Category Archives: atheism

The “Nones” and I Have Something in Common

I, Too, Don’t Trust “Organized Religion”

By all accounts, we are well into a cultural period defined in part by the decreasing importance of religion in peoples’ lives. We hear and read almost daily about the millennial generation’s a-religiosity, the so-called “nones,” and those who profess spirituality without religion. People discount and decry “organized religion” with a tone of contempt.  After all, Continue reading The “Nones” and I Have Something in Common

To An Unknown God

Acts 17:22-31

I read and hear daily about those who are “spiritual but not religious” or those who are religious, but amorphously so, the “nones.” These varieties of unspecific spirituality seem at least akin to venerating an unknown, and presumably unknowable, god if for no other reason than just to be on the safe side.

Luke’s record of the Apostle Paul’s foray into the philosophy of religion/apologetics (Acts 17:22-31) portrays an approach to evangelism that differed significantly from Paul’s typical practice. Earlier in the chapter, Luke recounts Paul’s visits to the synagogue in Thessalonica, where “as he was accustomed,” Paul argued for faith in Christ based on his Continue reading To An Unknown God

An Easter Confession

“Who do you say that I am?” (Mark 8:29 and par.)

Yesterday churches across the world experienced the highest attendance levels that they will experience all year.  Attendance next Sunday, at least in the West, however, will confirm the trends indicated in the surveys about religion and the statistics concerning denominational decline.  For many reasons, some clearly identifiable and others

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Let us make God in our image and according to our likeness

“The chief end of [humankind] is to glorify God.”

The Westminster Shorter Catechism

Readers of the Bible will recognize the title of this entry as a paraphrase of Genesis 1:26, the statement of God’s intention to create humankind.  The paraphrase echoes a position often taken by critics of religion (Sigmund Freud, and more recently Christopher Kitchens, Richard Dawkins, and others), namely, that human beings simply project a super-human

Continue reading Let us make God in our image and according to our likeness