Note: Meet Victoria Jackson on WND's Tea Party at Sea cruise to Alaska this summer.
Steve Martin and I, 1988, "Saturday Night Live" |
Steve Martin is a comedy icon. He has a new banjo album out containing his new ditty, "Atheists Don't Have No Songs."
Steve Martin says, "I thought there should be at least one gospel song that represents those who might not be religiously inclined, even though I think of this song as quite neutral."
It is wise for an entertainer to stay neutral on politics and religion. You don't want to lose half your audience. This is difficult for Christians, though, because God commands us to "proselytize" – "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15, Matthew 28:19).
Though philosophy major Steve Martin may see his song as neutral, I detect a hint of atheism, and so does magician and outspoken atheist Penn Teller here.
In the video above, Penn says he respects Christians that proselytize. He says that if you truly believe John 3:16 and don't tell people, you must "hate" them. Penn insists that he has not converted yet and is still an atheist.
I can think of some atheist songs: "Imagine" (John Lenin), "My Way" (Sinatra), "Go Where You Wanna Go" (The Mamas and The Papas) and mine, "The Atheist Song":
On the 2 freeway between Glendale and La Canada there is an Adopt-A-Highway sign, "Atheists United." I've always wondered what a group like that would sit around and talk about ...
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"… Yep! No god."
"… Yep. No god."
"… How long you been an atheist?"
"Couple years."
"Did you see the Congressman Weiner photo?!"
My husband, daughter and I went to Julia Sweeney's play "Letting Go of God," about her journey from Catholicism to Atheism. My daughter was about 11 at the time. At the end, she said, "Mommy, it's like a testimony – but the opposite."
At the end of her play, Sweeney looks up at the stars in awe and says something pithy and reverent about … science. Aha! That is her god.
"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator" (Romans 1:25).
God created science.
When Julia became an atheist, I couldn't understand her passionate obsession with it. Why would someone be excited about "nothing"? Her website, blog, play, movie, new friends and then speeches across the country lent themselves to more of a movement or cult than a simple realization that there is no God. We both appeared on "Politically Incorrect" in the '90s:
(As to Mahar's comment and my flub on the gospels – the gospels of Mark and Luke do not name their authors, though church leaders as early as A.D. 125 and 175 assume it's Mark and Luke. Church tradition has the disciple Matthew writing his gospel and the apostle John his around 90 A.D.)
In answer to my question, "Why be so passionate about something non-existent," Kenneth Samples offers this explanation for the recent interest in atheism: 1) Rising radical Islam and terrorism make "religion" seem dangerous. (They forget that atheists Stalin and Mao killed more people than any other religion); 2) Reaction to Intelligent Design (ID); and 3) "Ultimate concern" – every person, including atheists, identifies and seeks out an essential issue or source of value in life. For those who reject belief in a transcendent, personal God, this ultimate concern may be attached to an imminent, impersonal matter, such as hedonism, ethnicity, politics, or science.
I'm watching "The Religion of Evolution." Gary DeMar points out that evolution (atheism) contains the four components of a religion: 1) What am I? 2) Where did I come from? 3) Where am I going? 4) What should I do on the way?
Michael Ruse, author of "The Darwinian Revolution," "Darwinism Defended" and "Taking Darwin Seriously," says, "Evolution is promoted by its practitioners as more than mere science. Evolution is promulgated as an ideology, a secular religion – a full-fledged alternative to Christianity, with meaning and morality. I am an ardent evolutionist and an ex-Christian, but I must admit in this one complaint … the literalists (i.e., creationists) are absolutely right. Evolution is a religion. This was true of evolution in the beginning, and it is true of evolution still today."
As Kenneth Samples notes, "In direct opposition to the biblical view that God created humankind, atheists insist that humankind created God."
I'm watching "Collision: Is Christianity Good for the World?" It's a debate between famous atheist and journalist Christopher Hitchens, who calls Christianity a "wicked cult," and Pastor Douglas Wilson, who says, "There are two tenets of atheism. One. There is no God. Two. I hate him."
Hitchens now has stage-4 esophageal cancer and as he faces death, has sent out a rallying cry to his fellow atheists: "Remain united and carry on the secular revolution." If atheism is not a religion, why rally? Ironically, one of the scientists that designed the experimental cancer treatment Hitchens is using is an evangelical scientist, Francis Collins. My prayer for Hitchens is that in his final hours, God will give him the gift of faith (in Christ) (James 1:17, Ephesians 2:8-9).
Science is not healing Hitchens, but Hitchens chooses to keep his faith in science.
Both atheism and Christianity require faith. The religion/worldview you choose influences every decision you make, including and especially what and who you vote for in elections.
"The fool has said in his heart there is no God" (Psalm 14:1).
Apologist Jerry Johnson has a great article, "The Blind Faith of Atheism."
"Human beings can reject belief in God, but they can't shed inbuilt religiosity due to their being created in God's image" (Kenneth Samples, Genesis 1:26-27).