Christology Theological Integration Paper

Introduction

Christology is the study of Jesus Christ, both in his works and as a person. The term is derived from "Christ" which indicates Jesus. The term "-ology" refers to the "study of" something. It is diverse and far-reaching since it encompasses several topics. Just as one might think, the study entails the earthly life, birth, ascension, resurrection, and death of Christ. Besides, it also talks about His eternal existence, before he came into existence on earth, His deity, and humanity alongside His reign and future return (Laitila). The subject entails Old Testament prophecies about Him. The theological topic has multiple subtopics and concepts such as agnosticism, atheism, and theism. The paper focuses on the concept of atheism, its history, and modern atheism.

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Atheism is defined as the denial and critique of metaphysical beliefs of spiritual beings or God. It is the opposite of theism, the concept that affirms that supernatural beings exist. As opposed to theism, atheism does not acknowledge celestial beings and the divine (Laitila). Additionally, atheism does not strive to indicate or demonstrate their existence. The topic of atheism is distinguishable from other theological topics like agnosticism. Agnosticism is a concept that encompasses answered and unanswerable questions about whether God exists or not.

The tension between these concepts, arguments, forms of unbelief, and belief raises questions about the characterization and the most perspicuous delineation of theism, atheism, and agnosticism. To understand the concept of atheism clearly, it is vital to consider its definitions without fully probing its warrant. Although it lacks much proof, atheism has been widely accepted. There exist various ways that mislead and lead to confusion regarding the adequate formulations made by atheist thought (Laitila). As a result, several arguments oppose the concept. Also, due to the delineation of the concept, atheism possesses key arguments that propose and uphold the concept.

Atheism as Rejection of Religious Beliefs

Religions' common core is Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. It is because of the centrality of a single being, God. Their affirmation makes it difficult for atheists to face the adherents of these faiths and religions. Their belief is in a God, the one who created the entire universe from nothing. According to these faiths, God has absolute sovereignty, which entails animals, and human beings alongside all the other creations. Human beings who are sinful are utterly dependent on God's creative power.

However, according to atheists, human beings are only faithful to God and must believe in Him to make sense of their faith and lives. They have to believe in God without question because of God's edicts, ordinances, laws, and decrees. Due to their belief in God, they end up believing in Jesus Christ, a son of God. According to the Christian faith, Jesus Christ existed before coming to earth to cleanse the sins of human beings. Per the faith, He died on the cross, died for three days, and was resurrected. He then ascended to heaven, where He sat on the right-hand side of His father. However, none of these make sense to atheists.

There are numerous atheists; however, they all disagree with the set of beliefs set by human beings. Atheism casts a broader rejection, a net of disbelief in supernatural and spiritual beings. According to the concept of atheism, human beings believe in God because of the existence of religion as a system (Laitila). The belief in spiritual beings can be categorized to be definitive; they do not require anything to contradict their religion. It is among the reasons why atheism rejects religion.

In broader explanation, atheism is not only oriented to rejecting the central conceptions of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam but also rejects religious beliefs about anthropomorphic gods of classical Rome and Greece. Furthermore, other religious beliefs, ones upheld in Africa, such as Nuer and the Dinka, are also disapproved by atheists. They also do not associate and believe in transcendental conceptions of Buddhism and Hinduism.

Generally, atheists deny gods, or rather God. In events where religion defines itself as having faith in spiritual beings, atheism rejects all religious beliefs. To find and achieve a tolerable and sufficient acknowledgment of atheism, one can read "rejection of religious beliefs" (Laitila). However, atheists should understand how denial of the gods or God is inadequate.

History of the Concept of Atheism

As observed, theism is contrasted with the concept of atheism. The etymological root of atheism existed in ancient Greece in the 5th century BCE. The term started as atheos, which meant "without gods" (Gray). The pejorative term had several uses applied to the individuals who failed to believe in the gods adored by the larger society. In antiquity, it was used by those who seemed to be forsaken by the gods. It was also applied to the ones who did not want to be committed to the belief of the gods.

Also, it could be associated with the orthodox religionists, who fell under the social category of not sharing community religious beliefs. The full definition of atheism as a theological concept emerged in the 16th century (Gray). During this century, there was widespread skeptical inquiry and freethought on the criticism of religion. The application of the concept narrowed down during this century. During the 18th century, people could openly identify themselves as atheists (Drachmann). It was the Age of Enlightenment, when major atheist movements emerged.

Atheism in the Modern World

Atheism in the modern world is termed as new atheism. It was coined by Gary Wolf, a journalist who described the multiple positions advocated by atheists in the early 21st century. Currently, atheism is advocated by a group of writers and thinkers who perceive religion as a superstition (Drachmann). Atheists propose that irrationalism and religion should never be tolerated; instead, both should be criticized, countered, and exposed by rational arguments. Atheists believe religion and the belief in God have an effect and influence on education, politics, and government.

According to Gray John, in his book Seven Types of Atheism, he aligned his proposals and recommendations to the New Atheists (Gray). He indicated that there are no differences between New Atheism and the type of atheism that existed traditionally. Currently, New Atheism overlaps with antitheism and secular humanism (Drachmann).

The criticism made by New Atheists is regarded as the perpetuation and indoctrination of ideologies based on having faith and belief in the supernatural. Currently, atheism is also known as fundamentalist or militant atheism. An example of the movements associated with atheism is "the four horsemen" (Drachmann). The movement is composed of Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris. The movement focuses on riveting debates about the belief in God.

Work Cited

Drachmann, Anders Björn. Atheism in pagan antiquity. Good Press, 2020. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=hf7XDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT25&dq=atheism&ots=7DIVqnUpha&sig=bhvbxOzhK7InylKMGB4pInb24x0Gray, John. Seven types of atheism. Penguin UK, 2018.

Laitila, Teuvo. "Russia: Atheism,‘Blasphemy', State, and Orthodox Christianity." The Atheist Bus Campaign. Brill, 2017. 262-285. https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004328532/B9789004328532-s013.xml