christianengineer

In the Beginning

One idea that is prevalent through the entire creation account is the idea of separation. Separating light from darkness, earth from sky, land from sea, night from day, humans from animals, and man from woman. It’s the idea of creating order as much as creating in general. This was something the ancients understood as being a necessary part of creation. 

I think it’s really cool that our modern science has confirmed this. Some of our biggest questions and unknowns about the start of the universe deal with separations. For our universe to take form matter had to separate from energy. Matter had to separate from antimatter. The four fundamental forces all had to be separated. Space and time had to be separated. How this all happened are the questions at the cutting edge of physics and astronomy, as they well should be. A grand unification theory would launch science into an entirely different place.

But I do think it’s pretty cool that theologians have had the answer below all the physicists answers for 5000 years.

Anonymous asked: I'm in high school and a pretty devout Christian, and I find it hard to overcome the feeling of anger I get whenever I see someone bash on Christianity and see all believers as "people who believe in an invisible man in the sky" and I get really pissed. The people in m school (apart from the ones in my youth group) are mostly atheists and make crude jokes about it and make fun of my religion. I get hurt and angry and it makes me feel terrible. What should I do? How do i overcome my anger?

Hey, sorry for the long delay in response, I got caught up with end of the semester projects, interviews, work, etc. 

First of all, I know what you mean. It can be infuriating when people completely disregard and demean your beliefs/opinions/position, especially when they don’t know what they’re talking about. The first thing I would say to do though is pray about it. Tell God that you’re pissed and ask for his help in dealing with both the anger and the situation. Then remember that you are fulfilling the prophecy of Christ, because he said very clearly that his followers would be persecuted in every way from ridicule to murder. Matthew 5:11-12 says “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” And speaking of the prophets before you: Elijah. Check out I Kings 19, it’s a story of how  Elijah was feeling particularly attacked and alone and cries out to God about it (ok, he actually asks God to kill him, but he always tended to be a bit melodramatic). And God’s response is to reveal himself to Elijah, tell him that he is not alone, and then gives him his mission. 

So that’s what I would recommend for you. First, meet with God. Next, know you aren’t alone, and invest in that community of believers, whether that’s online, at church, in your youth group, etc. And finally, be missional. God’s mission to his disciples is to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations”, and I’m sure he has you in that situation for a reason. 

To that end, practice love, self control, and learning. We are called to love all people, regardless of their attitudes toward us. And “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (proverbs 15:1). There are most likely 2 things they want to see happen: they want to make you angry, and they want to see you look stupid. So don’t let either of those occur! Guard your words and don’t rise to their taunts, and make sure you do your research before getting in any debates. 

One last idea is to try to give them some perspective. To me, God isn’t an idea, or a concept, or a worldview, or an opinion. He’s someone that I know and love. Try to get them to understand that. Very few people would think it’s ok to ridicule someone’s best friend, significant other, or family every time they see them, and this really isn’t any different. Tell them that to you it isn’t, and if they think you’re completely insane that’s fine, but your actions don’t show that (I hope) and refusing to have a basic level of respect for their fellow human being should reflect badly on them, not on you.

Hope this helps!

Should I post here?

I know lots of different people use tumblr for lots of different things. Some people have said that since I post from a Christian perspective they don’t want to see my posts on the #atheist or #atheism tag, even if what I’m posting is related to that. Personally I enjoy discussions from people of various backgrounds, but I want to be respectful of everyone’s space. So what do you think? Should I continue to post under the #atheism tag (when it’s relevant), or just stay away?

Anonymous asked: No one cares about your religion. Please shut up.

Well, that isn’t true. I meet weekly with large groups of people who take time out of their busy schedule specifically to talk about my religion. 

If you meant you don’t care about my religion, that is perfectly fine. Don’t read what I post. I think you can even block me if you want. But this is my personal blog where I can post anything I find interesting, important, stupid, funny, meaningful, or meaningless. I enjoy discussing those things with people from similar and very different backgrounds as my own, and invite any and all thoughtful commentary and critiques. If you don’t like it you don’t have to follow me or engage me at all. But other people do care and I care, so I’m not about to be quiet.

goodreasonnews asked: Atheism is neither a belief system nor a worldview, it's a stance on a single issue, an answer to one question: Do you have a belief in a god? If the answer is anything other than yes, you are an atheist and that is the be all and end all of what atheism is. There's no system, there's no worldview, there's no edicts, there's no culture, there's no dogma, there's no practices, there's no beliefs. There's just one unifying characteristic: Skepticism over god claims.

I’ve gotten a lot of people objecting to my claim that atheism is a belief or worldview, so I thought I would answer them all here. I think the question of whether or not there is a God is one that affects someone’s ideas of purpose, the human condition, morality, relationships, life, and death. Because of that, I am comfortable calling it a worldview, even if that isn’t strictly true. Considering it does NOT have any culture, edicts, or doctrines, I didn’t expect this to offend anyone. 

However, I don’t really want to fight about semantics, so I will apologize for my use of a term that I don’t have any investment in and will try to be more careful using it in the future.