Chapter 1. 1
Atheism
An
Atheist is a free-thinker
that
is free from religion
and
knows that there is no god.
First
Thoughts
Having read
many “arguments” on this subject, it’s hard to address Atheism because
scripture is not considered a viable argument.
- So I write to the Believer[1],
not to the Atheist.
Webster:
Atheist
– A person who believes that there is no God. – rejects all religious belief –
rejects supernatural revelations – rejects anything that cannot be proved
scientifically.
Wikipedia - There is no one ideology or set of
behaviors to which all atheists adhere.
Many atheists hold that atheism is a more parsimonious worldview
than theism, and therefore the burden of proof lies not on the atheist to
disprove the existence of God, but on the theist to provide a rationale for
theism
Ockham's
razor also known as “Parsimonious” is a principle, urging one to select from among competing
hypotheses that which makes the fewest assumptions and thereby offers the
simplest explanation of the effect.
Evidence - There is no evidence that God does not exist; therefore, the Atheist
must hold his position by his “Faith”;
not because of evidence, so you could say the Atheist has a “sort of” faith.
A Few Terms
Agnosticism
– The belief that the
existence of God is not knowable.
Deism
– The belief that there IS
a God, but that God is NOT involved in the world.
Freethinker – A person who forms his opinions about
religion and God without regard to revelation, scripture, tradition, or
experience.
Humanism – The system of philosophy based upon
human reason, actions and motives without concern of deity or supernatural
phenomena.
Naturalism
– The belief that all
phenomena can be explained in terms of natural causes and laws.
Relativism
– The view that truth is
relative and not absolute. It varies
from person to person, from time to time.
Lost
– Those who embrace the
above. – The things of the Spirit are foolishness to them.[2]
The Paradox – The rock
If God is OMNIPOTENT, then can He make a rock so big He can’t pick it up?
If He can’t make the rock, then He’s not
omnipotent; If God can’t pick up the rock, then He’s not omnipotent, therefore
God does not exist. - If everything was created, then who created God?
Why do you believe in Jesus and not Santa Clause? – You can’t see either one. - The questions
posed are nonsense questions, just like “What does Yellow
smell like”?
The Belief
Evolution
is a scientific fact. Everything is
material, MAN. EARTH and the UNIVERSE.
There is no God; no Devil,
no Sin, no Miracles and
no Supernatural. Morals, ethics
and truth are relative.
Right out
of the chute
There is no argument or defense of the
existence of God written in scripture, just the presentation and unfolding of God;
“In the beginning was the Word.”[3] The believer believes Point blank. The Atheist is perishing[4]. The Book was written to believers not to unbelievers. It’s
foolishness to the Atheist, who does
not have the spirit and has only the wisdom of the world. The Book says right
out of the chute, only a fool[5]
would say that
there is no God.
The Reason - ME
Having employed hundreds of employees, I
have noticed that there is a common thread woven concerning making decisions. How does the decision affect me? Whether vocalized or not, decisions are ME driven. – What’s in
it for ME.?
“I’m
not buying it” an employee told me as I shared about Christ. He was seeing a married woman and would not
give that up. That’s the conundrum; is life about ME or
about HIM? God told us in advance; most people “will not buy
it”. They are on the
broad road[6]
that leads to destruction. I
must say that years later, he sought me out to tell me he had “bought it”.
Praise
God
Wisdom
The Atheist seeks wisdom to scientifically nail down
everything he believes. God says that
seeking Him is the beginning of wisdom, knowledge and understanding[7].
The believer finds
wisdom through the eyes of his soul, through the eyes of his faith.
He has revealed Himself plainly in his
creations[8].
God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly
seen, being understood therefore man is without excuse[9].
Does
unbelief in God nullify His’ existence?[10]
Shake your fist in the air, kick up
dust, tear your clothes and shout obscenities. None of this nullifies the existence God.
The Atheist would say, “Show me where God
is”
and I would say, “Show me where He isn’t”.
They
Know
The Atheist already knows about God; in
his heart, conscience and thoughts[11],
because it accuses them and they must defend themselves. They have a need to be a freethinker, to form
their opinions about life without regard to revelation, scripture, tradition,
or experience. To be free to do what
they want; it’s all about ME.
A friend once told me that he didn’t want
to even think about God right now. He
had a life style that he would have to give up and he just wasn’t ready to do
that. There is no need for God when things
are all going your way. It’s when you
hit bottom[12]
you get the “FOX
HOLE” religion. Blessed are
those who seek God, knowing that they have nothing to offer.
The
Take Away
If you don’t believe in God or you believe
there is a God, but just haven’t accepted Him, is of little difference. Those without Christ are all in the same bucket
regardless of titles.
Atheists are not evil or crazy people; in fact
they are, for the most part, smart people who just like us, have other people
in their lives that they lovingly care for.
Theist
– Believe in God, but do
not accept Him as Lord of their Lives – Maybe one day later.
Deist believes in a god; but just not in a god
who has anything to do with them.
These
are all just people who have NOT been drawn by the Holy Spirit to God.
According
to scripture; very few are drawn. - They are lost, and die in their sins.
Predestination:
Atheists are not predestined to “not believe”; all men already do
not believe, doomed to hell. God has
issued a “clemency” on some; gave them the “ability” to seek God. There is
nothing man on his own can do to merit salvation. It is a gift from God[13].
Atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair and her 16 year
old son William Murray had a court
battle in 1963 that resulted in the U. S. Supreme Court decision to ban prayer
in public schools. A few years later
William refuted Atheism,
became “born
again” and apologized publicly for his part in the law suit. Today,
June 2012, at our local high school, a law suit has been filed by some students
because a prayer was said at their graduation although all the students had
voted on it.
We are not responsible for planting[14]
the Gospel
seed – That’s the Job of the Holy
Spirit.
We are not responsible for the Harvest[15]
of the planted seed – That’s God’s Job.
Our job is to water[16] the seed and with God’s blessing, get
to witness the harvest.
Praying,
Sharing and Caring “Waters” the unbeliever – Reach out – they are perishing.[17]
If there is a POSSIBILITY that God
exist; then He does.
It’s in
the Book
[1] John 6:44-45 – No one
comes to God unless the Holy Spirit draws them - NKJV
[2] 1 Corinthians 2:14 – The
things of the spirit are foolishness without the Spirit NIV
[3] John 1:1 - In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God
[4] 1 Corinthians 1:18 – The Atheist is perishing
[5] Psalms 14:1 – The Atheist
is a fool -- 1 Corinthians 1:21-22 -- The Atheist has the wisdom of the
world
[6] Matthew 7:13-14 – The
road of the world leads to destruction.
[7] Psalms 111:10 – God is
Wisdom -- Proverbs 1:7 – God is Knowledge -- Proverbs 9:10 – God is
understanding
[8] Romans 1:19 – God has
made Himself plainly known to man
[9] Romans 1:20 – Man is
without excuse
[10] Romans 3:3-4 – Unbelief
does not nullify God.
[11] Romans 2:15 – Atheist
reject what they know in their hearts
[12] Matthew 5:3 – Knowing you
are at the bottom and can offer nothing
[13] Ephesians 2:8-9 – It is a
gift from God
[14] Matthew 13:37 – The Holy
Spirit is the sower -- John 6:44 – The Holy Spirit plants the seed -- Luke
8:11-12 – The seed is the Word of God -- 1 Corinthians 3:6 – God made the seed
grow
[15] Revelation 14:15 – God
will do the harvesting
[16] 1 Corinthians 3:7-9 – Our
job and calling is to water
[17] Romans 3:23-24 – All sin
and fall short of the standard that God has set
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