Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

Some time ago, as I developed my worldview in diagrammatic form, I realized that the belief system I was creating based upon my view of God, very clearly separated that Godly belief from a belief in various forms of morality, virtue, right reason, truth, freedom, and just about everything having to do with The American Way; in short, it included atheism. What was left out, of course, was the belief in the Bible, the life and death of Jesus, resurrection, salvation, and heaven after death.

What this could mean for atheists then is the view that this life was all there is, and there is nothing to look forward to in an afterlife. The mark they leave on the nation, good or bad, and the world too, is the only possible legacy of their lives.

Of the many ways an atheist could express himself, I selected three obvious possible types:

Type 1) He merges into the general public virtually indistinguishable from all others, except he doesn't go to church and he tends to socialize with his kindred spirits on the Left and likely accepts some form of Natural Law. He does not represent a threat to the nation;

Type 2) He very loudly proclaims his atheism and argues incessantly with Christians and others over the issues he holds against religion, but he is a true American despite his lack of belief in God and his left-thinking. A very annoying sort, but not a threat to the nation;

Type 3) He is not only an atheist, he readily turns to support various forms of Leftward Collectivity, such as Progressivism, Socialism or Communism, quite largely in the belief that he and his kind are more intelligent, more attuned to the world, and better able to direct the lives of the rest of us than under our so-called outdated and rickety Constitution, our economic system, and our wildly unpredictable political system. His mindset has been shaped by outside influences to believe he is most definitely in the right and the most rational of people.

He, too, is destined to argue not only against our American way of life, but also our government, our political system, our economic system, and our Christian religion. Most probably he hates Trump and most other rich people with a passion.

He downplays the many outstanding historical failures of atheistic Collectivism, attributing the failures to the vagaries of mankind that he and his compatriots would be able to master if only they had the power. Then too, they believe they are smart enough to run the complex economy we have using computers for the better good of the citizens.

Finally, he believes in shaping the mindset of our citizens to become adherents to the new Collective way over time. This type is indeed a threat to the nation. Some radicals of this type champion the Marxist idea of destruction of the nation in order to rebuild it in the Communist way.

Do these types resonate with any of the denizens we know? It would be wise to identify very carefully the 3rd types in our society and keep them in clear view, as well as recognizing their small and large efforts to convert our citizens to their way of thinking.

no propaganda please Loc: moon orbiting the third rock from the sun

Most of the left wing posters on OPP are of type 3.

bahmer

Amen and Amen

Rose42

I agree with that assessment though there is always the chance they will change.

Carol Kelly

I’m afraid so.

Carol Kelly

I’m afraid not until too late.

Rose42

Its never too late until the last breath is drawn. Remember the thief on the cross.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

woodguru

Being a christian is an "active" thing in relation to atheism, the christian actively believes in something based on the bible and their faith in a god.

The atheist does not believe in a god that has an affect on things, an atheist knows that if something happened it happened for a reason, hence if they want something to happen they try to shape the events they have control over to make it so.

I had a christian friend ask me what I believe in, said everyone has to have something to believe in (which I actually think is true). I said I believe in myself and my ability to make anything I want within reason possible. And this is where clueless people say "oh, you think you are god". No, I don't have to believe in a god, just that events take place for a reason which is that something made them happen.

And as an atheist I do not care what someone believes as long as their beliefs do not infringe on me. I have as much respect for good people whether they are christian or muslim, and no regard for those who use a religion as an excuse to hate and persecute anyone else.

Manning345 Loc: Richmond, Virginia

To each his own! Mutual respect is a good thing, as is not infringing on other's religion, as some atheists try to do, some Muslims as well!

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

May I ask do you ever have a sense of guilt? If so how do you get rid of it? Do you think Christianity and Islam are both good?

Blade_Runner Loc: DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

How would you know what "being a Christian" is? Are you the arbiter of what constitutes religious beliefs, faith in a supreme being, and what it all is based upon? What makes you think the Bible is the basis of "active" belief? Do you even know what the Bible really is?

If events happen for a reason and something made them happen, what "something" would that be? Have you been reading Ecclesiastes?

We know that being an atheist is easy, no accountability, anything goes, your moral code is whatever you want it to be. Atheistists are self-centered egoists and they have failed miserably to answer the four fundamental questions mankind has been asking since they began to think about such things--Origin, Meaning, Morality and Destiny. Atheists are incapable of testing truth for its correspondence to reality or finding the coherence in the confluence of answers given to the questions asked. Atheist are incapable of narrowing down the answers for their logical consistency, empirical adequacy and empirical relevance.