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atheist vs christian

The Suicide Tourist: Physician-Assisted Suicide

I watched an episode of Frontline last night titled The Suicide Tourist. It’s the story of Craig Ewert, a husband and father who at the age of 59 decided to fly to Switzerland so that he could be permitted to take his own life via a prescription of sleeping medication.

Craig was struck with ALS and lost his motor skills rather quickly. However, he seemed to be completely aware of his environment, condition, prognosis and had full mental capacity. His decision to end his life prematurely was one he was clearly making with no deterioration in his reasoning skills.

As I watched this program I felt an immense sadness for Craig and his family. Frontline documented how fully functional his mind was and how he seemed to enjoy his time with his wife. It even shared snippets of Craig expressing how he was afraid of the decision he was facing and how he may change his mind at the last minute. The biggest thing that hit me like a punch in the gut was when Mr. Ewert expressed how he believed there was no eternity for anyone and that he was just going to expire. Rather than let his condition worsen, he was going to make the decision to end his life before becoming a burden to his family and suffering more than he had already.

However, the more I watched I noticed my sadness slowly turning into anger. I continually asked myself why would a guy with so much love and support around him want to end his life prematurely? I sensed it was an issue of control, in that he didn’t want to face what he felt was going to be inevitable regarding his physical condition, so he masked his decision with words about wanting to die with dignity.

This episode gave me reason to pause and consider my thoughts and emotions. Assisted suicide is one of those things I have wrestled with a lot since making the transition of waking up one day as a believer in God after spending 37 years not believing in him. As an atheist, I completely relate to Craig’s belief that we live and die with nothing else beyond our existence in our human form. I also understand that if someone has a prognosis of dying a painful death or having no good quality of life that they should be allowed to die prior to that, should they choose to do so. As a believer in God and Christ, I find this a difficult position to go along with. Not because of heaven or hell or whether or not suicide is in essence the same as murder, but because of the lack of one thought: hope.

As an atheist, I had a lot of hope. However, it was always rooted in my own personal existence. My biggest existential hope was that the world would be a better place after I expired due to my having lived in it. My days were numbered and beyond my life, there was nothing. Death was final. Now as one that believes we continue on eternally, my perspective is different. I have the hope that our time here in the flesh doesn’t mean the end of my time with my family and others. I have hope that with all of the pain and suffering and difficult decision people like Craig Ewert have to make every day, that there is a better place we may go to.

My mom passed away unexpectedly a few years ago and it felt like my world had come to an end. I went into a depression and was emotionally crippled for months. My brother and I made the decision that rather than let my mom die in pain, we gave permission to the doctors to take her off of life support, administer a bunch of morphine, and drift off peacefully to her death. I was there holding her hand and talking to her as she gasped her last breath. As a Christian at that time, I couldn’t celebrate what us other Christians have certainty in knowing. My mother--while she was able to witness my transformation and was supportive of my involvement in ministry--never spoke of her faith in Christ. There was no joy in knowing that we would be together again in the future. However, I still hold onto hope. The hope that I will see her again and that we can know joy and peace eternally as mother and son. It is that hope that finally pulled me out of my depressed state and allowed me to move forward.

Whether or not we continue on eternally… Whether or not there is a heaven or hell, we all are faced with decision we make every day. Some of them are immensely difficult and some of them seem impossible or hopeless. In the end, Mr. Craig Ewert, your story has impacted my life and forced me to think about my life and the decisions I face. For that, I thank you very much. May you and your family be reunited one day and know the influence you have had in the lives of many that witnessed your story through an episode of Frontline.

atheist vs christian / evangelism/outreach / friends / people / prayer — 13 Comments
11
Dec 09

The story of a dude named Dewde

For all the people out there that say blogging is dead, I say you have no clue what you are talking about! I know that sounds harsh, but I adamantly believe it. Let me share a story of a dude named Dewde and my blog.

There was a lot of controversy surrounding an issue of Asian-American Christians taking offense to something, which I responded to in this blog post. Someone I did not know at the time read my blog post and chose to respond with a very short comment which simply stated:

Clearly you are not irrelevant.

Clearly.

peace | dewde

After that comment was left on my blog, I continued to see comments of peace and wisdom, all seasoned with a love that truly seemed to be evidence that Christ was alive and well in this guy named Dewde. He was everywhere in the blogosphere in response to the controversy, yet his remarks were always consistent — always taking the high road, yet acknowledging the inadvertent wrongfulness of the issue. I was taken back by his presence and devotion of time to exhibit such grace and truth from a non-Asian perspective. I imagined that Dewde must have been a well-versed Christian that somehow found grace and was devoted to sharing it with the world. I wanted to be more like him.

One night during a tokbox video conference on an issue of Asian-American ministry, Dewde pops into the conversation. I had to know more of his story. I was all set to be envious of his experience and learn what caused him to be so full of grace. Then, he softly spoke something that rocked my existence! He said that he was an atheist who married a Christian woman and came to know the eternal love of Christ through attending services at North Point Community Church in Georgia. What? An atheist? Specifically, an atheist-turned-Christian-through-a-mega-church-experience. Could this be true? Dewde definitely had my attention. The more he shared that night on tokbox, the more I realized that his story was very similar to mine. He shared a link to a video of his journey as an atheist who came to faith in the Lord. This guy who was so solidly grounded in peace and dripped the love of Christ from every pore of his body made statements in the video like:

I had questions, but they were not answered to my satisfaction.

I had a conversation with God. I told him that I did not believe he existed, and that this was his chance to prove to me that he did…I waited…I listened hard…And when the silence was over I had the proof I needed…And I became an atheist with a clean conscious.

What the heck? How could a guy who came to know Christ personally just seven years ago — a guy so rooted in his own reasoning skills and with so much evidence of Christians not being what they professed to be — how could this guy seem to have found so much peace? I said similar things during my years as an atheist, yet don’t reveal that much grace in my life. I was developing a bond with my newfound brother and it greatly encouraged me to know God was at work in this way in others. While Dewde and I have a lot of similarities in our journeys, we are two very individual people. We are not the same. Therefore, Dewde’s story is worth knowing and I encourage you to take a few moments to witness his story in the video below. I know many of you know him via twitter and the blogosphere, but I’m not sure many of you know how he came to be this amazing guy named Dewde, who loves others because Christ first loved him.

Here’s the video:

It’s Personal -- A Former Atheist Speaks from dewde on Vimeo.

atheist vs christian — 8 Comments
23
Feb 09

Atheist vs Christian: Final Question

I wish I could devote more time to this discussion as even though comments were non-existent, I have had hundreds of readers during this series. I may look to continue this at a later day.

For now, I close with one last question. It’s not from both perspectives as previous posts, but this is my formerly-atheist-now-Christian perspective as a final (two-part) question for atheists.

Question: If Darwin’s evolution encompasses constantly evolving in order for the survival of the fittest to be true, where does that leave us as human beings and at the top of the food chain? Why are those creatures at the bottom of the food chain not evolving to move up the ladder still?

As an atheist, I truly believed that science pointed to proof that we are a part of an evolutionary cycle. We started from a primordial soup and from cellular growth have become who we are today. Even if science supports this in your mind, is it reasonable?

We as humans are the top of the food chain. We are the most intelligent of beings on this earth. However, once we die we do nothing to contribute back to the cycle. We are either cremated and put into urns or buried in caskets protecting us from the elements. With us, the cycle stops. Everywhere else in creation, creatures have more purpose other than being takers of the land. For example, a bat eats mosquitoes. It helps to control the mosquito population. It drops feces on the ground which helps fertilize it for sustaining plant life. When the bat dies, it either temporarily becomes food for another creature, or it’s remains decompose and fertilize the ground. Birds eat fruit and carry the seeds of that fruit to other areas and deposits them through their droppings so that the trees can continue growing. As with the bat, when the bird dies it either gets eaten by another creature or decomposes and acts as fertilizer.

A humans, we eat plants and animals and it is just to sustain ourselves. We don’t pass seeds along and our waste isn’t used as fertilizer. When we die we serve no additional purpose.

As I think about this cycle, it really makes no sense. We, the most intelligent creation on earth live a life pleasing to us, robbing our environment of life and dumping back into it pollutants and toxins which could possible wipe us out in the future through depletion of the ozone layer, and then we die. Seriously, that is a depressing thought!

Additionally, if evolution was about our survival and our continuation to be the fittest creatures we can be, why do we have such individualized things as fingerprints? Fingerprints are not things that we share with other creatures. It is not part of an evolutionary process as it started with us and ends with us. Even amongst us as human beings, no two individuals can possible have the same fingerprints. As random as you want to make the odds to be, we have had enough people on the face of the earth over time that statistically it should be possible to find two people with the same fingerprints. However, it hasn’t happened and it never will!

Darwin couldn’t explain our unique fingerprints, but as a species, why must we be unique? In the animal kingdom, there are many animals that look identical and the only differentiator is there scent. For us, even identical twins will have some attribute that allows us to tell them apart. If God created us uniquely as individuals with an individual purpose and an individual journey, being able to see that through identifying factors such as our appearance, our unique fingerprints and irises helps us understand that. There is no scientific or evolutionary basis for why we always have individual fingerprints or irises. These serve no purpose to help us propagate our species for survival.

Another thing is that for as advanced as we are, we are some of the most helpless of all creatures at birth. When a horse gives birth, the colt comes out of the womb and shortly thereafter stands on it’s own and walks/runs. When a whale gives birth the calf comes out being able to swim and recognize the language of it’s mother. However, for us our babies come out of the womb totally helpless. They can’t talk or understand language, they can’t walk or run. If left to their own devices, they would just stay in one place and cry continuously. Anyone could come and snatch them away. How does having such helpless offspring confirm our standing as the most-fit creatures for survival on earth?

If God wants us to know him and share that love with others, when we have children we are forced to be in that position whether we like it or not. I’m sure momma horses love their colts and momma whales love their calves, but their offspring are fairly self-sufficient upon arriving into this world, while our babies don’t walk or communicate until after their first twelve months of existence. They are completely dependent upon their mothers to be nurtured. Without the love of others, our babies would not make it in this world.

If you are an atheist and love your children the way I love my daughters, then we have a common bond. Our only difference is that I believe God called me to love him and that he loves me unconditionally. If you could love and be loved more profoundly through a relationship with God and know that you have a greater purpose than just to take from the world and then die and be cremated or buried, isn’t it worth doing what you can to find out if that is the design of this life? I did, and I am eternally grateful for knowing that it’s not just about about me and my meaningless life.

atheist vs christian — 2 Comments
20
Feb 09

Atheist vs Christian: Evangelism…keep it to yourself

Here is a hypothetical conversation that probably happens every day:

Christian: Do you know what happens to you after you die?

Atheist: I get buried in the ground and become worm food.

Christian: Don’t you believe in heaven?

Atheist: No!

Christian: What if heaven does exist? What if hell really is eternal torment? Wouldn’t you want to know how to avoid hell and go to heaven?

Atheist: There is no heaven, nor is there a hell. I’m going to be buried in the ground where I cease to exist, just like you will be. Even if heaven & hell existed, I would choose to live my life just as I do now and suffer the consequences of hell. However, if I did meet God before being sent to hell, I’d ask him why he made it so difficult for me to find him if he really wanted to be known to me.

Christian: Oh, well you’re wrong and I will pray for you that you open your eyes to God someday.

As you read the dialog, did you find either position convincing? As a Christian, does someone telling you that when you die you cease to exist forever convince you that it’s true? As an atheist, if someone tells you that God is real and that there is a heaven and a hell and you will be present in one of those two places for eternity convince you? I believe the answer to this is no in both cases, so why do we keep having the same discussion with the same end result?

As Christians, each of us should be called to share the message of Christ to those that are not familiar with it. It’s an act of love that we can do for others. We are not credited with the end result, but evangelism is a teaching that Christ left us with and the majority of the new testament is part of the story of how the church grows as a result of it. As atheists, one is compelled to dispute the teachings of Christ as (atheists believe) there is no convincing evidence that Christ existed, let alone that he was God.

In watching a recent video from Penn Gillette (of Penn & Teller fame) I was intrigued. He talks about a man showing up at one of the Penn & Teller shows and giving Penn a bible. Please take a moment to watch the video:

After seeing the video and Penn’s sentiments, it’s kind of nice in that he seems to offer respect for the man that gave him the bible. However, in the end the Christian is viewed no differently than others in the world. Penn says he is “a good man.” In the world, all people are seen as good. Atheists believe that one does not need to believe in God in order to be good. You know what? They are right. I commented on this in my last post. Give a guy a bible and be considered by the recipient to be good. Christians, it’s time that we change our ways and instead of being seen as good, we need to be accepted as relevant!

I submit a challenge to all atheists reading this post: If a Christian showed why God is real and why it would change your life in a positive way if you believed in him, would it open your mind to really seeking God rather than reciting the same old cliche phrases that you have used in the past to derail Christians? I’m not saying that you need to accept God as fact on-the-spot, but wouldn’t it cause you to stop and ponder the question of whether maybe, just maybe, God could exist if someone was so changed before you?

To the Christians reading this, my challenge to you is this: Won’t you actually put yourself in a position where you believe that God does love others and wants to see them come to know him through your actions and do something relevant that shows the world you are different? We are called to be fishers of men. Did you know that in fishing, when you throw a bait to a fish and it bites it, repeated casting of the same bait to the same fish desensitizes the fish to striking that bait? Why do we keep giving the same presentation to people hoping that they’ll bite? If knowing God is not a religion, but a relationship then shouldn’t we as Christians show the world this by first starting in developing a relationship with someone? Anyone can say a could of sentences and walk away, but we all have a unique story and a unique personality and therefore we should learn to share this in unique ways. Cookie cutter evangelism will be met with the words, “keep it to yourself.”

atheist vs christian — 3 Comments
19
Feb 09

Atheist vs Christian: Morality only comes with Christianity?

Hey atheists, do you feel immoral? Hey Christians, why do many of us believe that the only way someone can be moral is to be a Christian?

As strange as this sounds, when I was an atheist most of my clients were Christians. Some of them knew I was an atheist and still chose to do business with me, but some them just assumed I was a Christian based on the way I worked. Having attributes of putting them first over myself and my profits, being honest and someone of integrity, people just assumed I must have been a Christian. When someone would kind of approach me with the question of whether I believed in God, I would make sure they knew that I didn’t. There was no evidence to convince me that God was real and I just didn’t feel like I needed any help in my life. So, I refuted God and was still a moral person.

Most atheists are also moral people. They believe that they are born with an inherent sense of morality and that they do not need to believe in God to be moral. So, when we Christians talk about atheists as being immoral, in essence we are passing judgment on them without any basis. There is a difference between being a moral person and respecting the Lord’s commandments!

As stated in my earlier post in this series, Proposition 8 in California really isn’t a Christian issue. It is an issue on the law of the state. Should we as Californians really re-draft the constitution to change the original language making marriage to be defined as being between two people regardless of sexual preference in order to conform to some sort of political correctness? In essence that was the basis for this proposition. It had nothing to do with the church or Christianity or God. It was solely an issue of the constitution of the State of California being changed. Either you believe that we have the power and the right to change the wording that California was founded upon or you don’t. Religious people tried to make it their issue and some wanting the constitutional change tried to make it a religious issue.

As much as us Christians really would like to see the day when all the world comes to understand that Jesus lives and wants to have a relationship with his people, we really need to stop trying to convince non-Christians that they cannot be moral without our God. We are not the judges of others and the Bible clearly tells us this. Atheists, may we as Christians come to respect you as a free-thinking person and listen to your perspective without judgment. As a Christian, I may not agree with your rationalization of things from your viewpoint, but I am not here to force my faith upon you. That is between you and God.

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