Chapter Five; WHAT GOOD ARE NON-BELIEVERS? part seventeen

After the discussion of the church does good, let’s to follow with the good, non-believers. It seems there would be less to say in this area, than the prior one. I actually had to force myself to move on, as the topic is a bit unending and likewise, unnerving to tackle.
To begin, it is important to define what I view as a non-believer. This has been attempted many times, by both adherents and non-adherents. For discussion purposes, I will simply say that a non-believer is someone that does not believe in, either passively or actively, any religious dogma or believes in any supernatural beings, such as ghost, trolls, elves, demons, giants, fairies, griffins and so forth. Non-believers, also, do not acknowledge make-believe lands, such as Heaven, Hell, Krypton, Atlantis, Xanadu, El Dorado, Shambhala, Santa's North Pole, Nirvana, Shangri-La and so forth.
Anything beyond this , I prefer not to group or include in the definition. Basically, non-believers do not share any one set of world views. There is no dogma for non-believers. As it has been said by many more intelligent people than I, everyone is an atheist about most gods. Atheists and non-believers take it further one more god, than most. One final point, it will be a hard and long search find an atheist that says “categorically” there is no god. The point is that any evidence or proof put forth, falls short of convincing proof of a divine or supernatural. A strong atheist, like me, says there is a logical or reasonable explanation for whatever happens; no appeal to a supernatural is needed.
Now that we know what I mean by non-believer, let's see what good non-believers are. It is not that adherents of other religions are not good. By no means, the view that is common in much of the United States is that atheists cannot be trusted. Since becoming a non-believer in the late 1990's, I have made two observations. First, non-believers, for the most part, are more truthful and honest than believers. I guess I have a somewhat unique perspective, having the last name True. I always felt that it was something to live up to. Most non-believers I have talked to agree with the idea that lying should be avoided, if at all possible.
However, when as a Christian, I would lie, mislead, embellish and so forth, I never worried much about it. I knew that I had the Lord on my side and His great pink eraser in the sky to clean up the missteps. How great it is to know that whatever you do, can be erased with a few whispered words. That is an offer that is hard to refuse. Christian believers, with a smile on their face, can lie to a person without any regret, whatsoever. This is not the case with non-believers. We have one time to get it right. If we wrong someone, we have only that person to deal with, to make it right. That means, we have to deal with them face to face or at least admit to them, through writing. I notice that honesty is a much more common policy with non-believers, based upon personal experience. I have seen some recent polls supporting this view.
When believers surveyed about their personal behavior, they are more likely to say what they “should” say. Non-believers reveal a more realistic view of their morals and honesty. A non-adherent doesn't have a “goal” to reach as far as their personal integrity. They just have to decided what works best in society and for themselves. I have heard and seen this through a variety of sources, dealing with different surveys over the years. In a way, it makes sense that an atheist would be “the least trusted group” in America, because we are more likely to be honest. There may indeed be a commandment that tells the believers not to bare a false witness, but the believers would be hard pressed to have it apply to them in their daily life. Maybe if they were killed for a violation of breaking the truth, then there would be more people willing to adhere to the truth. But, the truth is the enemy of religion and faith.
It is said that, “the truth will set you free” . In religion, the truth will get you in trouble. That is why there is so much secrecy in the upper echelons of churches. Many ministries try to hide their meetings behind councils or boards to advise the ministers or spiritual leaders. Misdirection and subterfuge are the tools of many churches, and works well most.
Many adherents admit that they are not perfect but they are forgiven. The truth of the matter is that they are indeed forgiven. The person doing the forgiving is themselves. So as long as they go “genuflect” then they have received the forgiveness that they think that they deserve. By genuflect I mean any traditional process that one can do that is said to produce a desired effect though it really is vestigial in reality. It shows it self in more as a traditional process instead of a faith based reality when one asks a person to actually help and there is no action on that person part.
I was told one time that you can judge a person by the actions that they take with their life and that their actions speak louder than their words. Based upon this I would have to conclude that most of the faithful do not even know much less believe in the religion that they adhere to. Anyone that says they love God and has hate or ill will toward their fellow man is a liar and doesn't know what the Bible teaches. Even those that hide behind the current phrase about God hating the sin but loving the sinner fail to take into consideration that Jesus was the one that reached out to and spent most of his time with the poor, homeless the outcasts of his society. I am sure that most of the atheist that I have meet had Christians show the love they profess in their lives when they were searching for the truth that most of them would still be adherents Today. By this I say, believers are to blame for most people leaving the faith.

Coming next time: GOD IN CHAOS: 

Chapter Six: RELIGION AND POLITICS IN AMERICA part eighteen

Chapter Five; WHAT GOOD IS CHURCH THEN? part fifteen

Many skeptics, including atheists, agnostics or other non-believers , have found themselves asking, if God is not real, what is the purpose for churches in the natural world. Some non-believers don't really care. But, it is a question that must be addressed. Churches do exist and have a purpose, as I discussed earlier.

One of the most compelling uses for a church is a s an indoctrination center for the children. A church community can help form like experiences, to draw on for spirit de corps and motivation to adhere to certain mores and conditions. It also provides a point of communal identity. I am a Lutheran, I am a Methodist, I am a Pentecostal, I am Catholic, so on and so forth. It provides a sense of identity among other believers and the community at large.

Recently, I took a tour of the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Graham family home. It was a nice facility and set on the Billy Graham Parkway as one would make ones way to the airport in Charlotte. As one drives into the area a security guard greets you and hands you a parking pass and says, “We've been expecting you.” which of course I find odd as I didn't even know I would actually be going there for sure. But what can you say about a gimmick.

I drove in and parked near the front. Most of the day and during the week, the weather was misty, so not many people were visiting. I took a brief, outside tour to look at the different signs. I also took a short walk to his wife Ruth Graham's graveside. It was at the graveside that I discovered that she was born in China. I found that interesting. At the time she was born, her parents were missionaries to China.

At the main entrance, a vast atrium inside the building welcomes the visitor and it was built to resemble a barn. It did indeed have a big ceiling. A gentleman greeted me and asks if I had been to the library before. I told him I had not. He said I should watch a short video, and then follow the automatic doors for the rest of the tour. Before the video, I encountered a talking cow. I just had to get a picture. A talking cow was in line with the impossible things that religious adherents seem to believe. As I slowly perused around the library, I noticed recreations of Graham’s work; a tent revival in the late 1940s to his early work on the radio and then television. There was also an area dedicated to his wife and her participation in his work. The Library was much more a museum than a library as it had many items on display and the rooms were set up like exhibitions I really doubt that an average person could come in and handle an item much less check something out to take and return with them.

Finally, the depictions progressed to the world wide tours and crusades that were more well known. Television increased Graham’s visibility in the world. By this time, Graham was spending time with celebrities, and presidents. He grew in popularity and prominence. One room held awards that he received, such as: the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Medal of Honor, not to mention a knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II. I found these particular items most distressing, since Graham had done little to help people, but become more self deluded with a fairy story of the sand people of the Middle East. I couldn't image what he had possibly done for my country or for the United Kingdom to deserve such awards. I did, of course, read the citations. The awards really did nothing other say show Graham made a contribution to improving the nation or human condition. I guess you don't turn down such honors, even if you don't deserve them.

We see that from President Obama and his Nobel Peace Prize. At least President Obama is in the position to be able to make effective change to earn his award. I would say, Billy Graham should have to spend the rest of his days taking care of the needy or helping to encourage educational opportunities for those that are in need. And leave the work of God, to God.

With Billy Graham being one of the most respected persons in the Christian realm one would think that his focus would have been upon the needs of the people instead of the growth of his "empire." If the people that follow Jesus do not even "Feed my sheep" as Jesus says, What good is the church anyway? It shows no reason for purpose other that to self perpetuate their own venial agenda.  What purpose would a none believer have to turn toward this religion if the only thing they are concerned about is their own religious perpetuation? When the human good versus the self serving efforts, there is little room for doubt that churches and religious adherents do little to serve the good of humanity. Without the tangible proof of the existence of any supernatural being, the agenda of the adherents should be to show this proof, conclusively and to care for humanity, regardless of their beliefs.

When I think about what good church is I see wasted opportunities, the teaching of ignorance as fact and the immoral indoctrination of children for starters. Religious person are intolerant and blame their dogma, they are exclusionary and blame their faith, they are vindictive and blame their ignorance of their own spiritual text. By blame I mean they rather say they are tolerant yet say God doesn't want this or the Bible says that about persons that do not share their dogmatic belief.

These feelings are encouraged by popular speakers such as Sarah Palin, Glen Beck, Dick Armey, Michelle Bachman and others that continue to spray their ignorance and intolerance about people that they have no concern with yet turn their backs on their fellow American and human. This mix of politics and religion has always proved to be a dangerous mix throughout human history.