During a literature festival in Wales, famous atheist Dr. Richard Dawkins made an interesting statement:

"I would describe myself as a secular Christian in the same sense as secular Jews have a feeling for nostalgia and ceremonies."

He made this statement in response to a supposed American Christian minister who admitted that he “doesn’t believe in miracles any longer” but still sees himself as a Christian. Dawkins went on to make the following observation:

"But if you don’t have the supernatural, it’s not clear to me why you would call yourself a minister."

<Read the whole CP article>

Response: In a debate last year with former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had described himself as a “cultural Anglican” so his first statement is nothing really new.

It is his second statement to the ‘minister’ that really interests me. I have run across many professional ministers who no longer really believe in the Biblical record or the supernatural. I am totally with Dawkins on this one. How can you continue to even be a Christian without believing in miracles and the supernatural? With the kind of admission the supposed minister made comes the necessary conclusion that Christianity was never really historically ‘true’ as such but only some kind of human philosophy. Paul made that very clear in one of the earliest Christian writings from the mid first century:

1 Cor 15:12-19

Now if Christ is proclaimed as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. 15 We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. 18 Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. (ESV)

The resurrection was the ultimate ‘miracle’ and supernatural event and if it never happened then there is no need for Christianity or Christian ministers. Dawkins is 100% correct:

"But if you don’t have the supernatural, it’s not clear to me why you would call yourself a minister."

Amen!  However in I Corinthians 15 Paul testified that he and over 500 he knew of had actually seen the resurrected Christ and many of those were still alive at the writing of his letter.             *Top

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