Owen contemplates atheistic beliefs in light of arguments presented by the New Church about the ultimate fate of those who carry such beliefs. He posits that belief and its consequences are at the center of our life on earth and that to suggest otherwise is to ignore or obfuscate the truth as he sees it. -Editor
You might wonder what atheists have to do with the New Church. Also, you might not wonder that. I don’t know that I really even believed in atheists until one of my old school friends and then brother became one.
If you’re like I was back in the old days, you might just write atheists off as misled and/or confused and/or wronged in some way by the church and so turned against it. I think, honestly, that all that atheists are, are people who have chosen to not believe in God. Of course there are psychological reasons behind their choice, but there are psychological reasons behind every choice every person makes.
The truth is some people just choose to not believe the same things we believe and it’s very possible those choices will lead them down a terrible road.
I have run into some people who are eternally hopeful, it seems, that the atheists I encounter each day are just going through a phase they will grow out of. I am not as hopeful. I have heard atheist arguments, and they are convincing.
I guess the only point I really want to make here is that these consequences we’ve been taught about as children, these struggles between good and evil, they are real, and they are happening all around you. We will not all go to a happy place in the sky. Of that I am sure. I am not one to say that any specific atheist is condemned or not condemned. All I can say is that I see no reason to think that all these lost sheep will find their way back.
Do you know why you’ve chosen to believe what you believe? Do you know why you are different than those who don’t believe?
It is not a game here. It is not a test of intellect. The decision is forced upon us whether we choose to recognize it or not. Do you believe in God? Tell me this. If in his heart my brother fully denies God, is he going to hell?
The answer is yes. Don’t lie to me. Don’t lie to us.
Believe what you believe, or don’t believe. Don’t lie to me.