Adventures with Atheists

How do I get myself into these things?  More like - how does God get me into these things?  Fascinating, I never thought I'd be chatting back and forth with a world full of very cranky and condescending Atheists.  Not even on my radar of things I'd have the potential to do - but, BRING IT ON!!!  That's one of the many adventures God has me jumping into recently.  Clearly, I am not the person to debate with most of these "high philosophical and scientific" thinkers.  But, I am the person that God tapped to extend His heart of love and encounter to them.

It is interesting - I ran across a Wall Street Journal Blog started as a result of an essay by Ricky Gervaise (British comic, writer, filmmaker and actor - Creator of "The Office", small role in "Night at the Museum" and starring role in "Ghost Town" with Greg Kinnear). This was long before the Golden Globes debacle. I do like SOME of  (amended - not all) his humor, by the way, even though he is quite irreverent at times.  In his essay, Ricky argued against the existence of God. It caused such a huge response that WSJ set up a blog for questions to Ricky about it.  I visited this blog and read through, then began conversing in writing with several of those regularly posting about the logical reasons why God could not possibly exist.  They were putting down anyone who disagreed with them in any way.  It was a veritable sneer fest.  Just where I, "Little Miss Joy Bucket" belong!  The funniest part to me is that they think I'm a man (I used my real name). Mr. December to you bud!

God has been really teaching me something here and all the while He's also given me an opportunity to reach out to people He loves very much along with Him. He's asked me to love these people and invite them to know Him and His love for them.  They have been a really good challenge. Most have been involed with Christianity and have had some type of bad experience with it (wounding). You can see how some have become so embittered.  Broke my heart really.  Overcoming evil with good - just keeps ringing along with people knowing us by our love.  I'm impressed with God's emphasis that his body needs to really love those who, for what ever reason, never really knew Him personally or don't know Him at all and who are even violently against Him.  Moving in the opposite spirit and not approaching with logic or argument, but with Him and love.  We're going to see amazing things living out God's love to people.  So many of His beloved are just waiting to come to Him.  I'm looking forward to seeing God glorified!

God prompted me to pray for Christopher Hitchens some years ago and I've prayed about him coming to know and love God.  Who knows but that Ricky Gervais and several other atheists are on God's list of Brits that will come to know His love!

I don't know what will happen with these people, only that God asked and I'm happy to go adventuring with Him in it!  Such a world full of hurting, lost people (even ultra intellegent ones)!