a call to arms -

For some time now, I have thought about the most recent front against the Christian Faith. To be quite honest, these attackers speak of being against faith in general (i.e., any theistic belief whatsoever); however, their attacks do seem to be quite intently targetted against the Church.

Personally, the most frustrating thing about these attackers is their snide tone and demeaning comments against those who proudly carry the banner of Jesus.

They present themselves as being the only ones in the debate who think rationally and speak intellectually, but often their efforts only consist mere cheap shots that are filled with anger. For instance - a simple look at the debate sponsored by - if my memory serves me well - "Dateline" only a few months back. When all the fluff was picked out, the front against the Faith was essentially an assumption that Christians must be ignorant and that - if there really is a divine One - He's just a big meanie.

Just this evening, I read a post on a discussion forum sponsored by Decapolis.com [see links]; in it, a guy [I'm assuming the male sex.] exasperatedly wrote about a friend falling away from the Faith after being first exposed to this great onslaught.

[I find it pretty funny that all afternoon long - and you can ask my wife - I have been walking around the homestead singing a quite fitting though all-too-simplistic hymn. Just a taste: "The devil tried to tell that the Bible was a lie, that Jesus didn't love me, and that I was doomed to die..."]

Below are my comments on Decapolis.com...

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voice,

i too have noticed a relatively recent onslaught. of course, in the scholarly world this onslaught is quite aged - historically, culture has always followed the pattern of the scholarly world only a few generations later.

now, the long-coming attack has finally hit the streets. this could quite possibly have something to do with the chaff among the wheat; nevertheless, the church must not remain silent and simply fold our hands in contempt. rather, christianity must answer its attackers, and unless we do so with profound coherence and internal consistency we are doomed to be laughed into oblivion.

i, for one, am quite annoyed by the vehement debunking, yet i know that i must not respond merely in anger.

still, the church today finds itself in great need to a polemic front that is sensible and well-developed. for the most part, though, it seems that most of the debunkers are what i personally call "angry atheists" - people who quite honestly are more mad at god than they are genuine disbelievers. they would probably not look too kindly at that characterization, though, but you can hear it in the tone of their words (both, spoken and written) - quite frankly, they are as mad as the anger of hell itself.

pray, we must. fight, we must. love, we must.