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Thursday 4 November 2010

Atheists have souls too! A view on atheism from 1880

Here is something from The Karamazov Brothers by Fyodor Dostoevsky written in 1880. Just shows you that Truth is unchanging (emphasis added):
'Remember, young man, unceasingly,' Father Paissy began, without preface, 'that the science of this world, which has become a great power, has, especially in the last century, analysed everything divine handed down to us in the holy books. After this cruel analysis the learned of this world have nothing left of all that was sacred of old. But they have only analysed the parts and overlooked the whole, and indeed their blindness is marvelous. Yet the whole still stands steadfast before their eyes, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Has it not lasted nineteen centuries, is it not still a living, a moving power in the individual soul and in the masses of people? It is still as strong and living even in the souls of atheists, who have destroyed everything! For even those who have renounced Christianity and attack it, in their inmost being still follow the Christian ideal, for hitherto neither their subtlety nor the ardour of their hearts has been able to create a higher ideal of man and virtue than the ideal given by Christ of old. When it was attempted, the result has been only grotesque...
(from Chapter 1 of Book four in Part 2 of The Karamazov Brothers)

Let's read this in conjunction with Jesus' own teaching:
Jesus answered, "If you were blind, you would not be guilty. But now that you claim to see, you will keep on being guilty."  (John 9:41 CEV)
Let us take a step back in humility and defer to God's timeless Truth in those moments when we can't see the whole picture. And let us especially not force our skewed views onto others in pride. May Jesus take away our blindness each day.

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