WHAT (OR WHO) IS CROOKED? (40)
Scripture: Ecclesiastes 7:1-29
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What (or Who) Is Crooked? (40)
Series: Wisdom - Suffering, Thinking, Loving, and Living Authentically
Patrick Edwardss
Ecclesiastes 7:1-29
Introduction
It's no secret that following the September 11 attacks back in 2001 church attendance surged and nearly exploded. For a number of weeks and even months, many Americans were so shocked by those horrific attacks on our nation that they fled into the church house, some looking for answers, some looking for courage, but I think many looking for comfort, that in the midst of our frail lives, God is present and able to care for us. Of course, as time passed, people grew to feel safe or maybe didn't find what they were looking for. A false sense of security returned to our lives and church attendance returned to where it had been before.
What you may not be aware of is that the 9/11 attacks also produced a huge surge in atheistic literature. Religious extremism and unfathomable evil led some to argue that religion itself was the problem, that evil and suffering is proof that God does not exist. In the years to follow bookstores, (you remember those places we used to have called bookstores? well, anyway) bookstores were flooded by the works of prominent atheists: Sam Harris' The End of Faith, Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell, Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great, and Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion. These books were New York Times bestsellers and it appeared as if what was called New Atheism was on the rise.
And yet, in the years to follow atheism itself has never gained a popular foothold. In fact, statistics indicate that atheism itself has not grown at all since 9/11. What has rapidly grown, however, is a group we call now the Nones. These are the people that when asked about their religious affiliation they answer, 'None.' Now if you were to look at a national breakdown of such numbers you might not be alarmed; the Nones make up somewhere between 15-22% of the American population. And yet in the ...
Series: Wisdom - Suffering, Thinking, Loving, and Living Authentically
Patrick Edwardss
Ecclesiastes 7:1-29
Introduction
It's no secret that following the September 11 attacks back in 2001 church attendance surged and nearly exploded. For a number of weeks and even months, many Americans were so shocked by those horrific attacks on our nation that they fled into the church house, some looking for answers, some looking for courage, but I think many looking for comfort, that in the midst of our frail lives, God is present and able to care for us. Of course, as time passed, people grew to feel safe or maybe didn't find what they were looking for. A false sense of security returned to our lives and church attendance returned to where it had been before.
What you may not be aware of is that the 9/11 attacks also produced a huge surge in atheistic literature. Religious extremism and unfathomable evil led some to argue that religion itself was the problem, that evil and suffering is proof that God does not exist. In the years to follow bookstores, (you remember those places we used to have called bookstores? well, anyway) bookstores were flooded by the works of prominent atheists: Sam Harris' The End of Faith, Daniel Dennett's Breaking the Spell, Christopher Hitchens' God is Not Great, and Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion. These books were New York Times bestsellers and it appeared as if what was called New Atheism was on the rise.
And yet, in the years to follow atheism itself has never gained a popular foothold. In fact, statistics indicate that atheism itself has not grown at all since 9/11. What has rapidly grown, however, is a group we call now the Nones. These are the people that when asked about their religious affiliation they answer, 'None.' Now if you were to look at a national breakdown of such numbers you might not be alarmed; the Nones make up somewhere between 15-22% of the American population. And yet in the ...
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