Nineteen years ago I attended the Warren-Flew Debate here in Denton. Later, at a preachers’ meeting, I was asked questions about the debate, several of which centered around attendance. Yes, there were about a thousand people there each evening. Yes, brethren seemed to be supporting the debate. How many atheists attended? “I don’t know. I saw several church buses from Dallas and Fort Worth in the parking lot, but none that read First Atheist Church.”
Invent the silliest thing imaginable, and if you live long enough, you may see it come to pass. The concept of atheists traveling on their own church bus seemed humorous at the time, but after reading the November 11th front page of the Religion section of The Dallas Morning News, it would not be impossible to see such a strange sight.
The reason for that is that in Irving, Texas, the North Texas Church of Freethought has been formed, nicknamed “the church for the unchurched” (1G). Now some might think that this is a very bold and inventive approach, but don’t give these people too much credit. They are just mostly copycats, as the article clearly reveals.
Take, for example, the statement: “There’s no communion, no Bible readings, no prayers” (1G). What’s unusual about that? Barb and I visited one of “our churches” in Wisconsin on a Wednesday evening a few years ago, and nobody prayed there, either. In many of our churches one could yawn long enough to miss the morning’s allotment of Scripture altogether–if there is one. Surely atheists would feel at home in such an environment. As for communion, some of the denominations gave up on that a long time ago. Having attended a Methodist Church in my younger years, I was not even aware of anything called communion for a long time. Atheists could surely feel comfortable among some of these “religious groups” without having to form one of their own.
Or consider this quote: “It looks like a church, acts like a church, and calls itself a church, except we don’t have the theistic beliefs that go with a church” (1G). Wake up, Mr. Sullivan. Most religious groups gave up on theology years ago. Just talk to some folks who attend various denominations; most of them have no idea what Calvinism is and would recoil in horror at the suggestion that babies are depraved sinners. But such is the theology of their denomination. Most churches have gotten away from preaching such “heavy” items as “the nature of God” or Biblical doctrine. Probably, it would just confuse people; so it has been discarded for more relevant issues such as the importance of recycling. Many of our own brethren have given up talking about doctrine due to its divisive nature.
WORSHIPNow what could atheists possibly do for worship? “To begin the service, Mike Sullivan–one of the church’s co-founders–juggles two bean-bag balls and a plastic bowling pin for the congregation. Wow!! Talk about “going with the flow”? Nearly anybody who wandered in would think they were in a regular “church service.” Denominations for years have had clown ministries, juggling acts, judo for Jesus, and a hundred other forms of entertainment (many brethren have joined the bandwagon). One would think with their rejection of God and their fierce disposition to stand on their own that atheists would at least come up with something a little more original.
Those interested in becoming members are told to attend two or three services before deciding because “each one is quite a bit different. There are no set rituals and no sacred books” (3G). Well, isn’t that just what some brethren have been advocating? Decrying tradition and charging that true worship is being stifled, they argue for more spontaneous assemblies. The only difference is that what the atheists might call human genius so-called “Christians” would attribute to the Holy Spirit.
They conduct services the first Sunday of each month (1G). Some brethren adopted that pattern years ago–although most of us meet each week. It’s a small consolation to know that these atheists apparently don’t want to be fanatical about their religion.
Why did this group decide to meet? They wanted a time “for socializing, performing community service, and helping each other through difficult times” (1G). Such goals sound very close to brotherhood, benevolence, and comfort, all of which are things taught in the Word of God. How interesting. They reject the Bible but want all the benefits of being a Christian.
Why did they seek the publicity of this newspaper article? Mr. Sullivan, again lacking in originality, commented, “We don’t have horns and a tail.” Now this statement must be strenuously objected to on the basis that he has plagiarized our brethren’s glib speech from the Joplin Unity Summit. When those from the churches of Christ met with those from the Christian Church, that same observation was made. I am offended that atheists would rip off such a sterling and astute insight. Everybody knows that the devil has horns and a tail. We all saw those that belonged to Hitler, Mussolini, Charles Manson, and others of the devil’s disciples.
After reviewing what this church of “freethought” does, it’s obvious that these atheists are a lot more familiar with religion that they would care to admit. How else can you explain them patterning themselves after Christianity? And their lack of horns and a tail should prove that they are not much different than we are.