The Atheist at the Breakfast Table

Nonbelievers are growing in number. So why are they still sitting in the next pew with their kids?

Ross Harvey wedged himself into the back pew of the North Shore Unitarian Church in North Vancouver, British Columbia, as a visiting gospel choir filled the vaulted nave with soaring harmonies. Harvey, whose white T-shirt beneath a black dress shirt made him mistakable for a padre at a distance, was among the first to stand and clap and groove at the chord changes and the shared emotion. The only thing that came between him and full-on abandon was the part of himself that was irked by the words. "You know why the Baptists are so much better singers than we are?" he later joked. "It's because Unitarian Universalists are always reading ahead to make sure that what we're about to say we actually believe in. That slows us down."

Unitarian Universalists are full of questions, not answers; heavily into social justice and community service; and strong on dogma-free religious education for kids. And that suits Harvey just fine. He's an atheist. Just three years earlier he had confided to his wife that he wished there were "a church you could go to where you sang and heard inspirational talks and you didn't have to get into all that other nonsense." Then he found the UUs. No sooner did they join than they were asked to be in the Christmas pageant. Ross laughed, then said yes. He and Gabi were Joseph and Mary; their infant son, Jackson, was the baby Jesus.

Continue reading at www.psychologytoday.com

« Previous Article

Posting Policy

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse. Read more.

Evermyrtle

New International Version of the Bible

Prov. 11: 22 How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge.

Jeremiah 10:15 They are worthless, the objects of mockery, when judgment comes,, they will perish.
Linda F.

So in other words, he wants to go to a place where his ears are tickled and he hears nothing that is of value. Not surprised.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  Linda, you enjoy going to your church which tickles your ears and provides nothing of value as well. You demand that people not interfere with your choices. Why is he not allowed his preferred choice of a church?
http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville

Ravi Zacharias Answers Atheists assuming the atheist will actually make an effort to listen and to think which is a very seldom occurrence:

Part 1 http://youtu.be/aqbFxZ-3XA4

Part 2 http://youtu.be/Ge6rZBXAszI
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  Humpty, the reality is that most Atheists have read, listened, discussed and thought through the issues. Which is why they are Atheists.
  
  Atheists know more about religion than any other group.
  
  A new survey of American religious knowledge, released by the Pew Forum, which demonstrate that atheists and agnostics know more about religion than the religious do. The only religious groups comparable to atheists in general religious knowledge are Jews and Mormons. Atheists even know more about Christianity than American Christians.
  
  Atheists and agnostics, like Jews, are much more highly educated than the general American public, and the survey found a strong correlation between level of education and religious knowledge (among the religious as well as the nonreligious).
  
  Now, this does not mean we are right on our views. However, it does show that we are basing our views on researched information, not simply dismissing faith out of hand.
  http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/spirite…
  - Gordon
    
    Atheists are also marked by their incredible humility as well!
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      So says the member of a group who believes they alone hold the truth about the universe. That they alone are allowed by their god to eternal salvation. Who believes everyone else is damned for all eternity. The irony is staggering.
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        Schizoid Dod-xon you assert the same to your baboon worshiping religion of atheism Schizoid Dixon and that would be the highest hypocrisy possible and it is.
      - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
        
        Humpty, you are the delusion fool, pretending that snakes and donkeys can talk.
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        At least my grandma was not a branch swinging baboon as yours was according to your baboon legends…
        You are a moron Dod-xon and that is all there is to it.
      - Linda F.
        
        This, coming from the person who believes that we're evolved from … what? Slime? Monkeys? Apes? What's the flavor of the month for the average atheist this time, Jeff?
      - Linda F.
        
        Like *you* don't believe that atheists are the only group that holds the truth about the universe, Jeff? You're so wrapped up in your atheistic POV that you won't even *consider* the possibility that there *is* a God; that He really *did* create the universe; and that there really *is* someone bigger and more powerful than you or anything you can ever imagine!
        
        The irony *and* the hypocrisy are staggering.
  - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
    
    Sadly Schizoid Dixon you are unlike any characteristic you assign and aspire your religious to be. Besides those surveys can be skewed any way they want them to be by the type of questions they ask and their structure. Have you ever heard about link shortening sites? Apparently not otherwise you would not be plastering those page wide links that are not even displayed properly. Try this for crying out loud: http://tinyurl.com
  - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
    
    "most Atheists have read, listened, discussed and thought through the issues…"
    
    You are then in sadly dumb under-educated and under-read minority Schizo Dod-xon.
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Humpty, you never fail to provide more babble to any topic.
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        No, that is a fact Dod-xon you are pretentious, under-educated hick with philosopher aspirations and baboon on your shoulder.
    - Linda F.
      
      "most Atheists have read, listened, discussed and thought through the issues…"
      
      More like, "Most atheists repeat whatever their idol, Charles Darwin, had to say without pausing to think about how absolutely *stupid* the theory of evolution really is."
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        Indeed, you have here Dixon and his baboon legends who actually will rather believe that his ancestors were branch swinging monkeys than that God could and did enter His own creation to save His people.
        
        S-ystematic
        I-rrational
        N-eolatry
Wayne

I can appreciate the fact that this new style atheist is not trying to deny Christians the right to worship and believe. That they are not taking the militant stance of wanting all crosses torn down, any reference to God bought low, and all believers to hide in their closets, never to worship openly. I do find it disingenuous that they attend church at all, but I am hopeful that the message will come clear to their dulled senses (with eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear) and a revelation will come to them. The real problem is that there are organizations calling themselves Christian churches that do not teach the word of God. Instead they desire to attract an audience for their own gain. In the religious constructs of America today, there are growing "churches" whose mission is not to teach the word of God to believers, but to bring in large audiences and money while delivering a delightful little "I'm OK, You're OK" message. The message lacks truth and integrity with the word of God. This misconstrued message serves nothing toward building the strength of the Word of God and its mission of saving souls for the kingdom of God. Instead these new churches tear at the foundations of the church by calling themselves Christian churches yet watering down its' message and polluting the word. In so doing,
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  Atheists do not try and prevent Christians the right to worship or believe. We simply ask that you respect the rights of others and the law of the land. We do not try to tear down all crosses. We simply ask that crosses paid for with public funds and placed on public land be removed as they violate the law of the land. There is a difference between your right to worship and your insistence that Christianity be accorded a higher degree of acceptance than any other idea.
  - David Williams
    
    Jeff…crosses on public land do not violate the Constitution at all. The 1st Amendment says that "Congress shall pass no law respecting an establishment of religion, nor prohibit the free exercise thereof…" However, if you wonder what their religion was, read their writings…or, simply look at any U.S. coin or currency, and you'll see. It's not "freedom from religion," it's "freedom of religion."
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Of course they do. The government is showing preferential treatment of one religion over another and that is not allowed under the Constitution.
  - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
    
    And we simply ask that you will worship yourself in private and enchant yourself with your baboon legends also in private.
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Your wishes are of no concern to me.
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        So you are inconsistent and delusional as always. Why are you then say this moron: "We simply ask that you respect the rights of others and the law of the land."
  - randy
    
    Jeff, it's freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. if you want to stew in your self imposed misery go ahead and do so. But why do you insist on your private hell being our hell as well? you can swing your fists all you want as long as you don't hit me, or mine, in the face.
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      Freedom of religion is the as freedom from religion. Without one, you cannot have the other.
      - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
        
        Huh? "Freedom of religion is the as freedom from religion" Huh?
        Freedom is not free but imbecility definitively is as evidenced in your gobbledygook mumble.
msjallen

It amazes me that people who claim to be enlightened are so blazingly insecure when it comes to public displays of faith. This was not the case in the early years of our country.
Atheists or non- religious individuals were not offended by Christian prayers back then. They actually believed in peoples’ right to express their faith in the public square.
Nowadays, people are so insecure in their non- belief that they attack others who are secure in their faith.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  Atheists could not care less if you want to put up a cross on private land. Put up as many as you like. But stop using taxpayer money.
  - Linda F.
    
    Thank you, Jeff, for *allowing* us to practice our First Amendment rights on our own property. Oh, wow! Look at how *gracious* you and the other atheists are for *not* interfering that right.
    
    What do you want, Jeff? A medal? (Eye-roll)
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      I did not allow you this right. I merely pointed out that is the appropriate placed to put up crosses. Your false indignation is absurd.
keyboardshark

"Unitarian Universalists are full of questions, not answers; heavily into social justice and community service; and strong on dogma-free religious education for kids. And that suits Harvey just fine. He's an atheist. "

In other words, Unitarians have no convictions as to what to believe, and so anything and everything can be considered valid, while no idea can really be considered wrong. Not only is that illogical, it is intellectually lazy.
- http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
  
  Key, what is intellectually lazy is pretending that contradictions in the bible are actually offering a unified and never changing moral code.
  - keyboardshark
    
    Au contraire, Jeff. There are apparent contradictions in the Bible, and one must study other verses in the Bible or apply principles of logic, science or history to discover that it is not a contradiction after all. I would call that intellectually stimulating, not intellectually lazy. To just assume that the apparent contradiction is an actual contradiction without further study of other verses, examination of the context of the verses in question, or examination of supporting or non-supporting evidence from external sources, is intellectually lazy.
    - http://rationalresponses.blogspot.com/ Jeff Dixon
      
      No, that is simply an attempt to rationalize the verses. It is not actually showing that something was consistent in the first place.
      - keyboardshark
        
        That is because you are starting with the premise that the Bible contains errors. I, on the other hand, am starting with the premise that the Bible is infallible. We both have a presupposition regarding the truthfulness of the Bible, and that presupposition determines our starting point.
        
        I am assuming that any statements in the Bible that appear to contradict other statements in the Bible or external evidence, must not be an actual contradiction, based on my presupposition, and require further study. You are assuming that any statements in the Bible that appear contradictory are indeed contradictory, based on your presupposition, and do not require further evaluation.
        
        That is why it is important to have a correct worldview, because our worldview will either cloud or clarify our understanding of truth. The Christian worldview says that man is fallible and cannot be trusted, but that God is infallible and His Word, the Bible, can be completely trusted. Apparent contradictions are merely demonstrating our limited ability to understand the infinite mind of God.
        
        The secular worldview, on the other hand, assumes that everything always has and always will occur naturally, apart from God or any other supernatural phenomena. It further assumes that all religious writings, including the Bible, are the work of men with a certain agenda, contain contradictions, and cannot be trusted.
        
        Evolutionists assume evolution is true. Creationists assume creation is true. And so on, down the line. The point is, a person's presuppositions (worldview) will act as a kind of filter or lens through which he views the world and his own life. The only way one can become fully convinced that the Christian worldview is absolutely true is not by his own volition, but by the action of God. I'll call it the 3:3 plan:
        
        "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
        John 3:3
http://www.sargee5.blogspot.com The Watchman

Anyone who has studied and is studying the Word of God is not surprised that the number of Atheists are growing, after all, it is prophesied. In the end, not everyone will be making it to heaven. As we move closer to the end of the age, one of the signs is that many will be deceived and turn from God. The path to Perdition is a wide one, wide so as to accommodate the multitudes who will be taking it in the end. The path to the Father is narrow, narrow for the same reason as the wide path. The Atheist doesn't like to hear this, but in their own way, they are fulfilling the prophesy of the God they claim doesn't exist. I find it ironically beautiful and sad at the same time.
- http://twitter.com/lambsev11 @lambsev11
  
  Please pray for the people whom I give gospel tracts to, I sense a hunger in many these days. Not for preaching, but for information. The tract is still a viable means of communicating to the public.
  - http://www.sargee5.blogspot.com The Watchman
    
    I will add you and you Tract mission to my prayer list.God bless you.
    - http://youtu.be/zjgBhpanOfQ Despeville
      
      Can I ask for a prayer for me as God the Holy Spirit leads you? Thank you.
http://www.sargee5.blogspot.com The Watchman

Despeville, of course you, and all those who do not fear when doing the Lord's work are in my prayers. Approved workmen are not afraid. Bless you.