One
of my favorite punk bands is Bad Religion. They are punk rock
veterans who are against government, religion, and are pro thinking
for yourself. A lot of my friends, Christian or not, wonder how I can
justify liking a band like that. Don't they hate my God? Aren't they
philosophically opposed to me? Aren't they condescending towards me
as a person? I won't deny any of that. They are opposed to organized
religion, they worship science, and believe that if God does exist
(which they are sure He doesn't), He is of no consequence.
One
day I was listening to Bad Religion and I was feeling spiritually
weird. This is bound to happen when you listen to somebody who sees
the world in a way that you do not. I was feeling odd because I
wasn't disagreeing with a lot of what they were saying. I have times
when I feel like God isn't there. I have times when I feel like
religion causes more hurt than help. Dare I say it, I have moments
when I feel like I know better than God does. Listening to Bad
Religion had put me in such a weird mood that I made a very startling
admission.
I am
an Atheist.
I
said it. I said it out loud and do you know what happened? The Spirit
of God fell on me in such a real way that I started to cry. I hadn't
felt that close to God in a long time. All of my doubts and fears
about God had be pushed aside at that moment. I became a stronger
Christian and God used Bad Religion to do it.
If
you are still reading, which I hope you are, I owe you an
explanation. As a Christian the difference between my flesh and
spirit is at the forefront of my day to day. I totally relate to the
Apostle Paul when he said:
Romans 7:18-20
All
day long I see the good I want to do and I do the bad instead. I see
God's will, which I know is right, and I do my own thing. All day
long I do stupid, stupid, stuff that is covered by the Grace of God.
My flesh is atheist. It doesn't want God, it thinks it doesn't need
God, and sometimes it wins. Sometime I cuss, sometime I lie,
sometimes I lust, sometimes I get mad, and this is the atheist in me
doing what I think is right at the moment.
As
a Christian you might just say, “Well, that's the sin nature,” or
as an atheist you might say, “That's just human nature,” and
you'd be right as well. “Well, that doesn't make you an atheist,”
is what both sides are probably saying in unison. To a certain extent
I guess you'd be right. What I can tell you is that the two halves of
me are diametrically opposed and that's how it should be. There is a
part of me that God has to beat down and make submit and a part that
He has to nurture and enhance. There is a part of me that kicks at
the idea of God and there is a part of me that embraces it. This
polarity is needed.
It's
the blending, deliberating, compromising, and joining of the two that
make issues. This, ironically, is the breeding ground for both
fundamentalist heresies and Unitarian heresies. This war will wage as
long as we have breath. It wages whether we acknowledge it or not.
That is why we need Christ. If we can't tell the difference between
who we used to be without Jesus and who we are with Jesus then we
don't know Jesus. If we rely on rules and not Jesus to be our
salvation from our atheist side then all we are is a better behaved
atheist.
I've
watched a lot of my friends become atheists because they were taught
that if you are loved by Jesus you never want to sin. They can't kick
the desires they have. They here a different philosophy. They meet a
gay person who isn't trying to take down the whole American
infrastructure. Sex is fun. All of a sudden God is on the chopping
block and it makes more sense to kill Him off then to follow Him. Off
with His head. The war isn't worth it so somebody has to die and it
might as well be the thing that they can't remember seeing, touching,
or feeling.
The thing I love most about Bad Religion is they remind me that the
choices I make can only be made by me. They remind me that I don't
have to take crap from anybody. They remind me of what lives inside
of me. They make me not take my faith for granted. They make me seek
out truth and not just swallow what I am taught. They, inadvertently
I'm sure, show me how much my flesh hates God and how much my spirit
needs Him.
Picture acquired from: www.ampmagazine.com
Video acquired from: www.youtube.com
uh....WOW
ReplyDeleteVERY well said!