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January 08, 2009

Godless society .....

So now we have the Atheist message, which, I note, is not definite. So perhaps they aren't sure either .....

I do agree with one aspect of their objection to the Christian adverts which warned that failure to "sign up to God" meant eternity in hell. For one thing that sort of Calvinist Protestant fundamentalism presumes, as Jonah did, that God is not loving or forgiving to those who, like Thomas Didimus, have their little doubts and reservations and maybe aren't quite so "black and white" in faith. Personally, I believe in a God who welcomes all comers, even those who may realise at the last moment that He is there and has been all along - attendance at Church Services is not some sort of guarantee of heaven, though it may help you to find the road!

On an amusing aside though, I note that the quote from Albert Einstein is supposed to imply that he didn't believe in God at all. His words were "I don't believe in a PERSONAL God..." But he also never specifically denied that there is one and lived and died as a practicing Jew. The truth is that it probably takes greater faith to be an Atheist than to bumbling along believing there may be a God. All that is truly demanded of believers is that they live their lives in accoprdance with the tenets of their faith - and that can be boiled down to two simple things -

- You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and all your mind and all your soul, and
- You shall love your fellow men and women as you love yourself.

Not too hard, even for an Atheist, surely?

Posted by The Gray Monk at January 8, 2009 08:17 AM

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Comments

Monk,

So do you think there is a difference between believing in God and believing in Christ?

Herb

Posted by: Herb at January 9, 2009 06:48 PM

Herb - No.

I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the Word Himself made flesh to walk and teach among us. Christianity believs in a Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit - not three individual 'gods' but one God who has made Himsef known to us in Three persona at various times and still works among us in the persona of the Holy Spirit.

Posted by: The Gray Monk at January 9, 2009 08:03 PM

Monk,

Thanks for the reply. I guess what I was getting at was the possibility of someone believing in God (but not in the deity of Christ) and thinking they are right with God.

My concern is that a lot of people (according to polls, etc.) talk about and claim to believe in God but make no claim about a relationship with Christ. Do you think that's a problem?

Herb

Posted by: Herb at January 9, 2009 09:32 PM

Herb,

Yes, you are right, this is a problem, but not a new one. In fact this is the underlying cause of the split which ultimately led to the suppression of the Gnostic followers of Christianity - and which, coincidentally, underpins the Muslim understanding of Christ.

Read John 1, 1 to 14 for the best exposition on Christ's Godhead you're ever likely to get.

Posted by: The Gray Monk at January 10, 2009 06:48 PM