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THE FOLLOWING IS A CONTINUATION OF LETTERS SENT BETWEEN ME AND A FRIEND FROM HIGH SCHOOL WHO IS A SELF-PROCLAIMED "BLOOD-BORN" CHRISTIAN.  WHATEVER THAT MEANS....  IF YOU'RE CONFUSED, GO BACK A POST AND CATCH UP.

Elvis,

Those are fair questions. I am not angry about you bringing that up. It actually is part of my testimony.

I was brought up in a Christian home, but didn't understand the faith that I was brought up in. To be honest with you, even after several years of church going my parents didn't even understand it. I was not a firm believer even after Chad died. It wasn't until I ran into some real men of faith that showed me what it really meant to be a man. They helped me understand that there has been a spiritual war going on since before the beginning of earth. That battle has now shifted to control our minds. I learned that Satan was banished from heaven, and came into this world to kill, steal, and the destroy John 10:10, and that Jesus came to give life and give it abundantly. Satan's number one goal is to get people to believe that he is not real. He hates God and all that He created including ALL men. He is a liar and a trickster, and is able to put thoughts into the minds of people to do careless and wrongful things, which may put them in bad situations that may cause them their lives or hurt others around them. For what reason you ask? To control your mind and the minds around you. To possibly influence you enough to put the blame on God for letting it happen. Here is the truth....God can not do anything on this earth without working through people (he gave dominion to man on this earth check out Genesis).

That night that my friend died, there was a group of us that were visiting a 'haunted' house, and soaping cars. The questions to this activity is; Is that a good thing to do? If we would have run that through our moral compass, would we have done that? Probably not. If we were not doing that, would [my friend] had died? Probably not.

With that in mind, to answer your questions, No, I didn't become a Christian before the accident, but I am glad I found the truth later. It helped me understand that it was not God's will to take [my friend's] life, and that although it didn't make things better, it did help me understand that I could make a good out of it.

I truely believe that you were created for greatness. You just should know that you have the ability to tap into a hidden power that most people don't even realize is out there. But, as I stated earlier in this message, you were given dominion and a free will to do what you want. That is the will of God.



MY RESPONSE:


Thanks for the frankness and openness of your response. It is really appreciated. It proves that you are not a jerk, above all else. (:

I felt really awful about saying that about [your friend], for fear that you would mis-interpret my meaning, and think that I was just trying to hurt you. I wasn't. Really. I had just written it four different ways already, and they all just seemed petty and angry. I guess that, ultimately, I was trying to gauge your commitment to your beliefs.

I wanted to see what kind of commitment you had to your faith, and now that I can see you are TRULY devoted to your spiritual choice, I want to tell you that I honestly respect it. I mean it. Your choices are yours, and mine are mine. Isn't that fundamentally fair?

Now, I'd like to ask you to show my choice of being an atheist the same respect.

Equating atheism with a negative connotation is EXACTLY the same as judging someone based on their sexual orientation, or their age, or the color of their skin. The disrespect you showed my choice of non-adherence to a religious doctrine was blatant bigotry. And, even if I'm an atheist, it still hurts to be insulted. I'm sure we can both agree that feelings are unrelated to one's doctrine.

Understand that I am not ignorant to the teachings of Christianity. In fact, I minored in religious studies while in college, simply out of my curiosity for the subject. And, those studies went far beyond the confines of the Christian religion. I have studied buddhism, taoism, judaism, islam, shinto, and more. It's not that I've "never found my spiritual voice", I just formed an opinion based on my knowledge-base, personal history, and "gut feeling". The same as you. We just arrived at a different place, that's all.

Also, keep in mind that I've been an atheist for over 10 years, and I've been "witnessed to" by some of the best. I am confident in my choice, and do not feel that I will ever waiver. So, any attempt to "bring me around" will be just plain insulting to me. In addition, I honor the choices you have made with your life, because I respect you. I always have.

That said, I'm not going to try and convince you otherwise. You don't have to worry that I'm going to "talk you out of being Christian". I just won't. It's not important to me. What is important is keeping you as a friend, and seeing you live your life in a way that makes you happy. That's what I believe in.

I've had this whole damn conversation a thousand times, it seems. A person finds out that I'm an atheist, and makes an attempt to show me where I went wrong along the way. It doesn't work, and eventually, you end up making enemies. It's just awful. Atheism is simply a choice not to believe. Whoever told you that atheism is a spiritual choice for folks who don't want to have morals is a dolt. It's hate-speech, simple as that. If I told somebody that if they didn't speak English, they were somehow LESS of a person and their morals were at question, I would be a dick. My choice of NON belief is a personal one, and one that does not make me less of a man, or less moral.

ON the other hand, if you want to have an extended drawn-out conversation about the benefits of adopting a dogma, I'd be happy to go on extensively about a variety of reasons formalized, organized, faith-based religion is inherently, scientifically, and socially flawed. But, if you are secure in your belief system, who am I to question it? Why should I care? It's your god, it's none of my business, right?

Exactly...

In addition, if you looked at my page, and my groups, and all the other FB crap that I've logged, you already know that I'm a left-wing moonbat politically and in practice. Liberalism is not a bad thing, regardless of what Limbaugh says. Our founding fathers were ALL labled "criminals" by the British, and their "liberal ideas" about starting their own country caused a fuckload of people to die while trying to establish America's Liberty. Mainly, I am a supporter of freedom. Freedom from lots of stuff that I'll be happy to tell you about if you want to hear it. If you don't, that's okay too.

So, all of that said, I would really appreciate you adding me as a "friend" again on Facebook. I know it sounds silly, but I enjoy seeing how you and your family are getting along, and want to make sure that if I ever visit Indiana again, we can go out and get a beer and talk about old times. I'd look forward to that. How about it?

Elvis