Christian Atheism...it's a thing.

Twila

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Mar 26, 2003
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Christian atheism is a theological position in which the belief in the transcendent or interventionist God is rejected or absent in favor of finding God totally in the world (Thomas J. J. Altizer) or following Jesus in a Godless world (William Hamilton). Hamilton's Christian atheism is similar to Jesuism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_atheism

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Thoughts?

Seems like a slow progression towards total atheism to me, from a positive perspective.
 

JLM

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Christian atheism is a theological position in which the belief in the transcendent or interventionist God is rejected or absent in favor of finding God totally in the world (Thomas J. J. Altizer) or following Jesus in a Godless world (William Hamilton). Hamilton's Christian atheism is similar to Jesuism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_atheism

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Thoughts?

Seems like a slow progression towards total atheism to me, from a positive perspective.

Getting too "deep" for me, Twila. Easier just to believe what we were taught in Sunday School. :)
 

Twila

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Mar 26, 2003
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Getting too "deep" for me, Twila. Easier just to believe what we were taught in Sunday School. :)

don't tell me you go for the "can't teach an old dog new tricks" ideaology....never rest JLM, that's when your body thinks it's time to die. Keep going...keep on keeping on, man. If you don't, it'll all go down hill...

Little kids believe in faeries, lephrachan, and elves. Some adults belief stuff too.
 

Ludlow

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My thought are pretty simple I guess. As I am not affiliated with any religion I usually would not quote bible verses. But I will on this. It's from the book of Isaiah and you can look up which chapter and verse if you like. It goes something like this. " My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts and who can know the mind of God. I don't think we need to change each others minds on what we believe. Either way. I don't personally see the constructiveness in it. things usually work out, if we let them be. :).
 

Twila

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Mar 26, 2003
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My thought are pretty simple I guess. As I am not affiliated with any religion I usually would not quote bible verses. But I will on this. It's from the book of Isaiah and you can look up which chapter and verse if you like. It goes something like this. " My ways are not your ways, and my thoughts are not your thoughts and who can know the mind of God. I don't think we need to change each others minds on what we believe. Either way. I don't personally see the constructiveness in it. things usually work out, if we let them be. :).

Beautiful. Both the chapter you quoted and your thoughts in the last 2 sentences.

It's interesting how many varieties of "beliefs" there are. Seems the brain is a creative organ no matter how uncreative some one might feel they are.

For the most part people seem to want to express positive beliefs..and the negative ones only come out when they threatened. I'm using the royal "they", which includes myself too.

It's one of the few times I get to be royal...
 

Machjo

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Oct 19, 2004
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Christian atheism is a theological position in which the belief in the transcendent or interventionist God is rejected or absent in favor of finding God totally in the world (Thomas J. J. Altizer) or following Jesus in a Godless world (William Hamilton). Hamilton's Christian atheism is similar to Jesuism.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_atheism

__________________________________________________________________________

Thoughts?

Seems like a slow progression towards total atheism to me, from a positive perspective.

Finding God totally in the world? If atheist, why would he be looking for God. Seems more like pantheism to me.

Getting too "deep" for me, Twila. Easier just to believe what we were taught in Sunday School. :)

I was a troublemaker in Catholic school.

I remember the teacher teaching about Christ's assent, and I'd decided to ask about velocity, trajectory, duration, etc., albeit using the simple words I knew in primary school.

Oh was I irritating her in that lesson.
 

Glacier

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Apr 24, 2015
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Most atheists in the West are Christian atheists in that they derive much of their worldview and ethics from Christianity (even when they deny that they do). That is why so many atheists cannot fathom why Islam could be a moral or ethical threat to our society any more Christianity or Hinduism; they view Islam as those it shares the same basic code of ethics as Christianity or Buddhism or other religions when it doesn't (there's no Golden Rule for example).

By contrast, Muslim atheists such as Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Wafa Sultan know the true nature of Islam, and thus do not apologize for jihad like many Christians and many Christian atheists do.

An atheist that believes in absolutes largely defines his moral bearings from the culture in which he was raised.
 

selfsame

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A point of consideration here is that:

Atheists usually do not object to the idolatry or the associating of saints, sages or imams with God --- they consider this as traditions to be respected.

But they object to and oppose God and God's religion.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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A point of consideration here is that:

Atheists usually do not object to the idolatry or the associating of saints, sages or imams with God --- they consider this as traditions to be respected.

But they object to and oppose God and God's religion.
I consider 'em traditions to be laughed at.
 

selfsame

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Finding God is easy. All you need to do is think.

This depends on guidance: if God guides man, man will be guided and will believe in God as One without associate; but if God misguides anyone, he will not be guided and will not believe in God's existence or will believe in God but assign associates or equals to Him.
 

Twila

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Mar 26, 2003
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A point of consideration here is that:

Atheists usually do not object to the idolatry or the associating of saints, sages or imams with God --- they consider this as traditions to be respected.

But they object to and oppose God and God's religion.

we don't object to that which does not exist.

IT would be like objecting to unicorns or faeries or elves.
 

Ludlow

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This depends on guidance: if God guides man, man will be guided and will believe in God as One without associate; but if God misguides anyone, he will not be guided and will not believe in God's existence or will believe in God but assign associates or equals to Him.
Does god guide you to ignore the reality of the injustice and cruelty displayed by yours, and also by other of your brand of monotheism SelfServe?
 

selfsame

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Does god guide you to ignore the reality of the injustice and cruelty displayed by yours, and also by other of your brand of monotheism SelfServe?

Quran 4: 123-124, which means:

[Some Jewish men and some Muslim men boasted to each other; the Jews said: "We are the chosen people of God, and God will forgive us our sins whatever sins we may commit."
While the Muslims said: "No, but it is we to whom God will forgive our sins, because we have believed in God and His messenger Mohammed."
Therefore, this aya was revealed:]


123. It is not according to your vain desires [Muslims] a, nor the vain desires of the people of the Bible [: Jews and Christians] b;
but anyone who does evil shall be punished accordingly
c, and shall not find for himself apart from God any patron d or helper e.

[Then God – be glorified – explained that the expenditure on the poor, feeding of the food and other righteous acts are accepted from believers exclusively, but are not accepted from associaters in particular:]

124. Anyone – male or female – does the righteous [deeds] and being a believer f, such g shall enter into Paradise, and shall not be wronged h [any bit] even a jot i.
...................................................

a O Muslims, the forgiveness and remission of the punishment is not according to your desires and wishes.

b Jews and Christians who commit sins then say: "We shall be forgiven."
This is confirmed by His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 7: 169, which means:
(And there succeeded,after them, [their] progeny who inherited [from their fathers] the Book [: the Torah]; they accepted [as a bribe] the [temporary] property of this low [Worldly life and] say [to themselves for excuse]: "[This time, everything] will be forgiven us [and we shall not repeat it again.]")
It means: They take the bribe in their judgment and say: God will forgive us.

c Either in the life of the World or in the Next Life. As is it indicated by His saying – be glorified – in the Quran 99: 7-8, which means:
(And he who does the weight of an atom of good shall see it [written in the book of his deeds.]
And he who does the weight of an atom of evil shall see it [written in the book of his deeds.]
)

d To take care about him.

e To help and save him from God's punishment.

f He believes in God, the apostles, Doomsday and the Judgment, and moreover he devotes himself to God alone without associating anything or anyone with God.

g i.e. the monotheists who devote themselves to God alone without associate.

h Concerning their reward.

i i.e that which a bird pecks of the seeds.

The interpretation is by Mohammed-Ali Hassan Al-Hilly.

You follow one of them new gods, right? Only been around 1500 years or so?

Damn kids and your newfangled gods.

God is Eternal and Everlasting; He is the First and the Last.

Quran 57: 3, which means:
{He is the First f [: no god before Him], and the Last [: no god after Him], and the Dominant g, and the Invisible h, and He is Most Aware about all things.}
....................................................

f In divinity.

g i.e. Who is Dominant over His creatures with His might and authority, so that none is above Him.

h To His creatures so that none knows His essence.


The interpretation is by Mohammed-Ali Hassan Al-Hilly.