Filed under: Reflections | Tags: agnosticism, atheism, doubt, fear, militant atheism, problem of evil, secularism
Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
-Matthew 7:21
I think most people with religious beliefs have a crisis of faith at some point in their lives. I know I did. I think that one of the reasons that atheists and agnostics are so feared and mistrusted by religious people today is because they represent a struggle that they have tried so hard to win in their hearts. But this fear and mistrust creates a widening gap between the faithful and the faithless, and the end result is a sort of cultural war.
I’m sorry I haven’t written to you in a long time! I’ve been very busy. Fortunately, I think my letters will now resume their regular schedule.
This gospel is short and sweet. Jesus here seems to be trying to fit in some parting words to his disciples, a final piece of advice before he dies. Jesus has a very simple statement: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” It’s like a husband or wife telling their spouse that if they love them, they will be faithful to them. What are Jesus’s commandments? Funny you should ask: (more…)
