How do Non Believers See Your Church

Almost always Christian pundits refer to atheists, or people of other religions, as sinners who do not want their sin-filled lives to be corrected. They enjoy their sinful lives, believers say, and don't understand the consequences of an eternity in hell. Another version is that everyone is raised in the faith but some leave because their church, or someone in their church, was unkind or abusive.

It seems to me there is some progress among the faithful in understanding where they stand in the eyes of non-believers. That is, the Christian view of how the non-believer thinks has mostly been wrong but some improvement is happening.

An example is a piece I saw today on a Christian site. It reviews the various ways non-believers see a church. One way they see a church is that is does not exist. They don't notice the churches they drive by any more than row after row of houses they take no note of. They don't encounter church people in their lives so it never occurs to them there are such people.

Sometimes atheists see the church as an amusing novelty/neanderthal. It's some peculiar throwback to an earlier time that has nothing to do with today. Some might think it an old cute idea.

There are yet others who see a church and feel anger. They see it as harmful to society, a meddler into the lives of others, and wish the uninformed people who go into that church would leave the rest of society alone.

Occasionally, I hear advertisements that plead with fallen Catholics to "come back home." I read they are paid for by an ultra-wealthy Catholic who believes there are hordes of Catholics feeling guilty they left the church. The ads must appeal to a Catholic here and there but I've not heard of any massive increase in Catholics due to the ads or anything else.

Believers make the mistake of thinking non-believers are aware of the latter's "sins." This is not the case because there are no sins. Sin is something manufactured for the purpose of controlling others. Believers would do well to learn about others who do not believe in sky gods, miracles, coming back to life and life when dead. These ideas are so outlandish they have become a distant "other" to the demographic now called "nones."