A is for Atheist

Atheism is strangely difficult to define.

The Stanford Dictionary of Philosophy defines atheism primarily in propositional terms. There are only two answers to the proposition 'is there a God?": 'yes', which is theism and 'no', which is atheism. Either there is a God or there isn't, which is a question of fact. It has nothing to do with belief. It is a proposition. Atheism is the proposition that there are no gods.

Many, though, prefer to describe atheism in psychological terms, as a belief or non-belief. According to the American Atheists (AA) website, atheism is a rejection of the assertion that there are gods. "To be clear: Atheism is not a disbelief in gods, or a denial of gods; it is a lack of belief in gods."

So, not a disbelief, but a lack of belief. To be... erm... clear.

AA's argument is that atheism is the default option until a person chooses to believe in God or gods. As the philosopher Antony Flew wrote in 1976, in his book with the same title, there is a "presumption of atheism". The onus to prove the existence of God is on the theist. Atheism, in this sense, does not require a positive belief. A new-born baby is an atheist. Indeed, we are all atheists until we positively choose not to be.

After listening to a theist's arguments for the existence of God, an atheist's response can legitimately be: "I remain unconvinced". It means that the famous message on the side of the bus - "There probably is no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" - is an atheist message, despite the element of doubt. As Richard Dawkins once put it: "We cannot prove that there is no God, but we can safely conclude that He is very very improbable indeed."

So, there is a distinction between:

- a belief there are no gods; and

- a non-belief that there are gods.

The latter is atheism, whereas - according to the AA website - the former is not ("atheism is not a disbelief in gods").

Yet it clearly is. Antony Flew described it as 'hard' or 'positive' atheism and there are many atheists who would say that this is precisely what they believe. Although Richard Dawkins is not officially one of them, he nonetheless called his most famous book 'The God Delusion', rather than 'I See Where You're Coming From, But I Remain Unconvinced'.

Indeed, until recently, 'hard atheism' was the only atheism. In 1953, Bertrand Russell wrote: "An atheist, like a Christian, holds that we can know whether or not there is a God. The Christian holds that we can know there is a God; the atheist, that we know there is not. The agnostic suspends judgement, saying that there are not sufficient grounds either for affirmation or for denial."

But, using the AA definition, this no longer applies. Agnosticism is no longer the fuzzy grey between the black and white of theism and atheism. "Agnostic isn't just a 'weaker' version of being an atheist," the AA website says. "It answers a different question. Atheism is about what you believe. Agnosticism is about what you know."

Yes, but.

On the basis that no-one knows, or can know, whether a God or gods exist, we are all agnostics. The Pope is an agnostic. Richard Dawkins is an agnostic. Friedrich 'God is Dead' Nietzsche was an agnostic. And the word loses all meaning.

This confusion over the definitions of atheism and agnosticism makes it difficult to assess how many atheists there are. Surveys suggest that between 8% and 13% of the world population describe themselves as 'convinced atheists'. In 2010, 20% of the EU population said that it did not believe in "any sort of spirit, God or life force".

A final point: whilst atheism may pertain to a non-belief that there are gods (or, as explained above, a belief that there are no gods), there is a distinction between that belief and a belief system. Atheism is just one piece in the jigsaw of a person's belief system. One of Ricky Gervais' lesser known Tweets puts it: "Saying [atheism] is a belief system is like saying not going skiing is a hobby". It is wrong to extrapolate a person's belief system based upon just one component. Atheists can be liberal, conservative, Stoic, Epicurean, Buddhist, humanist or indeed anything - indeed, according to one survey in 2014, 2% of Anglican priests believed that God was just a human construct.

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Written by Pete Mansfield

Revelation and the Mark of the Beast

I’ve been seeing a lot on social media recently about the ‘mark of the beast’ so I thought I’d share some thoughts about what the mark of the beast is or isn’t! For those of you that don’t want to read the full answer the mark is not a ‘thing,’ it’s a picture the writer of Revelation uses as short hand for choosing to worship the Roman Emperor.

Before we look at the text where the Mark of the Beast is mentioned in Revelation we need to remember:

1. Revelation is prophecy on steroids. Like all prophecy, it speaks to the situation then, as well as looking forward. In fact most prophecy speaks to a specific community either about what has gone wrong or about what God will do to make things right. It is not primarily about what is going to happen in the future.

2. Revelation is a letter to a specific group of churches in a particular time and place. The key issue in those churches was the huge pressure to turn their backs on Jesus and worship the Roman Emperor (either Nero or Domitian depending on how you date the letter). Failure to do so resulted in discrimination and persecution and could lead to execution, beatings, being excluded from commerce or losing their property or legal rights.

3. Revelation is a peculiar type of writing that uses numbers and images to illustrate spiritual truths and often contrasts something good with something evil.

(If you’d like to know more about how to read Revelation well you can watch my talk on that very subject here).

So when we read in Revelation 13:

‘Then the statue of the beast commanded that anyone refusing to worship it must die. 16 He required everyone—small and great, rich and poor, free and slave—to be given a mark on the right hand or on the forehead. 17 And no one could buy or sell anything without that mark, which was either the name of the beast or the number representing his name. 18 Wisdom is needed here. Let the one with understanding solve the meaning of the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. His number is 666.’

What does it mean?

1. The Statue of the beast

Firstly Roman Emperor’s often had huge statues built in their own honour and even required people to bow to them. We know Domitian had a massive statue built in Ephesus (one of the towns John was writing to in Revelation). It echoes the story in the Book of Daniel where the Emperor of the day had a huge statue built and demands everyone worship it. In fact, the Book of Daniel is an important key when reading Revelation - again see my talk on Revelation on how Daniel is key to reading Revelation well.

So the statue represents the Roman Emperor and the demand that everyone worship him. It is humanity choosing to worship one of their own (the beast) rather than the God who created them….still something we do today!

2. The Mark of the Beast

So the Statue demands everyone have a mark on their forehead or hand to demonstrate their allegiance and worship of the Beast. This is the negative mirror image to the saints having the seal of God on their foreheads elsewhere in Revelation (Rev 7 & 9). No-one seriously considers that the seal of God is an actual physical stamp on your forehead. Rather it is a picture representing how we belong to and worship God.

Remember that Revelation contains lots of opposites that deliberately contrast each other? The opposite of the seal is the mark of the beast. Therefore if the seal represents, or is a picture of, the saints belonging to God, so the mark represents the choice people made to worship the beast.

Therefore the first readers of Revelation would have understood that taking the mark is another way of saying you had given in to pressure and discrimination and had chosen to worship the Roman Emperor.

When the passage says ‘no one could buy or sell anything without that mark’ this represents the experience of the first century Christians of the cost of resisting the pressure to worship the Emperor. They would be actively discriminated against and persecuted and that could lead to people boycotting their businesses, them losing property and their rights as citizens. They could be denied a place in the local community and economy.

3. The Number

With regard to the number of the beast, I’d encourage you to watch my talk on Genesis 1 (available here). In that, you’ll see how the number 7 came to represent the relationship between God and man, the relationship we were created for, and that was experienced on the 7th day. To those early believers, 7 is perfection because of its association with day 7 of creation when all was completed. 666 would therefore call to mind day 6 when man had been created but had yet to experience the wonder of their relationship with God. 6, therefore, is imperfect, mankind without God, humanity choosing to worship other things.

So what does this mean for us today?

As followers of Jesus the temptation to worship/give our love and trust to other things is still very relevant. The beast can be any number of other things like career, money, sex, drugs, alcohol, food, or academic performance. All of which can take over our lives and displace following Jesus as our priority. Each of those things leave their ‘mark’ on us, signs of how we have become enslaved to them.

Revelation is a reminder to us to take these temptations seriously, that they lie and make false promises to us and lead us in the wrong direction - away from God. It also reminds us most importantly, that Jesus triumphed over them and can set us free from them. Also that no matter how messed up the world looks, the end of the story is not in doubt - Jesus wins!

So don’t be misled, my dear brothers and sisters. Whatever is good and perfect is a gift coming down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. James 1:16-17

Saturday: Word For The Day

Saturday 16th January

Prayer Week

Worship, the coming together of souls, the place where we meet, where anything seems possible. I have put the spirit of worship in the heart of man, a place of connection that goes beyond understanding. A place where your soul sings, where you see me, where anything is possible. A place that recharges and recreates, where you can see beyond your current circumstances and catch a glimpse of my character, of my love, and possibilities in my spirit.

But then you disconnect, you go back to your world, you take your eyes off me and you forget. What if you could remain in that place, take me with you and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus? I created you for a lifestyle of worship, you don’t need to come and go, I am always with you, I never leave you. My love and my presence are always available for you. Worship is looking at me and letting your heart respond.

In a time where we are not meeting corporately how can we keep our gaze fixed on Jesus? How can we engage with worship without church as we know it? What we focus on increases in our hearts and minds. The Bible says Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. We worship him not because he needs it but because we are spiritual beings, we need him. When we see him we see the way forward, the truth in our circumstances and the life he has for us and with us.

God knows what we need, we need the rock that is higher than I. He is awesome, powerful, wonderful, he is our creator, the one who flung stars into space and defeated the evil one, he is our father and our friend. When we struggle give him Glory, when we weep give him Glory, when we laugh give him Glory, when we work give him Glory. There is always more to be found in him, strength, hope, joy, a future, things that are beyond ourselves. There is always more in Jesus, look to him and worship him and you will find the more. Keep looking back to him, find ways to fix your eyes on him, find your way to worship.

Heavenly Father thank you for giving us worship, in this season please reveal to me how I can worship, how I can connect with you, I choose to worship you despite my circumstances. Amen

John 14:6

“Jesus answered I am the way the truth and the life”

Psalm 61:2+3

“I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe”

1 Chronicles 16:29+30

“Worship the Lord in the splendour of his holiness....let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad, let them say amount the nations “ The Lord reigns””

Friday: Word For The Day

Friday 15th January

Prayer Week

Prayer

“ I desire intimacy. Prayer is a beautiful intimate time where I hear what is on your heart. Your hearts cry reaches me always and I love it when you invite me in to that place.”

Revelation 5:8

“...and they were holding golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints”

“I invite you to come up here when you pray, to come and see things from my perspective. I love to see your heart and I love to share mine with you. Come and see what I see, come and see what makes me weep and let’s join together in praying for those things.”

Isaiah 55:11

“So is my word that goes out from my mouth. It will not return to me empty, but I’ll accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

“And never forget that I pray for you too! I know your struggles and the things you long for but I also see the things I long for you, to see you walk into, to find freedom and the things that will make you fly.”

Romans 8:26-27

“ we do not know what we ought to pray for but the spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.....the spirit intercedes for all the saints in accordance with Gods will”

Romans 8:34

“ Christ Jesus who died, more than that, was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us”

Remember

Prayer is intimacy, dialogue and partnership with God.

He wants to know and bless what we care about and we want to know and care about what he wants to bless.

Father in prayer week help me to see prayer how you see it. Thank you that you love to see what moves my heart, please show me what moves yours. Amen

Family Communion

If you are thinking through taking communion as a family here are some helpful pointers for you.

Being isolated at the moment means that we can not gather as a church community to share communion. While this may being some challenges in going about this virtually as a church family, it actually provides a real opportunity and pleasure to be able to do this as a family at home. I recognise that we may well be led through a virtual communion in one of our Sunday services fairly soon and so I wanted you to feel like your have had time to think about this in advance.

Firstly, keep it simple. Your children are at different ages so use language that is appropriate for that and how sensitive they may be.

Frame it by linking to Christmas; something like, this is when God’s amazing plan for us to have a close two way relationship started. Then say that Jesus lived on earth and showed and taught us how to live to help us to understand life better. He also showed us signs and won-ders to show us he was God’s son. When the time was right he died. His body was broken so he could bridge the gap between us and God. He did this because he loves us so much.

Focus on one thing about communion. One concept is enough for children and one response too. For example, you could look at separation from God and then relationship restored, re-membrance, a chance to commit to something or to let something go, to say sorry or forgive . Think about hearts being in the right place.

There is no magic involved with the bread being his body and wine or juice being his blood. They are just symbols that Jesus gave us to help us remember the most important thing he did for us. Remember it’s not about having a snack!

Keep it fairly light and use the simple words “Jesus’ body broken for you” and “Jesus’ blood shed for you”

How you want to pass out the bread and wine is up to you!

Thursday: Word For The Day

Thursday 14th January

Prayer Week

I have Made you to function as a unit, the body of Christ, the Ecclesia. Now this is difficult when you are torn apart. How can the bond remain strong? Does it matter? I would suggest it does. You may have heard of the illustration of a single piece of coal being taken from the fire and going out, that describes someone stepping out of fellowship but it doesn’t work here in lockdown. I will not let your flame go out. You cannot always gather as a physical body but you are part of my body, part of my vine, you are plugged into me, remain in me and I will remain in you. I have not left you as an orphan, I have not left you alone. You are not loved less by me or by your church body just because you cannot gather.

You say these are unprecedented times, they are but they are not times where I have left you or the church. I have not been taken by surprise, I have plans for this season and for you in it as much as I have plans in a “normal” season. My power hasn’t changed, my nature hasn’t changed but don’t put me on hold, don’t hold your breath until you come out the other side. A lot has fallen off in the shaking but what remains? What is valuable to you? What is valuable to me? You are still my church, my bride. You still need me you still need each other. Build now on sure foundations things that will remain in this season and the ones to come. What is important to you? What are you willing to work for to see come into being? How can you participate in connecting with the body? In connecting with me?

- Ask God to show you some one or something that you can connect with this week.

- Who is the church to you? Who is the body? Who needs you and who do you need?

- Pray for the scattered body to find new ways to unite. Ask God for strategy.

John 15:4, 11+12

“Remain in me and I will remain in you.

No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me....

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Romans 10:6-8

“ Do not say in your heart who will ascend to Heaven( that is to bring Christ down) or who will descend into the deep?( that is to bring Christ up from the dead) But what does it say? “ the word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart”

Isaiah 52:7

“ How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation”

Wednesday: Word For The Day

Wednesday 13th January

Prayer Week

“Stop and listen.

Turn your ear to me and be attentive to my cry. I created you with the ability to hear my voice and I created many ways I can speak to you. Through your conscious and unconscious thought, through someone else, through a song on the radio, an advert at the side of the road, the bible, through nature. You don’t have to worry about being able to hear me. I created in you the ability to hear my voice, even people who don’t know me hear my voice, I have no trouble with talking. I can speak in your dreams, when you’re not even trying to listen to me. But you can choose to tune in, to ask. I love it when you tune in to the finer detail, I love to converse with you and hear what you have to say.”

God created us for relationship with him. He already had a relationship with Jesus and the Holy Spirit but he wanted to include us in that, we see this in John 17:20-26 where Jesus is desperate to share the Godheads relationship with us.

The bible tells us in Genesis 1 that we are made in Gods image, therefore like he can talk and listen, we can talk and listen. We are all created with the ability to listen to him and to talk to him. When Adam and Eve committed their famous sin, God instantly knew about it, yet he still came looking for them to go for a walk and a talk. They hid from him because they felt ashamed. He still wanted relationship with them and the rest of the bible shows God trying to draw a people back to himself, eventually sending Jesus.

He is still trying to talk to us, still wanting to have a relationship with us, fear and shame doesn’t mean he can’t reach us, Adam and Eve still heard him. Lack of experience doesn’t mean we can’t hear him. Samuel heard God but didn’t recognise it as Gods voice but God kept calling anyway. We don’t need to be good and we don’t need to be good at listening, God talks and we can hear him. Of course we can get better!

We can create space for him where we tune out some of the worlds noise. As with all relationships we can choose how much time we invest and how much we listen, it’s very hard to have a relationship with someone you won’t listen to or won’t speak to. We are in a relationship with a God is 100% committed to us, who absolutely loves us, he has lots of power, lots of creativity and lots of time to sow into talking to you. He created you to need spiritual nourishment as well as physical nourishment, prayer week is a great chance to get ourselves spiritually nourished, to turn to God and hear his voice.

How does God speak to you? Ask him, spend time this week inviting him to speak to you, through dedicated time and when you’re out and about. Ask him questions about things you want to know, things that are troubling you, things you can pray for, things he wants to show you.

Revelation 3:20

“Here I am I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door I will come in and eat with him and he with me”

Romans 10:17

“Faith comes from hearing the message and the message is heard through the word of Christ”

Deuteronomy 8:3

“Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the

Lord”

1 Samuel 3:10

“And the Lord came and stood calling as at the other times “Samuel, Samuel” And Samuel said speak Lord for your servant hears”

Tuesday: Word For The Day

Tuesday 12th January

Prayer Week

Stand and be counted

Where do you pledge you allegiance?

Where do you look to for help?

What does the Lord ask of you in this season? In this day?

Stand and be counted as his own and he will empower you.

“I have adopted you into my family you are mine. I formed you in the womb you are mine. Stand and be counted, stand and be counted as mine”

If God tells us not to be afraid it’s because we are facing something scary, the threat is real, the normal reaction is fear, but in that moment he has a better alternative on offer. The verses below show what can happen when we choose to stand as his in a difficult situation. He doesn’t promise an immediate cancellation of the circumstances around us but neither does he leave us alone or the situation unaffected.

The first thing he promises us is a shift in how we feel, he rescues us from fear. Fear is paralysing, crippling, consuming, it stops you in your tracks, it’s hard to be strategic or hear the voice of God. Once fear is removed the voice of God is clearer and we can invite God into our circumstances.

It’s not always easy to see what he is doing, we can often see it when we look back and when we remember what he has done in the past, we can combine this with the promises in scripture and we can know that he never leaves us or forsakes us. He fights for us and he gives us strength, authority and strategy to know how to stand, act and fight. He doesn’t just offer us an absence of fear but an inheritance of his promises.

I asked God why did he say to stand and be counted as his? He replied so that we can inherit the promise. When we know whose we are, who are father is, then we can claim the inheritance that he has set aside for us. These promises are true, his words are real, we can believe them today and choose to stand in them. Read the verses below and find other promises in the bible, find out what he has put aside for his chosen people, his royal priesthood, his holy nation, his treasured possession, that’s you!

Father today I choose to stand and be counted as yours.

Thank you for your awesome inheritance for those who believe. I hand over my fear and choose to look to you. Please show me what it means to be your child today. Amen

Exodus 14:13+14 NIV

“Moses answered the people do not be afraid, stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still.”

Psalm 40:2 NIV

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand”

Romans 14:4 NIV

“And he will stand for the Lord is able to make him stand”

Ephesians 6:10 TPT

“ Be supernaturally infused with strength, through your life union with the Lord Jesus. Stand victorious with the force of his explosive power flowing in and through you.”

The Bread of Life

Kath has put together daily prayers for you to do as a family or on your own.

Monday: Word For The Day

Monday 11th January

Prayer Week

Why does the bible mention thankfulness 114 times, 71 in the New Testament? Does God need our gratitude?God created our spirits, he made our brains and knows that we are prone to anxiety, he knows what this does to us emotionally, chemically and spiritually and he has given us a process to help counterbalance that, thankfulness.

Thankfulness is good for our mental health and spiritual wellbeing, it is a key that brings us back into communion with God and invites him to meet us there. Through covid and lockdown we have lost so much yet its also been a time when we have rediscovered some goodness in the simple things of life, things we previously didn’t space time for, let’s not miss the gift of them by pining for the past or the future. At the moment this is our season, let’s learn how to live well in the now.

Through thankfulness we learn gratitude, we can learn to recognise the beauty around us, but it also brings us to a place of honesty, obedience and vulnerability, where God joins us in our struggles and can lead us to a place of rest, peace and healing. We do not have to thank him for bad things, but to thank him for the good things that still exist around us and for the fact that he never leaves us or forsakes us, never stops loving us and uses all things for good.

Gratitude and celebration of whom God is can heal you and strengthen you whilst protecting you from being pulled down into a spiral of despair. Corona has knocked us but we have a choice whether to stay down or get up. Thanksgiving is tough, it starts as a sacrifice but it soon starts to release joy. It goes against the flow, it shifts your perspective, heals your despair, releases hope, and connects us with our saviour, bringing us to a place where he can heal and nurture, bring comfort and direction.

Try to spend 5 minutes today thinking about what you are thankful for. Through the week find moments to thank God for the things on you list, try and use this to encourage someone else.

Psalm 50:23

“He who sacrifices thank offerings honours me and prepares the way so that I may show him the salvation of God”

Romans 8:28

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those that love him”

Philippians 4:4-7

“Rejoice in the Lord always, I say it again rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all, the Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything bynprayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”

Sunday: Word For The Day

Sunday 10th January

Prayer Week

Remember the story of the house built on the rock and the one built on the sand? During this time of Covid I think we can safely say the storm is raging, but God invites us to take shelter under the shadow of his wings, to come into his strong tower. The Lord longs to hold you, to love you, to remove all fear. Lean back into the loving arms of the father and his promises. He has the power to sustain you, to lead you into peace.

Where will you fix your gaze? Where will you put your meditation, your focus? What will you let into your heart, the trouble of this world or its overcomer? In Jesus you are more than a conqueror, his hand is steadfast to hold you, his heart is unswerving in his love for you. Put your hope in him who doesn’t change and let him give you his rock to stand on. The sand keeps moving with the tide, with each news broadcast, but his rock remains. Sure up your foundations.

We long for better times, but fixing our hope in the circumstances around us changing can be exhausting in this yo-yo climate. When trouble comes remind yourself -
“My house is built on the rock, my hope is built on Jesus, I choose not to fear, I am more than a conqueror through Christ who loves me”

John 16:33 “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Isaiah 49:23 “ those who hope in me will not be disappointed “

Romans 8:37 “ no in all these things we are more than conquerors thorough him who loved us”