In a recent post, I mentioned how my friend from church went to visit an atheist meeting at a local restaurant. This last Sunday, he went again - and took me with him. What follows is I suppose more of a commentary than a presentation of the "evidence" (although discussions about science and logic did occur). Far more interesting were some of the viewpoints of the particular people in attendance at the meeting.
Although there seemed to be no real cohesion regarding specific points that had lead the group members to their atheistic tendencies, it was clear that they all shared a few things in common. 1.) Separation of Church and State, 2.) the belief that there is no God, and 3.) most were not very open to ideas supporting Christ or the church. None of these things are a surprise really. What struck me though was in addition and aside from these things, was the frustration and anger just below the surface.
It occurred to me about halfway through the meeting that though they were unified in a belief against God, all of them still wanted the following things: acceptance, social networking, friendships, and regular meetings for encouragement. These are the same things churches provide. When we try to exist without and apart from our creator, we are left with the same "hole" or void that I think many of these folks had. I suspect many had been hurt personally by members of the church itself, or simply been force fed Christianity in a way they didn't appreciate.
What I came away from this event with (in addition to meeting some new people and hearing some different ideas), was that Christ didn't fail them... people did. God will accept them back, if they ever desire Him. So must we as living, breathing representations of the real Jesus. We must remember one of the greatest commandments we are to follow as Christians: To love people!
