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 Carl Medearis with Sheikh Nabil Qawouk Hezbollah’s number two leader.
July 24th, 2011
01:00 AM ET
My Take: Why evangelicals should stop evangelizing
By Carl Medearis, Special to CNN Let’s do an exercise. I want you to fill in the blank on what you think you know about me based on what I’m about to tell you. Here goes: Twenty years ago, I became a missionary. My wife and I left our home in Colorado Springs, Colorado to move to Beirut, Lebanon. Our job description was to plant churches and evangelize to Muslims. Based on what I just said, Carl Medearis is a ______________ . Depending on your background, the blank may look something like this: Carl Medearis is a... hero of the Christian faith, a saintly super-man willing to sacrifice the comforts of home in order to share the love of Jesus Christ with those who have never heard the gospel. Or this: Carl Medearis is a... right-wing extremist who destroys cultures, tears apart families and paves the way for neo-colonialist crusaders to invade, occupy and plunder the resources of local populations.
Quite a range, isn’t it? For one group of people, the words “evangelist” and “missionary” bring to mind pious heroes performing good deeds that are unattainable for the average Christian. For another group, those same words represent just about everything that’s wrong with the world. I understand the confusion. Based on my experiences of living and traveling around the world, I know that religion is often an identity marker that determines people’s access to jobs, resources, civil liberties and political power. When I lived in Lebanon I saw firsthand how destructive an obsession with religious identity could be. Because of the sectarian nature of Lebanese politics, modern Lebanese history is rife with coups, invasions, civil wars and government shutdowns. When I tell my Christian friends in America that some of the fiercest militias were (and are) Christian, most are shocked. It doesn’t fit the us-versus-them mentality that evangelism fosters, in which we are always the innocent victims and they are always the aggressors. This us-versus-them thinking is odd, given that Jesus was constantly breaking down walls between Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor, men and women, sinners and saints. That’s why we have the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jews in Jesus’ day thought of the Samaritans as the violent heretics, much the same way that Christians think of Muslims today. The idea that a Samaritan could be good was scandalous to first century Jews. Jesus was the master of challenging religious prejudice and breaking down sectarian walls. Why do so many Christians want to rebuild those walls? Even the Apostle Paul insisted that it’s faith in Jesus that matters, not converting to a new religion or a new socio-religious identity. What if evangelicals today, instead of focusing on “evangelizing” and “converting” people, were to begin to think of Jesus not as starting a new religion, but as the central figure of a movement that transcends religious distinctions and identities? Jesus the uniter of humanity, not Jesus the divider. How might that change the way we look at others? This is more than just a semantic difference. When I used to think of myself as a missionary, I was obsessed with converting Muslims (or anybody for that matter) to what I thought of as “Christianity.” I had a set of doctrinal litmus tests that the potential convert had to pass before I would consider them “in” or one of “us.” Funny thing is, Jesus never said, “Go into the world and convert people to Christianity.” What he said was, “Go and make disciples of all nations.” Encouraging anyone and everyone to become an apprentice of Jesus, without manipulation, is a more open, dynamic and relational way of helping people who want to become more like Jesus — regardless of their religious identity. Just because I believe that evangelicals should stop evangelizing doesn’t mean that they should to stop speaking of Jesus. I speak of Jesus everywhere I go and with everyone I meet. As founder and president of a company called International Initiatives, my work is aimed at building relationships among Christian leaders in the West and among Muslim leaders in the Middle East. It may come as a surprise to many Christians that Muslims are generally open to studying the life of Jesus as a model for leadership because they revere him as a prophet. But now that I’m no longer obsessed with converting people to Christianity, I’ve found that talking about Jesus is much easier and far more compelling. I believe that doctrine is important, but it’s not more important than following Jesus. Jesus met people where they were. Instead of trying to figure out who’s “in” and who’s “out,” why don’t we simply invite people to follow Jesus — and let Jesus run his kingdom? Inviting people to love, trust, and follow Jesus is something the world can live with. And since evangelicals like to say that it’s not about religion, but rather a personal relationship with Jesus, perhaps we should practice what we preach. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Carl Medearis. soundoff (3,792 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 Next »
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Editor's Note: 
I like it when people go to church and quote scripture, But then don't love their neighbor nor treat their neighbor as they would like to be treated. Their are more hypocrites in the religious world than anywhere else in society . At least sinners admit they are sinners.
Skarrlette,
Unfortunately, you are correct. People often forget the second half of the greatest commandment, "Love your neighbors as yourself." That is the point of the Gospel. Actually, the thing that Christians need to remember is that "God so love the world." It does not say, God so loved the Christians, the Jews, the blacks, the whites, the Persians, or whatever group you want to insert. I especially tire of political groups that try to hijack God's purposes. If I have the love of God within me, then it will inspire me to live a life of obedience and also of forgiveness. Not just my own forgiveness, which believe me, I need, but also for me to forgive others. We have to remember that God loves us inspite of our flaws.
Blessings!
Always some telling others what to do, based on what? the imaginations of their own minds. The bible is plain as to the duties of a believer in Jesus Christ...Go to all the world, etc. telling them what? the good news that there is forgiveness of sin through the blood of Christ, that there is total transformation of the mind through the indwelling Christ (via the Holy Spirit) so that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. One problem with the general evangelical world is they not only dont believe, but actually fight against virtually everything that Romans 12:1-2 plainly say. The problem is with themselves-their dependence on men, methods, and money, instead of the Holy Spirit of God.
"I find it curious that so many people say that Allah and the God of the Christians and Jews are the same. That is pure ignorance. "
Ignorance? They are all the same God, just different perspective due to the teachings that we have today of their major prophets. Those would be Muhammed, Jesus, and Moses.
It's ignorance that's here in the comment section. You find such a high level of ignorant, "you don't believe what I do, so you're wrong" mindsets that it's almost enough to make one vomit.
humanity is doomed. religious fundamentalism has invested the planet like a plague. it looks like we will not survive our infancy, and a fitting epitaph will be- they couldn't stand the fact that they were going to die, so they killed themselves.
Religion is like a cancer on humanity, it grows and grows until it finally kills you. I just can't understand why so many people just blindly accept ignorant old myths and superst!tions as fact. The world is doomed to live in stupidity.
Great point quickster. People can't accept death and dying so they invent a "relgious matrix" as escapism and begin to belive this matrix is the real world. How do you tell someone their dreams are only dreams when they can't wake-up.
yes, val. there is absolutely no chance of converting them to reality. hopeless.
Evangelisation is Love in "action" and is not just "words" .
To be a Christian is a "high calling" of a life of servitude.Jesus himself was a prime example of this.
To be a Christian is to be gullible enough to believe in 2000 year old myths and superst!tions and to want to force your ignorant ideas on everybody else. Wallow in your fantasy world all you want but stop trying to push your stupidity on everyone else.
@ lui Wu-looks like you are a very negative person, for a change think positive...
@what – Luis Wu is a negative person? oh Please! Evangelicals are the harbingers of negativity!! Fire and brimstone anyone?
A negative person does not beleive in love and compassion...
Great idea, stop evngelizing and stop preaching! But these evangeicals just can't help themselves. They don't care what culture they step on or who they insult...their way is the RIGHT way and if you don't agree with them then their response is "i'll pray for you" or I feel sorry for you" (that's my uncle's rhetoric respnse when he says to me "you can't be good without God" and I say "i'm doing fine without your god...actually my respnse is a little more direct. So now Carl Medearis want's to stop evangelizing...great, good idea. But don't foreget to stop preaching and just live a good example of humanity.
Unfortunately for many, the only good example of humanity is Jesus Christ. This statement is the truth if one believes the bible. It is always amusing to hear or read comments re bashing religion but recognizing that Jesus was the example of humanity...not realizing that Jesus religion is the ultimate humanity. There is a cosmic battle going on. The issue is truth and error, true worship and false worship, good and evil. All are involved. If you love truth, then you will want to read and study the bible and let God direct your mind. As Jesus said, you will never understand if the truth of God must be filtered through your personal idol of your education and lifes experiences. Ye must be born again. Allow Gods word to come to you unadulterated.
I am no friend of present-day Christianity, though its Founder was sublime.
– Vincent van Gogh, in a letter to Theo van GoghSee More
The all-powerful God's great "Miracle of Life" can be thwarted by any teenager who thinks to use a condom.
Awesome comment...No seriously... really adds to the discussion value of the comment stream. Thanks for sharing your perspective on this.
religion is too good of a business model to stop it. too many preachers live large on the donations sent in by followers, too many top 1% types make too much money off of arms to fight religious wars. you just make up stuff to suit your viewpoint, you can never be proven wrong, and people flood you with money to say it.
Your right , bible religion can never be proven wrong. However, it can be proven right up to a point. Non bible religion can be proven wrong if the standard of proof is something that can not be proven wrong. And non-bible religion cannot be proven right at all. The reason bible religion can be proven "up to a point" only is because God is deity (that is, is om-..., om-.... and om-....) and a human can never be deity, So there always has to be an element of faith. However, God goes so far with revealing his truth that no rational human being can deny it, and this proof is given in only one place- the bible. And it is based on this proof that one can readily discern if any religion claiming to be truth, actually is. And this proof shows that no religion is the true religion except bible religion, not Roman Catholicism, not Islam, Not buddism, not mormonism, not any religion that is not bible religion. No one has to get mad with someone because they claim a certain religion is the truth or that a certain religion is not the truth. All they have to do is check it out themselves. And in the interest of not wasting time, do the Bible first, as it is the only book of the proof. That will put you into the truth. Then check out other religions of your interest or notice and quickly see if they have such proof- they dont. So being honest of heart, you go back to the bible. Then, remembering that the bible puts you under the christian umbrella, you can concentrate on which sect/denomination/group, etc. actually is following the bible. This is also a easy process. The first question to ask is who believes that Jesus is fully God (i.e.= to the Father) as the bible clearly presents him to be. Who believes that Jesus in his incarnation was also truly man, that is born of a women (that is, possessing the nature of man post fall) and born of the Holy Spirit (sinless) and that He never sinned. Another question : are the ten commandments, as presented in the bible, accepted as Gods standard of rightousness, the very expression of the character of God and that violation of said commandments is sin. This question eliminates almost all of the denominations, sects, groups, etc. from consideration as true bible followers. And there are other important questions that can be asked also.
The old saw: Still true. The missionaries went to The Hawaiian Islands to do good and they all did well.
Yeah, the destroyed an entire culture.
Good for them, but world is not just hawaai, pity you do not see outside of Hawaii. The fighting is not just in arab world, even in remote tribal communities, case in point is in a state in India, Orissa which was once a peaceful state where tribals were though poor was rich in culture and humane, then conversions and preachings started, fights erupted between converts and those opposed to conversions, a hindu saint was killed and unfortunately an australian pastor's children were burnt alive. Religion is supposed to bring peace and happiness, not cause a ripple in otherwise serene lake, serving humanity is not furthering religion, it is ONLY to alleviate sufferings and bring joy and happiness without saying "MY WAY IS THE HIGHWAY".
Being a witness for Christ means sharing about the impact of Christ in our lives. It does not mean going out and beating people over the head with a 20 lb. Bible. However, I do believe that the best form of evangelism is living a life that God would approve of. I tire of people who say one thing and turn around a do something completely different. I cannot convert a person. Only God can change somebody's heart. If they ask me, why I'm different, I will tell them. If your belief does not change how you behave then your belief is worth nothing.
However, due to the differences between the beliefs that are held by many different religions, it is impossible to believe in multiple religions because they contradict each other. Muslims may speak of Jesus as a prophet but if He told the truth then why don't they believe Him. Why call somebody that you don't believe in a prophet. I find it curious that so many people say that Allah and the God of the Christians and Jews are the same. That is pure ignorance. What is true is that if you believe everything, you believe nothing.
As a Christian, it is my job to evangelize, not by words but by living a godly life. Then if somebody wants to know what is different about me, then I can share. I spread the Good News (Gospel) of Christ in this manner. Love and kindness goes a lot farther than zealousness and knowledge.
Peace!
How can being a witness for a mythical figure do anything? It can't. Get a brain and use logic and reason instead of blindly accepting 2000 year old myths.
Sorry, Dennis, but Muslims, Christians, and Jews DO INDEED pray to the same god. Check your history. Maybe you're confusing your god with Jesus, which most Christians do.
gandhi was not xtian. and he lived a more god-like life than any pope or preacher the world has ever known.
Dennis I agree with you except for one thing: only the INDIVIDUAL can change their heart, otherwise free will does NOT exist. The Bible is pretty consistent on this, as well.
The writer is not a Christian.........The Apostles existed for one purpose,,,,,,to teach and spread the gospel of and about Jesus...................To suggest Jesus did not exist is silly and shows just how ignorant people are...........To suggest that Jesus was "invented" is a typical atheist attempt pervert the Truth about Christ.You can choose to believe or not believe in Christ.............That is your choice...............you live on Earth a short...............if you are are here...whats makes ypu think you will not be somewhat else PERMANENTLY??? Only a fool gambles his or his soul for intellectual ride in the short term.........It's a short term investment called Faith...............I 'll bank on Jesus...not the fools of this world...like so many of you have done........Jesus is Lord............ALL MUST COME TO HIM FOR SALVATION>...the word... all... includes.....YOU!!
James, the writer is not disputing the existence of Jesus, he is only saying that non christians have the right to to their beliefs, their faith and their God and who are we to tell them to accept our way of life?.. Grow up, learn to live and let live, accept the existence of other religions and Gods and then you will see peace.
Another point of view via a prayer:
The Apostles' Creed 2011: (updated by yours truly and based on the studies of historians and theologians during the past 200 years)
I might believe in a god whose existence cannot be proven
and said god if he/she/it exists resides in an unproven,
human-created, spirit state of bliss called heaven.
I believe there was a 1st century CE, Jewish, simple,
preacher-man who was conceived by a Jewish carpenter
named Joseph living in Nazareth and born of a young Jewish
girl named Mary. (Some say he was a mamzer.)
Jesus was summarily crucified for being a temple rabble-rouser by
the Roman troops in Jerusalem serving under Pontius Pilate,
He was buried in an unmarked grave and still lies
a-mouldering in the ground somewhere outside of
Jerusalem.
Said Jesus' story was embellished and "mythicized" by
many semi-fiction writers. A descent into Hell, a bodily resurrection
and ascension stories were promulgated to compete with the
Caesar myths. Said stories were so popular that they
grew into a religion known today as Catholicism/Christianity
and featuring dark-age, daily wine to blood and bread to body rituals
called the eucharistic sacrifice of the non-atoning Jesus.
Amen
You did not read this article.
I don't think anybody said Jesus didn't exist...but we can believe or not......that is our choice............because we are here only a short time..................what makes you think there's ANYWHERE to go afterwards.......................................only a fool would gamble away their limited life for a fairytale............................................a fool or a narcissist incapable of accepting mortality and making peace with the limited nature of their being............................................................bank on Jesus all you want, live a wasted life praying to dead men and imaginary beings in the hope of "going somewhere" when you're DEAD, just make sure not to interfere with my life while you do it, I'm trying to enjoy what time God, Allah, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster has given me here on earth, because as much as you fear oblivion, that's all the time we've got.
"only a fool would gamble with his soul" How about only a fool would devote his entire life believing something out of fear of hell. Fear is not a fruit of the spirit. Your faith amounts to spiritual fire insurance. If there is a God he knows you are only trying to save your ass from burning in hell, so why should anything you do or say matter to him or anyone. As with most Christians your love for God is based on self preservation, not true faith.
Religion has caused more war, oppression and harm than any other human activity. To believe that God has delivered you the truth and that those who believe differently are in need of saving is the ultimate in hubris. Something I don't Jesus would condone...
The Twenty (or so) Worst Things People Have Done to Each Other:
http://necrometrics.com/warstatz.htm#u (required reading)
oRank <<<Death Toll <Cause <<Centuries<<<Religions/Groups involved*
1. 63 million Second World War 20C (Christians et al and Communists/atheists vs. Christians et al, Nazi-Pagan and "Shintoists")
2. 40 million Mao Zedong (mostly famine) 20C (Communism)
3. 40 million Genghis Khan 13C (Shamanism or Tengriism)
4. 27 million British India (mostly famine) 19C (Anglican)
5. 25 million Fall of the Ming Dynasty 17C (Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion)
6. 20 million Taiping Rebellion 19C ( Confucianism, Buddhism and Chinese folk religion vs. a form of Christianity)
7. 20 million Joseph Stalin 20C (Communism)
8. 19 million Mideast Slave Trade 7C-19C (Islam)
9. 17 million Timur Lenk 14C-15C
10. 16 million Atlantic Slave Trade 15C-19C (Christianity)
11. 15 million First World War 20C (Christians vs. Christians)
12. 15 million Conquest of the Americas 15C-19C (Christians vs. Pagans)
13. 13 million Muslim Conquest of India 11C-18C
14. 10 million An Lushan Revolt 8C
15. 10 million Xin Dynasty 1C
16. 9 million Russian Civil War 20C (Christians vs Communists)
17. 8 million Fall of Rome 5C (Pagans vs. Pagans)
18. 8 million Congo Free State 19C-20C (Christians)
19. 7½ million Thirty Years War 17C (Christians vs Christians)
20. 7½ million Fall of the Yuan Dynasty 14C
*:" Is religion responsible for more violent deaths than any other cause?
A: No, of course not – unless you define religion so broadly as to be meaningless. Just take the four deadliest events of the 20th Century – Two World Wars, Red China and the Soviet Union – no religious motivation there, unless you consider every belief system to be a religion."
Q: So, what you're saying is that religion has never killed anyone.
A: Arrgh... You all-or-nothing people drive me crazy. There are many doc-umented examples where members of one religion try to exterminate the members of another religion. Causation is always complex, but if the only difference between two warring groups is religion, then that certainly sounds like a religious conflict to me. Is it the number one cause of mass homicide in human history? No. Of the 22 worst episodes of mass killing, maybe four were primarily religious. Is that a lot? Well, it's more than the number of wars fought over soccer, or s-ex (The Trojan and Sabine Wars don't even make the list.), but less than the number fought over land, money, glory or prestige.
In my Index, I list 41 religious conflicts compared with 27 oppressions under "Communism", 24 under Colonialism, 2 under "Railroads" and 2 under "Scapegoats". Make of that what you will."
Amazingly our friend "Reality" chose to leave the Spanish Inquisition & the Crusades off of the list
@Reality, you seem to be happily assigning "Christian" to anything that is not another religion as "Christian". Many of these should be filed under "secular". It's like when people try to excuse Islamic fundamental violence, they point to Timothy McVeigh as a Christian bomber which is sheer nonsense.
Realist,
Again, http://necrometrics.com/warstatz.htm#u (required reading). Said reading will give you the body counts from the Crusades and also the Spanish Inquistion. Said counts did not make the top 20 atrocities list.
The Twenty (or so) Worst Things People Have Done to Each Other:
http://necrometrics.com/warstatz.htm#u (required reading)
oRank <<<Death Toll <Cause <<Centuries<<<Religions/Groups involved*
1. 63 million Second World War 20C (Christians, secularists et al and Communists/atheists vs. Christians, secularist et al, Nazi-Pagan and "Shintoists")
2. 40 million Mao Zedong (mostly famine) 20C (Communism)
3. 40 million Genghis Khan 13C (Shamanism or Tengriism)
4. 27 million British India (mostly famine) 19C (Anglican)
5. 25 million Fall of the Ming Dynasty 17C (Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Chinese folk religion)
6. 20 million Taiping Rebellion 19C ( Confucianism, Buddhism and Chinese folk religion vs. a form of Christianity)
7. 20 million Joseph Stalin 20C (Communism)
8. 19 million Mideast Slave Trade 7C-19C (Islam)
9. 17 million Timur Lenk 14C-15C
10. 16 million Atlantic Slave Trade 15C-19C (Christianity)
11. 15 million First World War 20C (Christians/secularists vs. Christians/secularists)
12. 15 million Conquest of the Americas 15C-19C (Christians vs. Pagans)
13. 13 million Muslim Conquest of India 11C-18C
14. 10 million An Lushan Revolt 8C
15. 10 million Xin Dynasty 1C
16. 9 million Russian Civil War 20C (Christians/secularists vs Communists)
17. 8 million Fall of Rome 5C (Pagans vs. Pagans)
18. 8 million Congo Free State 19C-20C (Christians/secularists)
19. 7½ million Thirty Years War 17C (Christians vs Christians)
20. 7½ million Fall of the Yuan Dynasty 14C
@Reality – thanks for the link. I reallly did think the number from the crusades was higher!
bob 7:23 "and so god created the entire universe from nothing about 6000 years ago, then killed everyone in a flood to start over. but that hitler guy, now he was tough. god couldn't ever get to him to stop him from killing 6 MILLION innocent people".
Religion...the greatest lie ever told! Just look around at the problems in our world today. Religion is always at the root.
Which religion caused HIV/AIDS? Which Religion caused the Global Economic crisis? Which religion caused jobs to be shipped out of the US to China and Mexico? Which Religion Caused it not to rain in Ethiopia and Somalia? Which religion causes schools to under perform? If you haven't understood my point, it is simple. Please allow me to take liscense with Shakespeare as I explain. See, there are more causes to the problems of the world under Heaven and Earth than are dreamed of in your philosophy, JR.
I appreciated the thoughts in this article. I have my hesitations on complete separation of religion from Jesus, but I understand the need to re-think religion. Religion, speaking on Christianity, in thought, has become closely tied with social class and politics than with the teachings of Jesus. So for Christians so say they are followers of Jesus they need to take another look at Jesus for sure!
maybe they could start by not giving each other the finger in the church parking lot as they fight to get home, frustrated after knowing they just blew an hour listening to bs.
Re-thinking religion is an oxymoron. Religion is not for thinking people..
My old friend Carl Medearis is on to something here. It's not about Religion but the Truth about who Jesus is. Everyone must decide, was really who he said he was? As Christians we must never be ashamed of the Gospel but we must be wise in how we love and serve those who are ignorant of the Truth. Sorry, but the Truth will offend the pride of man.
Guy
He's still talking about converting people, only it's a sort of conversion-lite. Not all that enlightened.
Um. Wow. Given that the information we know of Jesus comes from the Bible, perhaps you could, y'know, actually read it. This article couldn't even cite verse or chapter to support said statement. Meanwhile there's:
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20
"Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have no come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law." Matthew 10: 34-35
And there are more in this vein. Whether you agree or not isn't the point, just at least have enough integrity to actually research what you say.
Another small mind straining with all its might, but failing to grasp. Kinda sad, in a funny sort of way!
Exactly.
There is no doubt that Christianity can be just as violent as Islam. There you go – let's fight it out till we are all dead. If we can do that – then we can all find out who was actually right.
You can never determine truth by socializing with the unsaved. 2 Corinthians 6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?
God's system of reaching the world for Christ still works. Hanging out with these unconverted Muslims, that worship a dead god (notice the little "g") is not the way to gather your theology. The fact is, we are all sinners, meaning that we have broken the laws of God. In the Old Testament, there was a system of sacrifices being offered for the sins of the people.
Praise Jehovah God, in the New Testament, Jesus Christ became that final sacrifice. His precious blood was shed on Calvary for you and me. Revelation 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. UNTO HIM that loved us, and washed us from our sins IN HIS OWN BLOOD!
That verse is enough to make a Presbyterian shout!!!!!!!! WoooooHoooooo!
the depth, and scale of evangelical delusion is staggering. especially considering we live in the 21st century for crying out loud. people will destroy themselves before they are willing to accept that their lives have absolutely no meaning, other than the present moment. pure cosmic happenstance.
If the universe is meaningless, and you're a product of the universe, then the comment you just posted is meaningless. What are you trying to accomplish? Convincing evangelicals of the "truth" amounts to nothing more than changing the universe from one state to another. Since the universe is meaningless one state of the universe is as meaningless as another. So, what's your point?
Seems to me, Quickster is stating the obvious: Christians cling to their faith with desperation because they cannot accept that our lives have no pre-determined meaning.
tj, you are right it doesn't matter if humans cause their own demise. i just wish i didn't have to witness it