Apostates
come in different flavors.
i) There
are apostates who keep quiet about their loss of faith. Losing their faith
doesn’t become a new cause to live for.
ii)
There are apostates who appreciate to some degree the emotional and moral cost
of apostasy. Ruskin is a good example.
However,
the apostates we generally run across nowadays don’t merely lose their faith.
They do so with great fanfare. For them, losing their faith isn’t merely a
negative act of deconversion, but a positive act of converting to something
else.
This
type of apostate exhibits classicc conversion syndrome. Converts tend to be
generically zealous about their new-found cause, whether its Christianity,
Catholicism, Buddhism, Hare Krishna, Veganism, environmentalism, &c.
Where apostates
to atheism are concerned, they tend to fall into one of two camps:
iii)
There are apostates who act as if atheism is a wonderful discovery, like
finding the fountain of eternal youth. And they are eager to share their
exciting, newfound faithlessness with others. They act as if they discovered
something better than what they left behind.
Of
course, this is incongruous, for atheism, if true, would be a horrific
discovery rather than a wonderful discovery. Why are apostates to atheism so
oblivious? A couple of reasons:
a) They
transfer their residual Christian idealism to atheism.
b) They
are joining a new social network. Making new friends in the community of
godlessness. It’s similar to infatuation. A high school crush. But after the
initial thrill wears off, it may cool.
Apostates
like this can become irate when those they witness to don’t reciprocate their
enthusiasm for the sheer wonderfulness of sugarcoated nihilism.
iv) Then
you have apostates who are furious from the word “go.” They don’t become
enraged when their missionary atheism falls on deaf ears. No, they are furious
from the start.
They act
like investigative reports who unearthed a cover-up, like a company dumping
toxic waste into the water system. Their nostrils flare with holy indignation.
They
also get really mad at you if you treat them like the monkeys that Darwinism
says they are. Although they embrace Darwinism and excoriate creationism, they
don’t really think of themselves as apes behind the eyes. They still act as if
they should be treated just like creatures made in God’s image.
I think
part of this is due to the intolerance of youth. Apostates are often
twenty-something college students. They are very judgmental about the real or
perceived foibles and failings of their elders. When, however, they have their
own kids, when they find themselves in the same situation as their parents,
they are apt to lower their standards. Funny how that happens.
Before this post slips off page one and into oblivion, I for one would like to applaud it.
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