ATHEISM IS A THREAT TO HUMANITY

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ Our Only True Lord, God and Savior,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

ATHEISM IS A THREAT TO HUMANITY

"ATHEIST in Greek means ‘one without God,’ which is an Orthodox context means not living in a state of THEOSIS (union with God). This is viewed as an unnatural state for a human being." Also, "Atheism is often considered a consequence of spiritual blindness, where the "pride" or "ego" swells, blinding the person to the truth of God’s presence. It is seen as a hardening of the heart that leads to a denial of love or self-centeredness."

"Psalm 13(14):1 "The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God." This describes both Jews and Gentiles (pagans) who say in their hearts, "There is no God". For although they may claim to know God, nevertheless, they are actually denying He exists because of their total involvement in a state of moral depravity; their refusal to seek God; their persecution of God’s righteous people; and their denial of the incarnate God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, Psalm 14:1 states, "The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God". This passage describes a moral, rather than just intellectual, rejection of God, implying that ignoring God’s authority leads to corruption and a lack of good works. The "fool" here refers to one who willfully ignores or defies God. Also, this denial is linked to being "corrupt" and committing "abominable works."

Psalm 14 teaches the Church the transfigured life the faithful are to live (1) as they "look for the resurrection from the dead and the life of the world to come" (Orthodox Creed). They are to be holy inwardly and outwardly; to love their neighbor. And those who live this way "shall never be shaken", either in this world or in the world to come. The psalmist writes: "O Lord, who shall dwell in Your tabernacle? Who shall live in Your holy mountain? He who walks blamelessly, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart, who does not deceive with his tongue, neither does evil to his neighbor, and does not find fault with those nearest him. He disdains those who do evil in his presence, but he holds in honor those who fear the Lord" (Psalm 14 (15):1-4).

Saint Paisios of Mt. Athos addresses atheism primarily as a symptom of a broader spiritual crisis, where the modern world dominated by rationalism, loses its connection to God. IN his teachings, he often warns that a lack of "spiritual thought" leads individuals toward a state of indifference and ultimately atheism. According to Saint Paisios people can become atheists by neglecting "little things" in their spiritual life, which leads to a gradual, unconscious disdaining of divine matters. Atheism, he writes, that modern "shameless atheists" often worship thier own ego and self-interest, substituting God with their own will. The Saint emphasized that this modern tendency toward unbelief cannot be resisted with world means, but only through intense prayer, repentance, and a return to traditional humble faith. He used this analogy to describe how those with a worldly, "fly-like" mentality (only seeking out negativity and evil) are susceptible to atheism, while those with a "bee-like" (mentality seek out the good in everything, maintaining a connection to God.

For approximately seventy-four years Russian Orthodox Christian suffered persecution under the Soviet Union regime. Atheism and communism profoundly impacted Orthodox Christians in the Soviet Union by driving a systematic, state-sponsored campaign to eradicate religion, especially Christianity, resulting in the destruction of thousands of churches, monasteries, the execution or imprisonment of tens of thousands of clergy and laity, and the forced conversion of church property. Following the 1917 communist revolution, the Communist regime, viewing religion as a detrimental "opiate of the masses," stripped the church of legal standing, prohibited religious education, an fostered a culture of state atheism through propaganda, such as the "League of Militant Godless."

In the early years, particularly between 1922-1926, thousands of clergy, including 28 bishops and over 1,200 priests, were killed, with over 20,000 parishioners killed or executed by the end of initial campaigns. Christian marriages and organized religious education for children was forbidden. However, despite extreme and very harsh repression, faith persisted privately. The communist’s goal was to create a total Godless society. Think of it, an atheistic government which enslaved a Christian population and uses concentration camps, torture, indoctrination, executions, and other barbaric means to destroy the Christian faith. The communists failed miserably and now the Russian Orthodox Church and Christians are free to worship God openly and triumphantly. They were foolish to believe that they had the power to destroy the Christian faith. It was tried once before in the early days of Christianity under the Roman empire when the pagans attempted to do the same for the first 300 years of Christianity using similar tactics and persecution.

A Godless world can only be defined as hell. Humanity and especially the enemies of Christianity and the Creator of All will never allow His children to be either destroyed or prevented to believe and/or to worship Him. He protects and will always defend all those who are faithful to Him. Let us not forget what evil men did to the Son of God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by crucifying Him and killing Him. But He proved them wrong by resurrecting on the third day of His burial. NO man or world government can ever kill God! God is Holy, God is Almighty, God is Immortal!

___________
"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!"
+ Saint John Chrysostomos

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With sincere agape in His Divine and Glorious Diakonia (Ministry),
The sinner and unworthy servant of God
+ Father George