What would an atheist world be like?
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I read an observation a while back that said something like this:
For unbelievers, this is the closest they'll ever get to heaven.
But for believers in Christ, this is the closest they'll ever get to hell.
I now think of this every time I go through something, whether good or bad.
All the joys we know of this life, as wonderful or as limited as they might seem, are the greatest things any unbeliever will experience. We believers, however, know there is much, much more ahead. So much more, and so much better than we could ever imagine.
But at the same time, all the horrible, tragic, gut-wrenching things of this life -- and we are seeing everyday just how bad it can get -- these are the closest experiences we believers will ever get to hell, which God has promised to save us from.
I don't even want to imagine what an existence without God's presence would be like -- but this is exactly what will happen to unbelievers in the end -- they will be cast from God's presence forever, with not even a glimpse of His goodness left, as we still have on this earth.
I read another musing once that maybe this is part of why God allowed sin to enter the world in the first place -- He wanted to give humans a chance to see and experience what life could be like if they decided to chose Him -- or not.
For unbelievers, this is the closest they'll ever get to heaven.
But for believers in Christ, this is the closest they'll ever get to hell.
I now think of this every time I go through something, whether good or bad.
All the joys we know of this life, as wonderful or as limited as they might seem, are the greatest things any unbeliever will experience. We believers, however, know there is much, much more ahead. So much more, and so much better than we could ever imagine.
But at the same time, all the horrible, tragic, gut-wrenching things of this life -- and we are seeing everyday just how bad it can get -- these are the closest experiences we believers will ever get to hell, which God has promised to save us from.
I don't even want to imagine what an existence without God's presence would be like -- but this is exactly what will happen to unbelievers in the end -- they will be cast from God's presence forever, with not even a glimpse of His goodness left, as we still have on this earth.
I read another musing once that maybe this is part of why God allowed sin to enter the world in the first place -- He wanted to give humans a chance to see and experience what life could be like if they decided to chose Him -- or not.
This is a cool movie scenario and many movies have been done using this theme.
The thing is that the Atheist definition (lack of belief in God) does not really apply to the human condition, because they have done studies where people in tribes who have never had any outside influences with the world, had a natural inclination of belief and they said that after the death of their family members, 'the spirit goes in the sky'.
So you could make an argument here that even a human raised by the wolves in a forest, will still seek God.
What you have is a rejection of God, not a natural lack-of-belief in God. A rejection in God comes from many sources which i'd rather not get into, but Biblically speaking this rejection is something to be expected as time goes by.
But going back to movie scenarios, you have a movie called Equilibrium which is exactly this type of theme where people live in a society where they are forced to take drugs to suppress emotions.
Equilibrium (film) - Wikipedia
The thing is that the Atheist definition (lack of belief in God) does not really apply to the human condition, because they have done studies where people in tribes who have never had any outside influences with the world, had a natural inclination of belief and they said that after the death of their family members, 'the spirit goes in the sky'.
So you could make an argument here that even a human raised by the wolves in a forest, will still seek God.
What you have is a rejection of God, not a natural lack-of-belief in God. A rejection in God comes from many sources which i'd rather not get into, but Biblically speaking this rejection is something to be expected as time goes by.
But going back to movie scenarios, you have a movie called Equilibrium which is exactly this type of theme where people live in a society where they are forced to take drugs to suppress emotions.
Equilibrium (film) - Wikipedia
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Hmm... This reminds me of the things the Bible says Christians keep from happening just by being here in the world.
It also reminds me of all the effort we put in to try to keep the store clean at my job. A lot of customers don't care and leave a mess. Some of the employees don't give a fart in a whirlwind. Even the grease-laden air itself works against our efforts to keep it clean.
But I've seen sister stores where NOBODY cares much. They may keep the lobby kind of clean... Sort of... but the kitchen is downright disgusting!
It can be frustrating to be a Christian, trying to be a good influence in a world where it seems like most people and even the world itself works together to make as much chaos and destruction as possible. But if we were not the salt in this world, it would be terrible indeed.
"But there ARE some good people who are not Christians..."
Yeah, remember when Israel tried that? "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." That didn't turn out too well either.
It also reminds me of all the effort we put in to try to keep the store clean at my job. A lot of customers don't care and leave a mess. Some of the employees don't give a fart in a whirlwind. Even the grease-laden air itself works against our efforts to keep it clean.
But I've seen sister stores where NOBODY cares much. They may keep the lobby kind of clean... Sort of... but the kitchen is downright disgusting!
It can be frustrating to be a Christian, trying to be a good influence in a world where it seems like most people and even the world itself works together to make as much chaos and destruction as possible. But if we were not the salt in this world, it would be terrible indeed.
"But there ARE some good people who are not Christians..."
Yeah, remember when Israel tried that? "Every man did that which was right in his own eyes." That didn't turn out too well either.
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That is along the lines of what I think. The presence and work of Christians has, does and always will make the difference between utter horror and a reasonable good life for all. Left to themselves, human beings are destructive. Being accountable to God, Christ, keeps life tolerable for all.
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Hmm... Actually some of the more intelligent atheists (yes there are some intelligent ones... notice I didn't say WISE atheists) are a bit alarmed about the recent decline in the popularity of Christianity.
To put it simply, Christians make good neighbors. They may be atheists, but they sure do like for other people to be Christians.
To put it simply, Christians make good neighbors. They may be atheists, but they sure do like for other people to be Christians.
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