So who's more severely handicapped? The atheist or the believer?
I would say neither is more severe than the other - rather, all are handicapped in different ways. Some have issues with pride or vanity; others gluttony and greed. Still more are lazy and unwilling to make the change in the world they so desperately crave. Some simply lack the resources to enact said changes. Others still are left physically or mentally unwell, suffering from various ailments.
In the end, all are human, all are mortal, all make mistakes; ultimately, all fall short of the purported "rules" laid out in the old testament and the old Covenant. That is why Christians need Christ - like a wise older brother, looking out for his kin who are unable to fully take care of themselves.
It is an interesting concept, one that I struggle with at times, in part due to how often stories and proverbs clash with what modern science recognizes. It's why I try to read Scripture with the understanding that it was written quite some time ago, by frail, mortal, fallible humans that had even less understanding of the universe than we do today.
*shrug* I choose to believe that there is
something more than just random chance that gives our lives a bit of oft sought for meaning... in large part because of events (some big, some small) that I have experienced that just seem too perfect to label as pure chance. However, I also don't believe I have any right to tell others they
must follow my way of thinking, or be condemned to an eternity of suffering. It was one of the things that we discussed in a fellowship class at church - the idea of "Hell", as we think of it, is largely a man made construct; most references to it as a place of fire, brimstone, and eternal suffering are, if memory serves, from the New Testament. Originally, it was described simply as being "apart from the Lord". I can't claim to be a biblical scholar... but given mankind's penchant for exaggeration and hyperbole, it seems reasonable that the idea of "eternal punishment" was steadily embellished over the years, especially during the times when the Church alone could read and write, and controlled the Bible, in order to instill fear and maintain control over the populace.
Again, that's just my thoughts on it.
