I continue to see and read in the news about atheist organizations which bring suit upon suit against municipalities, schools and other public institutions and it got me to wondering; what is it that these people want? And then it hit me like a thunderbolt, they want us to believe in the same thing they believe in. You see... atheism is a belief system like any other. Unlike theism, or the belief in God (or gods), atheism is believe in no god. You may think that I am stating the obvious, but when you use the suffix -ism, by definition it is a belief or doctrine. Think about it! Mono-theism is a belief in one god. Poly-theism is belief in many gods. Buddahism is belief in Buddah as god. Protestantism is the belief in one of the protestant religions. Judaism is the belief in the Jewish religion. Catholicism is belief in the Catholic religion, and so on. But it isn’t just religion, per se; there is agnosticism, mysticism, capitalism, socialism, and communism. All of these are belief systems of one type or another and they all have a doctrine to which they are beholden. So what is the the doctrine of atheism, aside from the obvious disbelief in a god. Well, that is where it gets interesting. As far as I can tell they believe in nothing. Christians, Jews, Muslims, all believe that one God created the earth. I am not sure about Buddism, Hinduism and other religions, but I assume they all have a “creation” doctrine. Atheists believe that nothing created the earth. All of this is merely some sort of accident, without explanation, and from that everything evolved, or some other explanation. But the bottom line is that they believe that no matter how the earth came to be, God didn’t do it. That’s fine they can believe that.
But here is my question, why must the government shut out my belief system and give priority or pre-eminence to the atheist belief system. The government has unwittingly become an agent of a belief system of unbelief, a belief system of nothingness. The government is endorsing the religion of atheism. A religion that has as its central belief the belief that there is no god. And the government by forcing the removal of religious displays is endorsing the religion of nothing. Atheists don’t want anything to have meaning beyond themselves. They can believe that there is nothing beyond themselves, that is not at issue. But, since atheists believe in nothing; they have displays supporting their belief system in front of every courthouse, municipal park, public building and school for most of the year. Because for most of the year in front court houses, libraries, schools, and public buildings there is... NOTHING. All I am saying is that Christians, Jews and any other religion should also be allowed displays which support their beliefs. We as believers in God (or many gods or mother earth, etc...) should not be forced to deny our God because someone doesn’t believe in anything. Just because atheists don’t believe in God, does not mean that He does not exist; and it certainly doesn’t mean that the government should surrender to and endorse their doctrine of nothingness.
Atheists see a cross and it is an offense to them; since they are unwilling or unable to find in that symbol any meaning to their lives beyond their current existence. It is quite sad, really. Christians find solace in the cross, whether it is on a mountain top or a grave. What do atheists put on their graves??? Nothing. Their journey ends with death, where as a Christian believes that death is merely a weigh station on his journey to a much brighter and happier place. For an atheist the world ends when he dies. Since there is no after life and God doesn’t exist... then his family doesn’t exist; his children, his friends, the whole world, all die with him.
Atheists look at the world and see the world. I look at the world and see all the wonders that God has created. Trees that live off the the air that I breath out and, in turn, create the oxygen that I breath in. Hummingbirds and bees that shouldn’t be able to fly but do. Children whose curiosity never ends and whose lives are just beginning. I see God in everything and in everyone, although I forget Him much more than I should. I understand that no matter what I do or what I say or how badly I mess things up, I can turn to God and He will give me comfort and He will give me aid; and when I die, there is a better place, a joyous, happy place where I will see my dad once again, and be with all my loved ones.
That is what the Nativity scenes are about, they are about hope. Hope in He who came to the earth to redeem me through His sacrifice. Christ knew that His life on earth was about more than just Himself, it was about redemption for all of us. I thank God everyday for without Him my life would have no meaning. At the end of the day that is what these atheist extremists want to do; take away anything that will remind us of God’s existence and of His sacrifice. All they accomplish is to remind me even more of my faith and the importance of God in my life.
Have a Merry and Blessed Christmas, and have a Blessed Hanukkah!!!
