In parts 1 and 2 of this series, I outlined objections to my
inherited faith, evangelical Christianity, based on inconsistencies with
regard to problems I perceived in the Bible with regard to justice. The third and fourth installments of this series relate to ways in which the Bible failed to deliver on its promises. In part 3, I wrote about
the complete lack of miracles I saw
during the 30 years I lived as a believer. The
subject of this post specifically relates to how experiences and
observations of people around me, both of Christians and non-Christians
seem to contradict biblical teachings; specifically regarding
sanctification and the transformation of individual lives.
From time to time, when I reveal to believers that I am an atheist, I have heard the objection that I must have mistakenly focused my scrutiny on imperfect men, rather than God's infallible word. In principle, I understand this objection. The Bible makes certain claims with regard to transformation in the lives of people who put their faith in God, and if the Bible is truly God's infallible word, a person should be able to observe two distinct differences; 1. a noticeable difference in the character of specific individuals through time as God changes them and 2. even if Christians would, as individuals, be progressing toward a Christlike state at various rates and, they may be at different stages of that "sanctification" process, there should be a noticeable difference between the general population of Christians and the general population of non-Christians.
In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus warns his followers to beware of false prophets who can be identified "by their fruits." Jesus explains that good trees bare good fruit and bad trees bare bad fruit. Later, in the book of Galatians (5:20), Paul lays out a list of virtuous fruit that is supposed to be evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in their lives. But I have witnessed people in churches who, by all appearances, were sincerely invested in faith in Christ, but who did not hesitate in a variety of circumstances to defame each other and ministers, I have seen ministers living in adultery and others displaying hatred and greed. I have certainly seen men and women outside of the Christian faith behaving in similar ways, and I have also seen Christians exhibiting true grace and virtue, but when I consider the sum of the character I have seen of Christians versus non-Christians, my honest assessment is that there is no real difference contrary to what scripture predicts, I have seen bad "fruit" from people who, by all accounts, are sincerely committed to God and are striving to live their lives in accordance with the Bible. They remain impatient, they are quick to anger, in some cases greedy, rude, and generally not nice people. I have certainly seen Christians who exhibit good fruit and who are wonderful sweet people. However, I have also seen people who are not Christians, people of other faiths and no faith, who exhibit those "good fruit" qualities. When I was a believer, I met non-believers who I mistook for believers because of their kindness, compassion, and patience. In fact, the more I have had the opportunity to meet non-believers through various community groups and work, the more I have come to believe that the non-believers tend to exhibit those "spiritual fruits" than the Christians.
The Bible indicates that the only way individuals can come to possess these virtues is through faith in Christ and devotion to his will. God's spirit is supposed to then transform people through a process known as sanctification. There is not supposed to be another source for people to cultivate these virtues. But, as I have indicated, I have seen many people who are not Christians, both people of other faiths, as well as people of no faith, who demonstrate the same "fruit" that is supposed to come only from the God of the Bible. If people who believe in other gods or no gods at all are exhibiting these same virtues in equal amounts (and I would argue that in some cases greater amounts) than Christians, then the God of the Bible cannot be the sole source of those good personal qualities.
I have arrived at the conclusion that all of these individuals seem to have in common both humility and the practice of introspection/self-evaluation. In nearly every case, when I have observed a humble person who makes a practice of analyzing his/her behavior, they are likely to also display other virtues as noted in the list in Galatians 5. Statistics on marriage success and fidelity suggest that there is no difference between Christians and non-Christians, and some studies (example) suggest that non-religious people can be more generous and compassionate toward others than people who self identify as Christian. While these studies and statistics might be disputed, I have seen nothing to suggest to me that there is a significant difference between the believers and non-believers.
Even if you were to attempt to explain away the lack of virtues among some Christians by dismissing them as "Christians in name only", that would not explain the presence of those qualities being (apparently) equally distributed among people who are not Christians by their own admission. From whence came their virtues? If only from the God of the Bible, why would he not withhold those characteristics from people who reject his salvation? None of this made sense to me. The simplest explanation seemed to be that there was nothing supernatural going on. Instead, it seemed likely to me that people who do not think themselves superior to others and who scrutinize their actions, tend to cultivate and exhibit qualities similar to those described and lauded in the Bible and other sacred/philosophical texts. There seems to be neither need nor evidence for supernatural intervention for the purpose of cultivating virtuous character.
From time to time, when I reveal to believers that I am an atheist, I have heard the objection that I must have mistakenly focused my scrutiny on imperfect men, rather than God's infallible word. In principle, I understand this objection. The Bible makes certain claims with regard to transformation in the lives of people who put their faith in God, and if the Bible is truly God's infallible word, a person should be able to observe two distinct differences; 1. a noticeable difference in the character of specific individuals through time as God changes them and 2. even if Christians would, as individuals, be progressing toward a Christlike state at various rates and, they may be at different stages of that "sanctification" process, there should be a noticeable difference between the general population of Christians and the general population of non-Christians.
In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus warns his followers to beware of false prophets who can be identified "by their fruits." Jesus explains that good trees bare good fruit and bad trees bare bad fruit. Later, in the book of Galatians (5:20), Paul lays out a list of virtuous fruit that is supposed to be evidence of the Holy Spirit's work in their lives. But I have witnessed people in churches who, by all appearances, were sincerely invested in faith in Christ, but who did not hesitate in a variety of circumstances to defame each other and ministers, I have seen ministers living in adultery and others displaying hatred and greed. I have certainly seen men and women outside of the Christian faith behaving in similar ways, and I have also seen Christians exhibiting true grace and virtue, but when I consider the sum of the character I have seen of Christians versus non-Christians, my honest assessment is that there is no real difference contrary to what scripture predicts, I have seen bad "fruit" from people who, by all accounts, are sincerely committed to God and are striving to live their lives in accordance with the Bible. They remain impatient, they are quick to anger, in some cases greedy, rude, and generally not nice people. I have certainly seen Christians who exhibit good fruit and who are wonderful sweet people. However, I have also seen people who are not Christians, people of other faiths and no faith, who exhibit those "good fruit" qualities. When I was a believer, I met non-believers who I mistook for believers because of their kindness, compassion, and patience. In fact, the more I have had the opportunity to meet non-believers through various community groups and work, the more I have come to believe that the non-believers tend to exhibit those "spiritual fruits" than the Christians.
The Bible indicates that the only way individuals can come to possess these virtues is through faith in Christ and devotion to his will. God's spirit is supposed to then transform people through a process known as sanctification. There is not supposed to be another source for people to cultivate these virtues. But, as I have indicated, I have seen many people who are not Christians, both people of other faiths, as well as people of no faith, who demonstrate the same "fruit" that is supposed to come only from the God of the Bible. If people who believe in other gods or no gods at all are exhibiting these same virtues in equal amounts (and I would argue that in some cases greater amounts) than Christians, then the God of the Bible cannot be the sole source of those good personal qualities.
I have arrived at the conclusion that all of these individuals seem to have in common both humility and the practice of introspection/self-evaluation. In nearly every case, when I have observed a humble person who makes a practice of analyzing his/her behavior, they are likely to also display other virtues as noted in the list in Galatians 5. Statistics on marriage success and fidelity suggest that there is no difference between Christians and non-Christians, and some studies (example) suggest that non-religious people can be more generous and compassionate toward others than people who self identify as Christian. While these studies and statistics might be disputed, I have seen nothing to suggest to me that there is a significant difference between the believers and non-believers.
Even if you were to attempt to explain away the lack of virtues among some Christians by dismissing them as "Christians in name only", that would not explain the presence of those qualities being (apparently) equally distributed among people who are not Christians by their own admission. From whence came their virtues? If only from the God of the Bible, why would he not withhold those characteristics from people who reject his salvation? None of this made sense to me. The simplest explanation seemed to be that there was nothing supernatural going on. Instead, it seemed likely to me that people who do not think themselves superior to others and who scrutinize their actions, tend to cultivate and exhibit qualities similar to those described and lauded in the Bible and other sacred/philosophical texts. There seems to be neither need nor evidence for supernatural intervention for the purpose of cultivating virtuous character.
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