reporter has seen what
everyday Christians have known for centuries: A relationship with
Jesus Christ changes lives.
It's not some manufactured human
experience which the Bible offers, but rather, it's a revelation of
the God whose character is love. And it is the faith in this God
which allows us to be released from our past and transformed into
people of love … in the image of the one who died on the cross
as a sacrifice and rose again in order to lead to the Father.
Be Real
So, to get back to my conversation
with my friend at Christmas …
He didn't need me to refute every
argument. But he did need to know that, in order to be a person of
faith, he does not need to stop thinking. Intellectual arguments are
seldom the vehicle that motivate people to embrace faith in Jesus
Christ. They can, however, prevent people from faith.
For this reason, I believe it is important for Christians to have
well-reasoned, and reasonable perspectives on life and the natural
world.
While I would like to report back
to you that my friend was utterly convinced by my incisive,
intellectual arguments and—convicted by his sense of sin and
inadequacy cried out “Brother, what must I do to be saved?”
But, that's not what happened.
If our lengthy debate was scored
like an intellectual dueling match, I am pretty certain his side won
the decision.
However, there were two significant
outcomes from the conversation.
The first was the complete
disarming of his argument that religion causes more harm than good. I
gave him several examples of compassionate ministries run by
committed, caring Christians. From food banks, to homeless shelters,
to food aid, to international development – all these motivated
by faith, improving the lives of millions.
Second—and I think this is
most important—he respects me. Not because I'm an intellectual
giant—but because I am a good friend. We can laugh together. We
can engage in the age-old tradition of joke telling; of mercilessly
teasing one another; of encouraging each other to excel as husbands
and parents; … and we could share our passion for good books,
entertaining films, and other things which have challenged us,
informed us, and stretched us outside of the mediocrity of status quo
living.
On the basis of that relationship,
I have earned the right to speak into his life—and it is in
that love and friendship that the truth about my faith will become
clear to him.
So, the dialog continues. I think
I'll recommend “The Dawkins Delusion?” for him to read.
In the mean time, I will continue to pray—and depend not on
myself but look to God to move in his heart through the work of His
Spirit.
At the end of the night—we
got up and hugged each other. I thanked God for him, and he thanked
his lucky stars for me. ;-)
Conclusion
To quote a famous
atheist who happens to be one of my favorite fiction writers; I am
not like Marvin the robot who has a brain the size of a planet. Nor
do I know the answers to “life the universe and everything.”
But I do know one thing
above all others: I have had an experience of God which has changed
me. He has utterly transformed me. No one can take away that
experience.
And I pray that God will
continue the work in me which has already begun—not only to
develop my ability to argue clearly for the hope that I have in
Christ—but more importantly to seek to gain heavenly wisdom.
“The wisdom that comes
from heaven is first of all, pure; then peace-loving, considerate,
submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.”
Additional Scripture
References:
John
13:34-35 "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know
that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
Mt.
7:17-18 “... every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree
bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree
cannot bear good fruit.”
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