"There's Something There"
Atheist parents may bring a new baby to the priest for baptism.
The parents may wed in a Catholic ceremony.
They may even do Bible readings in Church or give out communion.
Some argue that there is something of God starting to work in them so that they
should be allowed to do these things.
Some argue that they sense there is something and their atheism is starting to
weaken.
But if a Christian or atheist gets a feeling when reading some Hindu scripture
do you put this down to the divine working in them?
Maybe it is just a fleeting attraction. Feelings are not exactly rational so that
is to be expected.
People who use the "something there" argument only use it when their own
religion is involved.
You do not hear Catholics saying, "That person is an atheist and they are
atheist for there is something that tells them atheism is true." That makes more
sense than trying to make out that some vague religious feeling is the start of
their journey to Catholicism. It would be patronising and superior. The atheist
side of the person is how they identify themselves and it is the strongest side.
No doubts they have about atheism or attraction to religion justifies treating
the atheist side as irrelevant. The patronising believer is just unable to
stomach anybody not being a real believer which is why they want the attraction
the atheist has for religion even if slight put before the atheism and honoured
as if it were important.
The Bible says that faith in God and in the truth he has revealed is dead and
useless without religious and good works. Dead and useless. Paul said that
religious works without faith were useless.
There is no room for trying to rationalise the hypocrisy of the atheist parents.