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  • Writer's pictureBible Brian

The branded baby meme


Atheism and self awareness go together about as well as a nice, warm coffee and 5 spoonfuls of table salt. Several of the arguments they make so easily backfire. Take, for example, the argument that you only follow your religion because you were effectively born into it. There are three major issues with it.


The first is that it commits what is known as the "genetic fallacy". That is, criticising a belief based on its origins, be they real or imagined, rather than the merit of the belief itself. Why you believe something has no bearing on whether or not it is true. You can believe good things for bad reasons, and even bad things for good reasons. In fact, it would actually be very stupid if a Christian couple did not raise their children to be Christians. If you believe Christianity is true, why wouldn't you teach it to them?


The second problem with the argument is that it's not necessarily true. People convert between all kinds of religions all the time. Christianity isn't limited to regions, or even individual families, with a specific background. Neither is any other religion. While it's true there is a general distribution, you can be a Christian in China, you can be an atheist in Saudi Arabia, you can be a Muslim in America, there is no religion on the earth that is truly fixed by birth. Even many atheists have been known to convert to Christianity later in their lives. Some of the most well known apologists were once atheists. This is a great mark of a bad argument. If it only works on some people, but doesn't work on others, it is not a sound argument. No matter who you talk to, 2 + 2 = 4. Facts do not fluctuate.


But the third and most hilarious problem is that it shows just how oblivious those who use it are to their own worldview. See, an atheist can tell a Christian "if you'd been born in Pakistan, you'd be a Muslim" etc., but the same Christian can say to the same atheist "and if you'd been born in Pakistan, so might you be". Atheism is still a worldview! Because atheism is a worldview, it is subject to the same logic. But this particular argument doesn't work against atheism, does it? If you're an atheist because you were raised by atheists, that isn't what makes you wrong to be an atheist, and it would be very stupid for a Christian to say otherwise. So by what logic do you use the same argument against Christianity?


With very few exceptions, no worldview is grounded on one's familial tradition. The foundation of atheism is denial. While there are atheistic religions, atheism itself is a parasitic worldview, feasting on Theistic religions and basically saying "no, that's not true". The foundation for Christianity, by contrast, is God Himself. Ours is the only God who stepped into history and proved Himself. Every other religion has a very shaky foundation. Even most of their founders are dead (though obviously this isn't the case for religions that started recently). Buddha? Dead. Muhammad? Dead. Guru Nanak? Dead. Darwin? Dead. Jesus? Alive and well.


And while it may be true that some people only believe that because their parents told them, other people believe it because they dug into the historical evidence. People like Albert Henry Ross, J. Warner Wallace, Lee Strobel, and many others, actually came to faith while attempting to disprove it. To quote Sir Lionel Luckhoo, "I have spent more than 42 years as a defense trial lawyer appearing in many parts of the world and am still in active practice. I have been fortunate to secure a number of successes in jury trials and I say unequivocally the evidence for the Resurrection of Jesus Christ is so overwhelming that it compels acceptance by proof which leaves absolutely no room for doubt." As far as I can see, Luckhoo did not start as an atheist, but I think it's safe to say he was no fool, but one would be a fool to say "he was raised with a Christian background, therefore he is brainwashed."


So what does this mean for us? Well, the central message of Christianity is fairly simple. Though mankind is in constant rebellion against his Creator, and the Creator owes us eternal wrath, He loves us enough to suspend it for a time. 2,000 years ago, He sent Jesus to earth to be born of a virgin and live a perfect life. When the time was right, Jesus died on a cross, receiving in Himself the full penalty for our sin. Therefore, all who repent of their sin, confess Him as Lord, and believe in our hearts God raised Him from the dead, will be saved. This is a very simple, well-evidenced message to accept. If your parents raised you with Christianity, be grateful, because they taught you the truth, and gave you what you need to be saved. If not? It doesn't matter. Jesus loves you too, and is not willing that any should perish. Repent, confess, believe, get baptised, get connected with your spiritual family.

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