Scornful Skeptic Award #6

This is not only in bad taste – incredibly bad taste – but irredeemably caustic.

Take a few looks at it.

A hilarious atheistic satire highlighting the futility of prayer had to be scrapped late Tuesday night when twelve West Virginia miners miraculously failed to suffocate to death as expected.

A satire? His “original” satire was about how futile it is to pray to a God. It was to mock the faith of the victim’s families. To use real, just announced deaths as a cheap shot in favor, supposedly, of his viewpoint.

His satire, he says, “failed” – because the people were announced alive. So, of course, he posts the satire of the satire anyway – because now it applies again. They died, and God didn’t save them, yadda yadda.

It’s reprehensible.

It gets worse.

TRA said the discovery of twelve corpses would have been particularly funny to those who read his original piece, which was going to predict a “miracle” similar to the one credited for the survival of nine men from a flooded mine in Quecreek, Pennsylvania in 2002.

Funny? FUNNY? That isn’t even morbidly funny. That’s just ham-fisted gallows mockery.

TRA took solace in the fact that one dead body was found, but said it wasn’t enough to save the parody. “Maybe if five or six of them had died, I could have done a bit about how the survivors’ families were gloating about the selective ‘miracle’ that spared only the rigtheous,” he said. “But it wasn’t to be.”

“Nearly a whole hour wasted,” TRA said. “Is there no God?”

What an unadulterated, swilling stream of drivel-mouthed bile. I wouldn’t countenance that sort of comment on anyone. Anyone at all. It’s sick, it’s morally repugnant, and it’s an absolutely reprehensible thing to say.

You, sir, (and I use that term loosely) have truly “earned” your “award”. I refuse to call it “misguided”, or anything of the sort. It’s simply repugnant, and a discredit to anyone calling themselves an atheist. I can respect a person, regardless of their beliefs – I can’t, however, respect someone making a morally abhorrent comment like that.

What possesses people to heap scorn on an already painful situation?

Vox Apologia: Redux

So. Vox has been on hold, pretty much indefinitely, because, honestly, it just wasn’t working, without a herculean effort on my part every week.

I have an idea.

What if…

Instead of me setting the topic, or someone from the Aggregator setting the topic…

We let an atheist, skeptic, agnostic, or an adherent from another religion set the topic?

Now, guidelines will have to be set, to some extent, but, really. Wouldn’t this be the point of Vox? To make a defense to anyone who asks us?

I say we let them ask – and we pray, consider, study – and do just that – answer.

What say you?

The Daily Cut – 1/2

Well, this hasn’t been much of a “daily” cut recently.

Oh well. I’m back into blogging, so… I’m back into Daily Cuts.

Agent Tim has a great post entitled “Nothing or Something

I sat down and began to write without thinking—just allowing the thoughts to flow onto the blank page in front of me, hardly slowing or pausing to consider what would come next. Then it happened—it stopped. I couldn’t write anything more. Nothing came to mind, nothing inspired me, and the word nothing plagued my mind.

The Apologetics Resource Center has an interesting post contrasting Positive Faith with the God of the Gaps theory.

Christians do not believe in the existence of God, the truthfulness of Scripture, and the words of Christ in order to simply fill in the knowledge-holes left by modern science. Rather, Christianity is believed based upon positive and rational reasons that stand on their own right.

Paul sheds some light on the “Dark Ages” over at Pensees.

Based on the other myths from my school days that have been burst one by one, like Columbus being the first to think the world was round, I should find it no surprise that the true nature of the Middle Ages is quite different than I imagined[…]

Alex Forrest contrasts George Barna with Rousseau.

[…]it is almost as if Barna is advocating a spiritual version of Rousseau’s myth of the Noble Savage. For Rousseau, of course, the myth (now strong in the popular mind) was that the “natural man,” unfettered by the shackles of civiliation and technology, lived in a state of natural purity and goodness. Civilization, however, brings with it bondage, degradation, self-interest, and all sorts of other vices. […] Barna seems to have a similarly romantic image of the “Noble Christian Savage,” unfettered by the trappings of dry institutionalism, empty tradition, and other vices that often beset American evangelicalism.

Interesting stuff.

Comment by Aaron Kinney (of Kill the Afterlife), in response to Eternal Revolution’s post entitled A Need for Compassion:

Oh and by the way, you said:

“As he hung there, dying on the cross, facing an injustice far worse than any of us could ever fathom…”

I could fathom something much worse: an eternity in hellfire.

I could point out that Aaron’s schtick has always been that he refuses to accept the “inhumane and immoral” belief that life goes on after death. (If the very concept is immoral, isn’t he violating his own stance by contemplating such a thing? :D) But, I won’t.

Anyways, the point is that hell is separation from God – which is what the lifestyle found deserving of hell wished in the first place. The punishment is the wages of sin – you never get anything for nothing. If you choose to ignore what is right, and do what is wrong, there will come a penalty, eventually. That’s what hell is. But, whatever. Aaron likes to post throwaway snarks – don’t you Aaron?

I’m sure I’ll have another Scornful Skeptic award for you soon. That one’s actually pretty tame, for you.

Imago Dei has an interesting post entitled “A Different Abortion Story”, which was crossposted from LTI, who is also on my blogroll, and Serge’s new second home!

The Good Fight has two interesting posts:

One is entitled “The Hypocrisy of Anti-Creationists“. Here’s an excerpt.

[…]what is truly interesting about many of the critics of YEC is their seeming hypocrisy when it comes to scientific theory. I’ve seen often many of these scholars advocate scientific explanations that are so odd and radical that they are the only ones who believe it. But isn’t that supposed to be what YEC believers are famous for?

Two, a post entitled “Gratuitous Evil and God“.

Gale presents an argument for the reality of a god who is similar to the theistic God but who is not apparently fully omnipotent or ominiscient. He is very powerful and intelligent but not necessarily maximally so.

It’s an interesting look at Gale’s response.

CADRE takes an in-depth look at Earl Doherty, in response to favorable posts on other blogs.

I have noticed an up-tick in Earl Doherty admiration on the blogs. So, I decided to bring some of the points I made in my articles on the Jesus Myth to the pages of Cadre Comments.

In this post, I examine a passage in Hebrews that proves troublesome to Doherty’s theory that the early Christians did not believe that Jesus existed on earth. Hebrews 9:27-28 refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ to earth.

Challies gives his State of the Domain address, and asks some questions to help guide the future direction of his blog.

And so, as I gaze towards 2006, now only a few days off, I would like to ask for your input. I promise not to be offended and am honestly asking for honesty. If you know me, you know that I have any easier time dealing with criticism than praise! […] While this site is and will remain my site (and I say that in as non-offensive a way as I can) I am eager to hear from readers what you feel is done well and what is done poorly.

Go check it out.

Mr. Dawn Treader puts some perspective on 2005 with “Buzzing the Treetops“.

I encourage you to take a look at his personal commentary.

Now, on a personal note – yes, I’m back to regular blogging. I’m back to tweaking my site fairly regularly, as frequent visitors can see pretty clearly. I’ve updated all my blogrolls, fixed the Aggregator once again, and I’m working on a few new posts.

In addition, I’ve been asked to join The Dialogical Coffee House as a contributor. I’m definitely going to enjoy that, as I’ve been a reader over there for quite some time, and respect the bloggers there immensely.

I’ll be back to working on new ideas, until one hits home, and revisiting some old ones that I ran out of time for. Here’s to a New Year, a new start on blogging, and a renewal of my walk with Christ.

A Shopping Encounter

I don’t think I’ve mentioned it on my blog yet, but I bought a motorcycle. It’s silver and black, and needs some work. That’s just background, however. I went to Slidell to purchase some parts for my bike not too long ago – just prior to Christmas. Afterwards, since we hadn’t yet finished our Christmas shopping, we decided to go by North Shore Square Mall, also in Slidell, to finish our shopping up. On our way in, we encountered a man up on a step stool, asking questions, and offering a dollar for a correct answer. This approach is directly out of Ray Comfort’s “Way of the Master”, and I recognized it almost immediately, and wanted to watch, so we stopped there for a bit.

He finished the last 1 dollar question, and progressed to the 20 dollar question, which uses the Ten Commandments, and demonstrates that everyone is a sinner, and needs God to overcome their sin. The speaker was really very good, and did this very well. His name was Mike.

While he was beginning this final portion, I overheard a janitor, who I had been watching, say into his radio that there was a “disturbance” outside the mall entrance. Now, I had been watching him for a few minutes, and he didn’t have anyone complain to him that I saw, and the group watching was not disturbed. There were a couple people who disagreed, but all they had to do was leave. They stayed right there to listen, regardless.

One in particular, a young man, we overheard saying “this guy is preaching, let’s leave”. Right after that, though, a security guard walked out, and said that “noone is allowed to have a forum on the premises”, and that he would have to stop, or do his presentation on an individual basis only. Well, I jumped in at that point, and asked if it was mall policy to discourage public speech. The security guard told us he was a churchgoer, but that this was, indeed, mall policy. Several others voiced dissent at this point – including the young man who had just said he was leaving. he said, I believe, “this is America – he can say whatever he wants to”. The security guard’s reply was simply that this was private property, and this was the mall’s policy, and reiterated that they were free to continue on an individual basis.

So, while I continued to talk to the guard, the evangelist asked whoever was willing to continue the discussion on an individual basis to follow him. A group of 13-15 people followed. Silently rejoicing, I kept talking to the security guard, and asked where I could file a complaint, and told him that I would no longer be shopping at the mall due to this policy. He told me where to go, and was really very nice. I went to the customer service kiosk, was responded to with courtesy (if a bit of frost, due to my reason for visiting), filled out my complaint form, saying i was no longer intending to shop there, due to their policy, explaining what I had seen the janitor do, and left.

It was a bit odd, and I made a snap decision, but I don’t think I could have done anything in good conscience. As a visitor to a shopping complex, the only means you have to show your displeasure are complaint forms and refusing to buy from them, in my estimation. So, that’s what we did. In fact, though, it turned out nicely. I went to the outlet mall, closer to home, spent less than I would have otherwise to finish my Christmas shopping, and had a good time.

The point wasn’t the shopping, or my displeasure, though, really. To be honest, I was trying to focus the attention on me to give the evangelist less distraction. The other was just the means to do so. The security guard escorted me to the kiosk, and stayed there after I left, and the evangelist was still talking with his group of people – they were all smiling as he explained what he had to say. I hope God was able to use him, and that He may have used me in a small way.

I do intend to keep my promise to cease shopping at North Shore Square Mall, in Slidell, however. I dislike that policy, and won’t support a business (or group of businesses) which espouses it. So, that’s the story. I told my wife I would post it, and I told the mall I would, too.

So, there you go. I’m no longer shopping there.

New Year? What about a New Man?

We all like to think that as we start a New Year, everything will be different. We make resolutions, we resolve, in effect, to be “new men”. I think, however, that as we resolve to do things, that if we refuse to set, at the center of these wanted changes, a truly efficacious agent of change, we will fail – and fail miserably.

Let me explain. We make resolutions, right? What is to keep us resolved to carry through with them? Self-discipline? I can’t speak for everyone, but my measure of self-discipline is pitifully small, and not up to the task of keeping me resolved to the type of things we routinely set as goals for ourselves. Not on my own, at least. What else could keep us resolved? Fear of failure? Embarrassment? What else?

Here’s my solution, and see if this makes sense.

This morning, we studied Ephesians 4:17-24, which, in my Bible, is entitled “The New Man”. I think it may have some lessons for us in how to become, in reality, the “New Man” we are supposed to be as followers of Christ.

It reads:

So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

What does that have to tell us about becoming, in truth, a New Man?

Verses 17-19 explains what we should not do. The example used is the “Gentile” – not the physical racial groups known as “Gentiles” (or Non-Jews, which are the vast majority of the people of the world), but the spiritual Gentiles – those who are excluded (alienated in the NKJV) from the life of God, as verse 18 says. In other words, we are to take as examples those who have chosen the path antithetical to our own – and to do otherwise.

First, Paul says very clearly that this is not his message. He says he affirms “together with the Lord”. This is clearly an apostolic (on his authority as an apostle) command, and is directly from God.

Second, it is a directive to REFRAIN from doing the things which following – and, if you are already doing them, to stop. “No longer” is what he says. Interesting, that. That tells me that he is fully aware that all of us, to some degree, are embroiled in the way this other lifestyle does things. He is fully cognizant of this, and directly confronting it.

Thirdly, he explains what lies *behind* this process. The mind. Their minds are futile (devoid of truth and appropriateness – used as “vanity” in 2 Peter 2:18) in their endeavors, because they are missing the knowledge that is critical to supply what is lacking in the pursuits that Solomon calls “Vanity” – meaning, and purpose. A knowledge of God.

Their understanding is darkened” – “darkened” is the word skotoo, which is a metaphor for a blinded mind.

alienated from the life of God” – alienated is the word apallotrioo, which means ” to be shut out from one’s fellowship and intimacy”. Life? This is the same word Christ uses when He promises a life more abundant. That sort of life. The very life of God. How unimaginably heartbreaking – not only that there are those who are apart from that life – but that we choose to imitate them!

the ignorance in them” – ignorance refers especially to ignorance of divine things, or moral blindness. So, they (and we who choose to imitate them) are not only intellectually blind, but morally so!

“hardness of their hearts” – the word means to become “calloused”, to have their perceptions blunted – to be stubborn or obdurant – to become obtuse. In other words – to become dull, and unused to discerning things clearly.

So, the passage goes on to say, that callous leads to a lack of sensitivity – a lack of discernment – which leads to a wanton slide into the practice of sin. Sound familiar, Christians? Or non-Christians, for that matter.

A lack of perception leads to a lack of moral discernment, and a lack of moral discernment leads to increasingly sinful behavior.

But, the passage says – we did learn Christ in this way! We didn’t! We know better. It is a willful ignorance, and a willful slide into this morass.

Paul goes on to tell us that we have been taught the truth – and that truth teaches us that we are to lay aside our former selves, which are being corrupted, and we are to be *renewed* in our minds. We are to put on *new* selves, in the likeness of God (sound familiar? A life of God, mentioned earlier?) which were created in righteousness, in holiness, and in truth.

This is what we are to do.

Romans 12, which was our Sunday School text today, says something very similar.

Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

New Year’s Resolutions? How about a New Man Resolution, to go with it? Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Of my mind. Of your neighbor’s mind.

So, on that note: Here are my resolutions.

1. I resolve, with the help and sufferance of God, to spend time, daily, in the Study of the Word, and in prayer before Him.

2. I resolve, with the help and sufferance of God, to use my gifts in His service, following His plan to strengthen His Church.

3. I resolve, with the help and sufferance of God, to strive to become the spiritual head of my newly-formed family, and to take seriously the role which God has placed before me.

4. I resolve, with the help and sufferance of God, to place the Glory of God in the place it deserves – the primary place – and to make this the aim of all my endeavors.

5. I resolve, with the help and sufferance of God, to stop neglecting my talents for music, design, and writing, but to use them to the best of my ability for the duration of this year.

That’s it – those are my resolutions for this year. I covet your prayers, your advice, and your accountability.

The Aggregator – v4

Well, I’ve revamped the Aggregator.

I’ve removed a few posters who combined their blogs, added quite a few who have been asking for a while, and a few of my own choices, who didn’t.

There are now 34 members, in total. All should be shown on v1 of the Aggregator display feed, to your right. I’m still working on versions 2 and 3, and on transferring them to Vox, as well, as more people visit here than Vox even though I’d rather it be the other way around… but, c’est la vie.

Welcome to CMV warrior, from Christianity is Jewish; Michael Craven’s “Cultural Apologetics“; The bloggers from the Apologetics Resource Center, who have combined their former blogs into one group blog – which is now on the Aggregator. Welcome to Mr. Dawn Treader, who I should have added months ago, and is ALWAYS worth a read. Welcome to the folks from Eternal Revolution, who have been doing some very interesting things with the “God or Not” series of late. Welcome to Scott Pruett of Pensées, who only recently asked to be added – but who impressed me thoroughly. Welcome to Tom Wanchick from The Good Fight. Definitely a different take – which I like. Last, but not least, welcome to The A-Team. They need no introduction. They’re… the A-Team!

As for the steadfast members of the aggregator, who have been posting, while I haven’t… thanks. Sorry I haven’t been around much. Life, a new marriage, work, and hurricane recovery stuff have been burying me solid. I figured it was way past time to at least straighten this out, if I did nothing else.

Check out John Zuhone’s thoughts of late. Check out Tim Challies’ latest – which is brilliant, as always. The CADRE is always good for thought-provoking material. Or Vincent Cheung? Wow.

Really, if you haven’t surfed the Aggregator lately… just do it. The amount of excellent, mind-blowingly brilliant material on these member blogs really will stagger you, if you just go through the last ten posts by each person. Well, except for me. I’m being lazy. But, hey… read some of these folks. You’ll be glad you did.

Anyway – welcome, new members – and thanks, those of you who’ve been with us for a while.

Code for Vox Aggregator Latest Posts

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Looking Back at Katrina

It’s now 3 months, and 13 days since Katrina, I do believe.

Something like that. I’ve been so swamped… so snowed under by just… life – that I haven’t really had a chance to share anything about it, save for a couple posts.

First, the actual hurricane itself. I watched the vast majority of it from outside in it. I was on my front porch until the eye of the storm passed over, here in Gulfport. After it did … I walked in it, up to Perkinston, which is… let’s see what Mapquest tells me.

25.79 miles. Now, although that’s quite a walk, think about when I walked it. The wind had died down to about 50-60mph when I started, but it was still raining pretty heavily. I started at about 12:30/1:00 pm, and got there about 7:30, I think. Not bad for that far, really. That wind, though. Walking in that is NOT easy.

Anyway, back to my impressions.

During the hurricane, it was an adventure. The kind of adventure guys really do like, and don’t really care if anyone thinks they’re crazy for liking. The wind made the house shudder, and shake. The trees’ branches were snapping off right and left, making an awful racket. The rain was driving so hard that it really was painful, when it hit you. Small objects were flying past you at 70+ mph – and all you could do was hold on. I’ll confess – I loved it.

I’m not crazy. I’m a typical guy, I think. I never felt like I was in *real* danger. But I knew I could have been. Adrenaline makes you feel like a million bucks. It’s that feeling you get when you take a curve a hair too fast in a sports car, and get dangerously close to spinning out of it – but you don’t. Your heart races, your blood is pumping so loud in your ears… and you feel alive. Okay, maybe I am a bit of an adrenaline junkie.

Mostly, though, I was in awe of the display of God’s might. Not that this was a “judgment”, or anything. Just the fact that God’s creation is so breathtakingly powerful, and knowing that God created it. If this storm is this powerful… and God made it… what must God be like?

I spent a good bit of the time curled up on the porch, head on my knees, tears in my eyes, and my heart in my throat. I wasn’t scared. I don’t think i was ever scared once, to be honest. It was too freaking cool. I was praising God, all by myself. Just me, and God, in the middle of this mighty storm – and I was singing. Brokenly, but I was singing. It was that awesome. It’s truly an experience I really don’t quite know how to share. God was just… there. He was with me. I’m not going to say I felt His “special hand of protection on me” – although it may well have been. I just know God was present, because His children can always feel it. I can’t explain it any other way.

I wasn’t scared. I wasn’t even worried. I was awestruck by how unbelievably magnificent a thing that His power had wrought. I can’t really say I’d still say the same, had I sustained more damage. We had almost nothing damaged at all. All I know is – that hurricane, from the inside, was quite possibly the coolest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. I couldn’t help but fall down and praise. I just couldn’t. I hadn’t told anyone this story yet – not really. Bethany heard it, sort of. I don’t know if I got it across very well to her at the time. It seemed a bit odd a thing to share, really. It’s what happened, though. In the wake of all the devastation, all the pain, and all the loss – I almost feel bad saying I think it was so neat. The actual storm WAS neat. What it did wasn’t so neat. The storm itself… I have never seen anything like it, and likely never will again.

I got to sit and watch the ENTIRE thing from a dry place, I was safe, and I praised God.

After the hurricane? Well, I can’t say I didn’t think a lot of that was cool, too. I saw the best and worst of people. Down here, I think it was way, way, way more of the best. So many people went out of their way to be friendly, courteous, and to help one another. The churches, and the Christians were absolutely magnificent in their response. The love you saw everywhere was palpable. Bethany’s family were all great to me, and I got to know them all so much better.

So much destruction, but so much love on display. Mississippi is one of the most heavily Christian states of the Union. You could tell, folks. “They will know you are Christians by your love” isn’t just a saying. I saw it. I lived it. It was absolutely awesome, folks.

In the months to follow, as tempers started wearing thin, utilities were still not all up yet, and the FEMA craze hit… it went downhill. Traffic began to get crazy, as the Coast’s population virtually doubled with relief workers and contractors. Lines, the destruction, and just general stress took it’s toll on everyone.

I’d like to make a general note about FEMA, and the outside monetary aid.

First: FEMA was never, and is never, going to save everyone. FEMA is totally, utterly, irrelevant. I don’t think that the people with signs out saying “where are you, FEMA?” really understood what they were doing. They just made me shake my head. Why do you think FEMA is going to save you from whatever position you’re in? I have friends, and family, who have lost everything. They didn’t count on FEMA to save them. They talked to their insurance companies, and started plans to rebuild almost immediately – whether they got their insurance money back, or not. Insurance companies don’t make money by paying you, either, incidentally. Almost without exception, the insurance companies have tried to screw over their policyholders. A few exceptions, but very few that I’ve talked to. I install garage doors. I talk to every single homeowner I put a door in for about their insurance, at some point. Trust me… I hear this a lot.

I just don’t get that “save me, faceless government bureaucrat!” concept. Or the people with signs on their fence: “Why do you keep passing me, Cable One! I want my cable NOW!”

I mean, really. If I were them… they’d be the last person in the county to get cable. Phone, power… same sort of thing. Like I said earlier. The best, and the worst.

As far as jobs go? There’s more jobs here than people. At my work, there is now only 1 regular employee that has been there longer than me. One. The two supervisors, and the office manager have all been there for a decade or so – and they don’t count 😀 But, there’s only *one* other employee that was here before the storm hit. One. The company employs about 15-20 people, and they have an atrocious turnover rate. Not because of anything they do. It’s because of how many jobs there are, right now. You know what the most common thing I’ve heard is? “It’s nothing special to have a job, right now. Everyone is so starving for people that I could get a job in 5 minutes of walking out of here.”

Sad thing is – they’re right. Unemployment should not exist, right now. Every place I know has a hiring sign out. Going through people like that is killer on the experienced help, though. You have to train someone else every week, just about.

I hate to sound too whiny. Work, if you’re in any sort of construction field, is absolutely, positively insanely busy. There aren’t enough people, there isn’t enough hours in the day, and everyone’s cranky. I’ll leave it at that, I guess.

We have Samaritan’s Purse Canada living at our church, and helping all over the Coast. I’ve been married since Katrina. Life, overall, is good. Busy, but good. That’s about all I see, looking back. Life, even with Katrina, is still good. It’s good because our God is so good to us.
You can take that to the bank. He provides all of our needs, and He shows us things in the most surprising of circumstances.

As I heard in church the other day, in a testimony from a woman who lost everything she owned – “the name of the Lord is still higher than the name of Katrina.”

Amen, sister. Amen.

Family Shakespeare

Check out Amanda’s post, about reading Shakespeare to her children.

Be Still, My Beating Heart – indeed.

Good stuff.

Types of Atheistic Belief?

UberKuh has an interesting post, listed in the Dec. 11th Carnival of the Godless, which lists various forms of “Atheistic Belief”, along with a brief explanantion and example. I found it interesting, myself.

He makes a point that jumped out at me.

Until one has attempted to understand why atheists are who they are, one’s biases and arguments for and against atheism must be said to be superficial and trite, and should not be taken seriously.

I’m not quite sure about some of the listings, though, like this one:

Incapable (Da2):
This type of atheist is aware that a deity is claimed to exist and is motivated to form an opinion about the truth of that claim, but is incapable of grasping what that claim entails. For example, a mentally challenged person who has been told about Jesus but is unable to grasp who Jesus claimed to be can be called an atheist with respect to belief in Jesus.

I’ve worked with children quite a bit. I know children as young as 3 who know who Jesus was, and who He claimed to be. Not fully, but quite enough to explain to someone else. Some, on the other hand, don’t – but there are some who do. I don’t know how well that one holds up. We’re talking about mentally retarded people in this instance – but children are usually the best comparison, there.

I’ll have to devote some time to examining them. Just thought I’d share.

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