Located just north of Seattle, Camp Quest Northwest is a summer camp for atheists or children of atheists, self-described "freethinkers" or people not otherwise traditionally religious.
Camper Chandler Garry is like most 11-year-old boys, except he calls himself an atheist. He said he doesn't have an answer for why he doesn't believe in God, other than he "hasn't seen proof that God exists".
However, there are several issues in this ABC News article which powerfully exhibit why atheism should be the absolute last worldview a person should even consider embracing... three in particular.
At Camp Quest, religion, in some form, is often a topic of discussion, but here they believe more in talking about evolution and logic. They think critically and question everything, and they don't believe in God.
Other campers believe people use God as a catch-all explanation for life's events, but they still have questions.
"They don't really know, when they think about when [and] how they were here," Elle said. "They have to find something to explain why was the first human here on Earth, and their answer, their go-to is God, he made them."
Despite her young age, Elle arguably knows as much about the Bible as many of her peers but said God is something she would have to see to believe.
"Personally, I don't believe in him, but if he were to come down and do something really amazing, I would be able to accept that he exists," she said.
HOLD THE PHONE!!! That is EXACTLY what happened 2000 years ago! Almighty God put on skin and bone and came to earth! Not only that but Elle also put down as a qualifier that God should "do something really amazing"... ok... how about giving blind men sight or causing the deaf to hear? How about raising the dead or how about this: conquering death himself? That is exactly what God did when He CAME DOWN To EARTH!!! If these camp leaders were intellectually honest they wouldn't withhold this eternally vital information from these children.
Secondly the ABC News article goes on the give the reader the mother of all metaphors. The secular sleep-away camp rents the area from a Christian camp. They are essentially borrowing from theists. The reason this is such an epic metaphor is that it is all so typical of the atheist worldview. Atheists are ALWAYS borrowing from theists. No atheist has ever won a debate since they are required to use sentences. In order to form a sentence one must use logic. Logic is transcendental - it has no natural origin. So atheists borrow from God all the time and these campers, by borrowing the campsite from Christians, are doing a very good job illustrating that via this metaphor.
Thirdly camp officials covered any signs saying "Lord" or "God" with masking tape. Now that is as epic a metaphor as you can get. Atheists, with evolution as their creation story, cover up the evidence for God ad nauseum. The Bible tells us that even creation itself is a witness against unbelievers . God has but his very own signature on nature and the atheists are without excuse. Richard Dawkins, in his book "The Blind Watchmaker" says in chapter two that the evidence for an intelligent designer is "overwhelming" however, since God doesn't exist, the evidence must be an "illusion" according to Dawkins... going through the camp site of life and covering up the signs with masking tape.
Dawkins is right - the evidence for the existence of God in nature is overwhelming. And what do the experts say about this camping experience? Lisa Miller, a clinical psychologist whose research focuses on the spiritual awareness of children, said these Camp Quest campers, some of whom are as young as 8 years old, are too young to attend such a camp. In her experience, Miller said children who have belief and religion at home are healthier and that religion (faith and belief in God) can be incredibly valuable.
Like we always say here at the PPSIMMONS ministry (and we've got the t-shirts to prove it) teaching children they are animals is child abuse.
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As far as I'm concerned God "comes down" every second of every day and does something amazing! OPEN YOUR EYES!
ReplyDeleteHi, I’ve been a lurker around your blog for a few months. I love this article and your entire site! Looking forward to reading more!
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What about all the people who know or have been made aware of the same things you have and still don't find it convincing? Just because someone thinks differently doesn't mean they are irrational. While I don't think differing world views should be withheld from anyone, I don't think this counts as child abuse. It just keeps people ignorant (unfortunate but not child abuse). It is no different than a religious person who tries to withhold scientific concepts like evolution from their children. As far as your metaphors, I think you are falsely giving meaning to something that has none. You should look into Pareidolia, it is a well studied cognitive bias.
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