Recently outside a courthouse in Florida a monument was erected by American Atheists as an opportunity to allow their voice to be heard. The belief is that if Christians or other religions can have their statues then they should be able to as well. My interests is not in whether it is right that Atheists should be allowed to have a monument or if there should be no monuments at all but rather what is found on the monument itself.
There are different quotes that are found on this monument. On one side of the statue is the punishments found in scripture for those who break the 10 commandments. I agree this is found in the Bible. There are other quotes from Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and the Treaty of Tripoli (much could be said about these statements). However, the one quote that struck me was the one from O’Hare. It is not because I disagree with her (although I do on some points). It’s because the opposite is true, I agree with and am challenged by some of the things she says.
“An Atheist believes that a hospital should be built instead of a church.”
On her first point I would say I have to both agree and disagree. I disagree for as a Christian I believe that churches should be built as a place where Christians, seekers or anyone should be allowed to enter and discover Jesus. I also believe that they should be built and equipped with excellence in mind. However, I believe there is a difference between excellence and extravagance. Many churches have been built for extravagance and yes, I wonder if that money could have been used to make a difference in the world to meet needs. But before we judge other churches let us ask ourselves how much of our/my money is being used to change the world?
In regards to the building of hospitals there are many hospitals around the world that have been built by Christians to meet the needs of the sick and hurting. One such hospital is Maua Methodist Hospital in Kenya, Africa. They are doing great work in providing health care but also training children and youth who have been Orphaned by AIDS (for more info go to http://mckmauahospital.org/).
“An atheist believes that deed must be done instead of prayer said.”
Again I have to agree and disagree with her statement. I believe that prayer makes a difference and that God hears the prayers of people. I have to admit though that I do not fully understand how and why God answers prayer the way he does. It’s a mystery and I do not have an answer for that.
However, I do agree that we cannot just be people who pray only with no action. Prayer must be accompanied by deeds. James says this by asking what good is it to see someone in need and to just tell them you will pray for them and do nothing about their need (see James 2:14-18). Yes, we need to be people of prayer but faith without deeds is not true faith at all.
“An atheist strives for involvement in life and not escape into death.”
Jefferson Bethke asks “Why do we pray ‘on earth as it is in heaven’ and then act as if the goal to Christianity is getting out of ‘here’ instead of restoring it?” Honestly, it is a great question. Why are we so quick to want to leave this earth and “go to heaven?” If that was the goal of the Christian life then when we accept Jesus as savior we should leave this earth. However, Jesus said that his prayer was that we not be taken out of this world (see John 17:15). Instead He calls us to be salt and light in this world and to bring His love, true love, to the poor, the hurting and the hopeless. If we want God’s kingdom to reign on this earth (after all that is what Jesus taught us to pray) then what are we doing here and now to show what his kingdom looks like.
“He (the Atheists) wants disease conquered, poverty vanished, war eliminated.”
This is a continuation of watching God’s kingdom break through on this earth. So what are we doing? While the gospel message is to proclaim Jesus as Lord it should also be shown through loving action. What are we doing to see AIDS eliminated? What can we do to stop poverty, feed the hungry, bring peace, end human slave trafficking and the many other problems we face in this world. These are not issues in which we wait for the government to fix but rather issues that we have to face head on and must decide if we will take a stand .
Much more could be said on each issue O’Hare raises but it should cause us to stop and ask ourselves are we being the church or just “doing” church. Are we being salt and light, His hands and feet? Are we showing this world the love of Jesus in real and practical ways? And so while I disagree with some of O’Hares statements in this quote (and disagree with many of her other statements regarding religion and atheism) there are some things that we can agree on. Maybe before we automatically disagree with someone based on their view we should stop and see what we can learn from others. And who knows we might just agree with some of the things they say.
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