The recent "He gets us" adverts for Christianity are problematic. However, even trickier for Christianity than the problem of evil is the problem of forgiveness of sin through Christ. The new testament teaches that all sin can be forgiven by belief in Christ and that belief in Christ is the one path to an eternity in heaven. That’s it. That’s all that’s required. No restitution for the damages inflicted upon victims.
If they are real, then it means that the gritty rape you endured as a child wasn’t a dealbreaker for Christ. Nothing could be. For Christ, your trauma wasn’t in the consideration of whether your rapist deserved an eternity in heaven. Your feelings don’t even merit a veto on the basis of how awkward hanging around with your rapist would make your afterlife. No, for Christ it was enough that your rapist pledged his love to him. That’s all that really matters. You just need to get over yourself.
Deep down, I think this may be why theists commonly assume that atheists actually do believe in god and they’re just angry with him. Maybe they settle on this conclusion because they can see the flaws in the system. Perhaps they can imagine themselves in the same state if Jesus did the dirty on them too. But until that day comes, they just need to keep on keeping on. After all, Jesus still evidently loves them more than that child rape victim.
It’s no wonder that for the victims, it can be a less painful path to consider the existence of Christ and an afterlife in the context of the null hypothesis. That is, to live your life assuming that there is no afterlife until presented with sufficient evidence to merit belief in one. To push for justice in this life and to make the best of what all available evidence suggests is our one shot at life, and make it shine as best we can for ourselves and those around us.
@stuartblair They belong to the 'Church of Perpetual Excuses and Lack of Accountability.'
Now imagine being the childhood victim of a rapist who becomes a born again Christian before he dies. Imagine knowing that without so much as a nod of recognition to what that rapist has done to you, your rapist will be there waiting for you in heaven. It must really make the afterlife a less appealing prospect than pastors imagine it does. Surely it must bring victims to the point of wondering whether Jesus or heaven are even real.