“The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist.” ~ Verbal Kint (The Usual Suspects)
Some months ago I noticed a link posted by someone on their social media page that piqued my interest. The blog post was titled “16 of the Dumbest Things Americans Believe – And the Right Wing Lies Behind Them.” The post was written by Sarah Seltzer who is a freelance writer who lives in NYC and it came out near the time when the talking heads were questioning the Presidents travel schedule and misrepresenting the cost of his itinerary and the associated logistics. What I found truly amazing was that Ms. Seltzer used this event as a jumping off point to bear her teeth on other issues she felt were worthy of her enlightened derision. An article that challenged the American public to not so readily believe every sound byte quickly turned into a personal axe grinding that left me cold.
Ms. Seltzer pointed to a list that Newsweek published titled “America the Ignorant: Dumb Things Americans Believe”. Both Seltzer and Newsweek were appalled that only 39% of Americans believed in Darwin’s theory of Evolution. I cannot help but wonder if Seltzer's belief in evolutionary theory is based on rigorous study or simply blindly accepting the opinions of her colleagues and university instructors. Seltzer first loses credibility by showing her misunderstanding of the principle of the separation of church and state. The Freedom of religion the founding fathers wrote of was that the government would not set up a State Church or infringe on religious practice and expression and not that the State would outlaw prayer or religious activity in the schools. She also derides people who believe the institution of marriage is being marginalized and proceeds to call religious beliefs “antiquated”. So much for tolerance and unbiased journalistic integrity; don’t agree with someone simply demonize them or ridicule them in the public forum.
I have to be honest and say that I am puzzled by people that completely dismiss the possibility that there is a God and refuse to even entertain the thought. In my personal experience I have found that the expectation is that I am supposed to entertain every theory and idea for the possibility that God does not exist and my faith is misplaced, but there is no reciprocity. I am expected to listen and consider but when I ask to share truth from God’s Word or a personal testimony of how the Gospel has changed my life and suddenly it is time to end the conversation. All effort, research and scholarship can be devoted to what the individual believes but nary can a second be invested to consider whether the Gospel of Jesus Christ is reliable.
In his book “Evidence for God” author David Wood states it well; “If Atheists expect theists to take the denial of theism seriously, they must offer a hypothesis at least as powerful as theism. Yet atheism can’t explain the most basic facts about the world.” What truly fascinates me is that not only does atheism fail to offer reason to abandon my belief in Jesus Christ and the reliability of the Bible, but it is also unable to offer an explanation for the origin of the Universe, how our world is precisely fine tuned to sustain life, the diversity, origin and complexity of life, human consciousness, and objective moral values. Science and neo-Darwinism falls painfully short of answering these key questions and scientific discovery does more to strengthen my faith rather than erode it.
By refusing to even investigate the evidence we put ourselves at great risk. Not just our selves but our children, our friends and acquaintances are at risk because of our decision. Anyone who is within our sphere of influence who might follow our lead or our example is being put at risk. Misery might love company but do you really want to “live” through all eternity knowing your decision directly led to damning someone to eternal punishment. It’s like playing Russian roulette with your eternity; but the big difference is that instead of holding a revolver to your head with only one loaded chamber there are 5 bullets in the gun and the odds of a self inflicted wound are much greater. Is this really a risk worth taking?
A couple of years ago I was sitting in a hotel restaurant in Shenzhen, China and sitting across the table from me was a co-worker who is a practicing Hindu. He shared with me that his wife was a Christian and that she had been encouraging him to attend church and read the Bible. We discussed faith in Jesus Christ and he stated unequivocally that he did not believe in God, and if God exists then why didn’t He reveal himself? He was a new father and I asked him if the miracle of birth caused him to entertain the possibility that there is a God? I also told him that the beauty, complexity and glory of creation itself points to the existence of God. My reply left him speechless as if he never considered either possibility. We want signs and wonders but ignore the evidence that is all around us and in our pride refuse to examine the revelation we have already in our hands. It seems the truth is always the last place we will look.
People can question how an otherwise rational person can believe in God and think me a fool. In the grand scheme of things I have really nothing to lose if I am wrong. If placing my faith in God turns out to be misplaced I still will have lived a healthy, happy and productive life with no regrets. The change in focus, desire and goals has done nothing but make my life one of joy, peace and supreme happiness. Yet what if the non-theist is wrong? What will be the consequences for them? If the God of the Bible exists, and if He has revealed Himself in His Word and has given us a blueprint for life isn’t it worth the effort to at the very least entertain the possibility? There will be no plausible deniability when we stand before God.
The French poet Baudelaire wrote a story called “Le Joueur généreux” about a chance meeting between a gambler and the Devil and he cleverly penned the following about him. “He did not complain in any way about the bad reputation he enjoyed all over the world, assured me that he himself was the person the most interested in the destruction of superstition, and admitted to me that he had only been afraid for his own power one time, and that was the day when he had heard a preacher, more subtle than his colleagues, shout out from the pulpit: "My dear brothers, never forget, when you hear the progress of enlightenment vaunted, that the devil's best trick is to persuade you that he doesn't exist!"
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork." ~ Psalm 19:1“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools” ~ Romans 1:18-22
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