One things I'm often accused of, when people discover that I am an Atheist, is being a "Satan Worshipper."

The charge is absurd and baseless, but that doesn't stop the christian in question. Atheists do not believe that Satan exists.

What is it to "Worship?" Is it to "Give something your full attention?" Is it "To give something reverence?" Is it as I've imagined, "To bow before something, praising it heartily?" Depending on the definition, I either worship something or don't. What's your opinion?




Most dictionaries define the word "worship" in much the same way. "The reverent love and devotion accorded a deity, an idol, or a sacred object." And I would tend to agree with that definition. But I also tend to agree with your thoughts of worship as well. "To bow before something, praising it heartily." To me worship is the outpouring of one's heartfelt love, devotion and even reverence for God, which is often accompanied by an acknowledgement of His supremacy. Worship can be expressed in many ways; by bowing down before God as you mentioned, by dancing before Him, by singing songs, it can even be done in silence. But this definition can apply to worshipping more than the God I hold as being God. Can people worship an unseen god? Of course. Can people worship an inanimate object? Absolutely. Can people worship another person? They sure can. Can people worship something without knowing it? Unfortunately, yes. You can see this today in regard to the political arena, sports figures, the entertainment industry, and many other areas. It has become entrenched in our society. It is almost "the norm."

So in response to your question; no I do not believe you worship Satan. You do not believe Satan exists, therefore I sincerely doubt that you ever bow a knee in reverence to him, or sing praises to his name, or even hold some sort of heartfelt adoration for him unbeknownst to yourself.

However, I believe I understand what the Christians in question were trying to express but seemed unable to do so. I believe they misused the word "worship," possibly out of lack of understanding. This controversy is nothing new, though the subject is more often brought up by wiccans and pagans rather than atheists.

You see, Christians believe there are only two sides people can be on. Those two sides are "for God" and "against God." We either agree with God or we disagree. Since we believe God is the ultimate authority and creator of everything, we measure everything against His standard and what He says. After all who knows how something works, in this case life itself, more intimately than it's creator? So from the Christian perspective we either agree with what God says or we disagree.

Satan is the embodiment of the ultimate opposing view to God. Where God wants to bring love, Satan wants to bring hate. Where God wants to bring health and healing, Satan wants to bring sickness. Where God wants to bring life, Satan wants to bring death. He is the mirror opposite to God in every way. So when we disagree with God we are by default coming into agreement with Satan. With every choice we make we are choosing one side or the other; we choose to agree with God or we choose to agree with Satan, even if we aren't sure where each choice leads. When Jesus admonished some spiritual leaders in The Bible He had this to say...

John 8:42-44 - Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

Jesus also said...

Matthew 12:30 - He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

While these leaders had dedicated their lives to keeping Jewish law, they had actually chosen in their hearts to follow a way of thinking which was apart from God. In their hearts they followed Satan rather than God, though they were convinced that this was not the case. This is what I believe those Christians were trying to say to you.

Please don't get me wrong; I'm not saying this in a condemning way. I'm merely trying to explain to you and others who have experienced this what is really being said. But from a Christian perspective you have disagreed with God and agreed with Satan. God says He exists and is the creator of the universe. But Satan, the mirror image of God and the father of all lies says, there is no God and no creator of the universe. You have chosen to believe the latter. Therefore, from a Christian perspective, you are "following" (or agreeing with) Satan. Not worshipping him like you say you were accused of, but following him. Therein lies the mistake.

Again I do not mean this in a condemning way, but we believe that atheists and those of other religions have been deceived by Satan in an attempt to keep them away from God. That is Satan's ultimate goal. While I know you do not believe in the existence of Satan, we do. And we believe there is no middle ground whether you believe Satan exists or not. In our view, people either follow God or they follow Satan. In fact we believe one of Satan's devices by which to deceive is to convince people that he does not exist. So even if people don't believe he exists, from the Christian viewpoint they are still following Satan because they believe his lie. Quite the enigma wouldn't you say?

I understand if you find that hard to believe. I'm not even asking you to believe it. I am merely answering your question and trying to bring light to this subject. I also want you to know, even though I believe Satan has deceived atheists (and those of other religions) this does not mean I hate them, nor do I look down on them. It simply means we disagree in much the same way atheists probably believe I'm deceived for believing in God's existence. Unfortunately there are some Christians who do not treat non-Christians very well, but that scenario does go both ways. Anyone who has lived long enough knows that in any group of people you choose there are "good" ones and "bad" ones.

Mark Moyers



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