Recently some pro-atheism videos showed up on my YouTube home page. I watched a few of them, and I'm intrigued by what I've heard.
The videos are made by a young atheist who grew up in an evangelical Christian family. By his own admission, he was a zealous and dedicated Christian. Then he went to college, took some science courses, and started doubting the Biblical creation account. Now he makes his living by producing videos to help other people deal with their atheism.
I could respond to him by reviewing the arguments for and against God, or I could analyze evolution versus creationism. But I'm really intrigued by the "heart" of what I'm hearing from this man and by the Christian "environment" he grew up in.
He said that he was taught and/or believed that:
- Only people in his denomination were true Christians.
- He could only listen to music that honored Christ and was Christian based.
- Christianity is about behaving a certain way, following certain rules and ideas.
Modern American Christianity has many "brands." And popular Christian teachers who promote various teachings are, by definition, attractive to Christians. Most of these writers and speakers profess the basics of the Christian faith. And they often have helpful advice and teachings about relationships and daily living.
But these teachers have a big potential to lead people astray, and that's the reason I'm so critical and cautious about them and their teachings.
You see, we're all legalists. Give us a topic or a task, and we'll make rules. For instance:
- What can I do or not do on the Sabbath?
- What does it mean to tithe?
- What clothes are appropriate for Christians?
- What music, movies, and books are acceptable?
- How should I wear my hair?
- What about make-up, tattoos, jewelry?
- Public vs private vs homeschool?
- What foods can I eat?
- Medicines and vaccines?
- How should I interpret the Bible? What version?
While Christians live in this world, day-to-day, the heart of the gospel they believe gets forgotten and missed, and I know this because I'm guilty of forgetting it! We all want and tend to "move beyond" the sin and salvation message. Christianity becomes about how we live, about our good works.
Individual Christians, teachers, pastors, churches, and Christian organizations, even out of good intentions, can fall into this trap of legalism and works righteousness. And it's always doomed to fail.
But Jesus has something to say on this. In the Sermon on the Mount, He makes this well-known statement:
You have heard that it was said, "You shall not commit adultery." But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. Matthew 5:27-28
Later in Matthew, Jesus says:
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. Matthew 15:19Even if we, as Christians, could always follow the law perfectly, we're still guilty. And we know it!
Jeremiah says:
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:19
Sin is a part of our being. It's why we can't control our hearts, our feelings, our thoughts, our desires. Sin goes deeper than our works.
Paul says this about himself:
For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Romans 7:15
This is the reality of the Christian's life - it's a tension and a struggle between our sinful nature and the Spirit that lives within us. And it's hard. Even when we do what's right, we don't always think it. Or we act saintly out of pride, so others can see us.
But the beauty of this tension is - in knowing my sin and my broken heart, in knowing my helplessness - it's in this and this alone that I can so deeply understand and appreciate the reason for, and the power and the beauty of the cross - of Jesus dying for my sins.
In other words, if I didn't have some concept of my own sin, the sin that's deep within me, then the cross would make no sense. And when the cross makes no sense, we make up rules for ourselves and others to follow. We're all Pharisees at heart.
In Romans, Paul diagnoses and convicts us all, and then gives us the good news.
For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:3-4So, in a round-about way, my question to this young atheist is, "What do you do with your sin, the sin deep inside of you?"
