{"id":707,"date":"2008-01-25T18:55:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-26T01:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/the-atheist-in-me\/"},"modified":"2008-01-25T18:55:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-26T01:55:00","slug":"the-atheist-in-me","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/","title":{"rendered":"The atheist in me"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
It\u2019s easy to point out the sadness of the intolerant and pompous pronouncements of modern-day atheists<\/a> like Christopher Hitchens<\/a>, Richard Dawkins<\/a>, and Sam Harris<\/a>. How do they shake the haunting emptiness in their soul? What do they fill it with? Learning? Materialism? Humanism? Hedonism? Selfishness? \"\"<\/a>\n<\/div>\n
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When they look at the stars at night, do they ever wonder \u201cwhat is at the edge of space<\/em>?\u201d When they contemplate the bookends of our existence, do they ever think \u201cwhen did time begin? And when will it end?\u201d<\/em> Do they ever wonder, \u201cWho am I?\u201d<\/em>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

But, admittedly, my own world is filled with documented moments of doubt. <\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n

Those times when I decide there is no God, not by my words, but by my actions. When I act as if there is only me and I pursue my own ends without regard to His purpose, then I act as an atheist. <\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n

Those times when I ignore the souls of those around me and absorb myself in my own cares and pursuits. I am an atheist. <\/div>\n
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<\/p>\n

Those times when i ignore the very clear clarion call of God. I act just like the atheist, for the God I claim I do not believe enough to obey.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

In those times, I should cry out, \u201cI believe, but God, help my unbelief<\/a>!\u201d<\/div>\n
Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s easy to point out the sadness of the intolerant and pompous pronouncements of modern-day atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam Harris. How do they shake the haunting emptiness in their soul? What do they fill it with? Learning? Materialism? Humanism? Hedonism? Selfishness? When they look at the stars at night, do they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,55,920],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-atheism","category-authentic-living","category-unbelief"],"yoast_head":"\nThe atheist in me<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"It's easy to point out the sadness of the intolerant and pompous pronouncements of modern-day atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The atheist in me\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It's easy to point out the sadness of the intolerant and pompous pronouncements of modern-day atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"www.facebook.com\/davidrupert\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2008-01-26T01:55:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/1.bp.blogspot.com\/_Y6qRWSwMJs8\/R5qMtqq21GI\/AAAAAAAACGQ\/TryZOyWbiM8\/s320\/Confusion.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@rupzip\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Rupert\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/\",\"name\":\"The atheist in me\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2008-01-26T01:55:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2008-01-26T01:55:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\"},\"description\":\"It's easy to point out the sadness of the intolerant and pompous pronouncements of modern-day atheists like Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins, and Sam\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/the-atheist-in-me\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The atheist in me\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/1ee971d3244e1f67a487a31f55d37c81\",\"name\":\"David Rupert\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/47e7c27dc78a66ace4b19bb00da8bccc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Rupert\"},\"description\":\"I am a communication professional who has a passion for people. 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