Those darned conspiring unbelievers by Emery Hell is not filled with people who have already repented, only God isn't gentle enough or good enough to let them out. It's filled with people who, for all eternity, still want to be the center of the universe and who persist in their God-defying rebellion. -D.A. Carson   Somewhere there is a conspiracy going on. At least that's how it seems, to hear Christians tell it. Non-believers are a bunch of ingrates who know the Truth, but flagrantly choose to rebel against it. So who are these people who would dare such a rebellion? Well, folks just like you and me. But where is this so-called rebellion, and what is its goal? If I'm supposed to be part of some cosmic insurgency, I'd kind of  like to know what it's about. The hard part to figuring this out, however, is the fact that this rebellion is happening in someone else's mind, not mine. It's sort of like the Cultural Revolution in China. That bizarre period of human history is especially interesting to me, as many of my family members had to live through it. 1966-76 in China was a time when you could go from being an ordinary citizen one day, just minding your own business, to a counterrevolutionary the next, bent on toppling the Central Government. Nevermind that you had no inclination of doing any such thing, and were just working for a living like everyone else. The fact that someone thought you were guilty made you so, and it was then your job to fess up to your crimes, or be punished. Christians could benefit from reading about communism, and comparing it to their own religion. The unflagging praise for its leader, no matter what he did, and the sinister inferences about those outside the Party are uncannily similar to Christianity's own teachings about God and unbelievers. And those unwashed "counter-revolutionaries" (read: unsaved) are always accused of dark conspiracies and morally questionable behavior. So as the accused, let's see what we're charged with. The crime of belligerence It's always exasperating arguing with people who think they know what you're thinking better than you do. You just can't win. Yet Christians must use this tack, first because of what their religion tells them we're really thinking (see Romans chapter 1), and second, it makes us seem even more guilty, thereby making their God's punishment all the more holy and justified. And what exactly are we guilty of? In a word, belligerence. We know that they and their religion are right, but refuse to admit it. Why? Usually because we are having too much fun to stop, and because we like thumbing our noses at a cosmic diety who can roast us forever in Hell. Now the fun part I can see. Baptists have long considered dancing a sin, and yes, I do find myself wanting to dance to a good swing tune simply because it's so fun. But what about the "angering the Big Guy and going to Hell" part? Would we really do that, if we believed Hell was the result? The fact is, we are not belligerent. We simply don't believe what we are doing is a crime, nor that we will be punished for it. Now many Christians would say that unbelief is enough of a crime in itself. But if it is, then Christians are no better off, for how many other religions' rules and dogmas do they similarly disbelieve? Are Christians likewise irresponsible and rebellious because they do not care that their disbelief in Hinduism will land them in "the frightful regions of Yama?" The crime of knowing better Even though we know our unbelief will lead us to hell, the argument often goes, we continue anyway. God offered us a way to salvation, but we refused it, therefore it's our own fault that we will burn in hell. Now this crime is similar to the previous one, but it focuses more on our intent. It says that we saw all the warning signs, but chose to ignore them. Again I ask, who are these people? Who in their right mind would do this if they really thought all these awful things would happen to them? Do people intentionally drive the wrong way on the freeway just to get somewhere faster, or jump off a building because it's quicker than taking the elevator? No. Why? Because of the consequences. We know that if we do these things, we will get hurt or killed, and our self-preservation instinct prevents us from doing so, despite how convenient or thrilling it might be. So why do Christians think people suddenly lose this instince when faced with the fires of Hell ? The crime of self-determination (pride) Christians say God created us with free will, but God forbid that we ever try to use it. That is what sin is: exercising our will and making a wrong choice because of our imperfect knowledge and wisdom. But we will always have imperfect knowledge and wisdom compared to God, therefore any act of free will that we make has a good chance of being a wrong, or sinful act. And since we must constantly make choices in life, we are constantly sinning. That is the human condition. But Christianity puts a darker spin on it. It must add pride and rebellion to the mix, and make our mistakes more sinister and premeditated (and therefore more punishable by God). But is this really so? Aren't the majority of us just doing the best we can, and our mistakes simple human failings, accountable to those we fail, rather than a conspiracy against God? The crime of ingratitude A common Christian allegory of salvation goes like this: we sinful humans are like motorists who have racked up more speeding tickets than we can possibly pay. And at our court date, the law demands payment, or jail time. The judge, however, offers to pay our fines himself. All we have to do is accept his generous gift, and we can go free. Now who wouldn't accept a gift like that? To tell it that way, anyone who refused would seem quite the ingrate, and deserving of incarceration. But, they fail to explain one critical part of the story: how we got the speeding tickets in the first place. The speeding tickets stand for the sins we commit in life, which we cannot pay for. So Christian rules are then the "speed limit signs" that we have exceeded. But the problem is, in the real world, Christian signs are not the only ones posted. With the umpteen religions and value systems out there, not to mention the numerous divisions within Christianity itself, the roadside of life is cluttered with signs posting all different sorts of rules, or "speed limits". On any given stretch of road, you have signs that say 15, 20, 25, 35, 55 and 70 mph. Which one do you go by? Also, it is not ingratitude that keeps us from accepting the judge's offer. It's morality. Allowing someone to pay our fines would imply that we felt those fines were justified. But in reality, those fines were unfairly assessed, because the speed limit was impossible to determine. Therefore the tickets are unjustified, and a moral person would not pay them, nor would he let someone else. We do not accept Jesus's substitutionary death, not out of ingratitude, but because we feel the charges and sentence to be unfair and unwarranted, and we reject the injustice of punishing one person for the crimes of another. Lessons from high school I was an evangelical Christian all through high school, and spent some time trying to convert my unsaved friends. Needless to say, I wasn't the most popular kid in school. Anyway, a few of my good friends were not Christians, yet to their credit, remained friends with me, despite my trying to save them all the time (in contrast, most of my Christian friends who learned about my deconversion now avoid me). I remember in particular, hanging out with one of my unsaved friends and his buddies on a weekend. The night before, they had been out partying, and I felt it the perfect opportunity to try out some evangelism tactics I learned at church. Since my church taught that unbelievers tried unsuccessfully to find happiness in all sorts of ways (like partying) to fill that "God-shaped void" in their hearts, it stood to reason that now was a good time to confront these guys about how unhappy they really were, and share the secret of true happiness with them. "So, did you have fun at the party?" I asked my friend in a somber voice. "Yeah." "Really?" I replied, never breaking eye contact. Feeling a little weirded out I'm sure, he said "Yeah, it was a great party." "Really? Did you really have fun?" And so it went. An uncomfortable silence soon followed, and after giving a brief spiel about how only Jesus gave true happiness, but failing to impress upon them how unhappy they really were deep down inside, the conversation thankfully moved on to other topics. Now other than learning how to kill a conversation, I gained something valuable that day, even though it took me 4 more years to realize it. I learned that unbelievers were not all like what we said they were. They weren't leading secret lives of "quiet desperation," longing for the liberating gospel of Christ. Rather they got along fine, without the spiritual emptiness and rebellion we Christians accused them of. Any problems were usually interpersonal, and did not include a conspiracy against their Creator. Having been a non-Christian for many years now, I can say the same for myself. There is no conspiracy. There is no rebellion. There is only me, trying to live life the best I can. Somehow, Christians cannot believe that there isn't more to it than that. We are still thought of as being members of a rebellion, wallowing in our arrogance and ingratitude, deserving of the most horrible punishments. That's what they thought of my uncle when they locked him up during the Cultural Revolution. I suppose it makes sense. It's easier to accept the mistreatment of others by your government, or your god, if you first make yourself believe that they deserve it.