The Happiness Taunt

Michael Spencer September 1st, 2009

About twice a year I'll write something that will get publicized on the "atheist" side of the internet. Usually- not always- they like what I write and will head over to InternetMonk.com in large numbers to talk with Christians. (Right now, there's a comment thread with well over 250 comments going over a piece I wrote about evangelical young people "de-converting" to atheism.)

These conversations do have a certain "re-runnish" quality to them. Same questions. Same arguments. Same throw downs. Same responses. Same name-calling tendencies on both sides. I usually have to get involved in moderating as there's an inevitable slide downhill in manners and quality of expression. Both sides, evangelicals and atheists, have their hostile gun slingers and fire throwing provocateurs, though most participants are civil, even friendly.

Each one of these arguments features one statement from the atheist team that never fails to engage my attention. Some Christian will talk about the lives and hearts of atheists being empty, and an atheist will rejoin with "Why do you think we are unhappy?"

"Well…because you're supposed to be miserable, unbeliever. Haven't you read the Bible? The "wicked man"- that's you- has all kinds of misery, inside and out. Don't deny it."

"Christian, doesn't it seem rather arrogant on your part to assume that I need your religion because I'm miserable and unhappy? I'm quite happy with my choices and with my life; as happy as any reasonable person can expect to be and more happy than many miserable religious people I know."

"Atheist, you're conning us. You are empty and miserable. You just can't admit it or just don't know it yet. Just wait until there is a crisis in your life. Then you will want me to come and tell you how to have peace and happiness."

"So you know what peace and happiness are for me? Why do you get the right to define peace and happiness. Remember, Christian, I'm not you. I'm very much at peace with who I am and what I believe."

And so on and so forth. Now here's the thing. I find myself quite sympathetic to the atheist in this conversation. I'm not sure I want most of the Christians I know defining happiness for me and I definitely have issues with Christians claiming to be experts on the subject.

Jesus made appeals to people on many levels, but all had one thing in common: they were appeals to come to him and learn about something that had been unknown before. Whether we call it peace, contentment, joy or happiness, it comes in Jesus and it's not so much of an answer to an absence as a discovery of what wonder and joy really can be.

Yes, some people have that classic conversion from misery to bliss, but many people find that Christ replaces what they knew as happiness with new dimensions and depths of grace, gratitude and love. Christians don't taunt unbelievers in happiness contests. We simply invite everyone to the fountain and let the fountain create it's own joy. We're witnesses, not judges. And what greater calling can we have than being a witness to the joy that's found in a thousand unexpected and unplanned ways in Jesus?

Many people do not know they are thirsty until they taste the water. Our job isn't to say "See, I told you that you were empty and miserable!" Our privilege is to simply relish the living water and be quenched with them in the outpouring of cool, invigorating water from the Rock- Jesus. The unashamed pleasure of drinking Christ's living water doesn't need to turn into a challenge of who is experiencing more pleasure. We rejoice in Christ, and we rejoice more when others find a reason to rejoice.

Which is the key to these conversations. We don't inform atheists or anyone else of their misery. We aren't that perfect or in a position to be so intrusive. We simply live out, in as many ways as possible, our joy from Jesus. And let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

Michael Spencer, aka "The Internet Monk," blogs at the top-rated www.internetmonk.com and is finishing up his first book "Jesus Shaped Spirituality," to be published by Waterbrook in 2010. He is saving his pennies to buy a Steve Brown endorsement.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 1st, 2009 at 9:11 am and is filed under Atheism, Christianity, Church, Faith, Grace, Happiness, InternetMonk.com, Jesus, Jesus Shaped Spirituality, Joy, Michael Spencer, Religion and Spirituality, The Internet Monk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.