Professing to be wise........

Atheists Are—“Bright”?
by Dave Miller, Ph.D.


A recent atheist conference in Crystal City, Virginia included the usual insistence by atheists that “God is a myth” and “children must not be taught religion” (Castillo, 2007). Oxford professor Richard Dawkins unleashed his typical militant, intolerant tirade against Christians. He insisted: “Religion is not the root of all evil, but it gets in the way of [determining] how we got here and where we find ourselves...and that is an evil in itself” (Castillo, emp. added). Ironic, is it not, that if atheism is true and there is no God, no absolute, objective evil even exists. That means that Dawkins must use the term “evil” to refer simply to his own subjective opinion.

When asked to state the main difference between believers and atheists, Dawkins unhesitatingly quipped: “Well, we’re bright” (Castillo). Apart from the arrogance, let us make certain that we have grasped correctly his sentiment. In order to be an atheist, one must know that God does not exist. That means that one must possess evidence that proves that God does not exist. In fact, the atheist must know (and thus be able to prove) the following (see Warren and Flew, 1977, pp. 7-8,55-58):

1. Matter is eternal, having existed non-contingently, without a beginning.

2. Matter is all that exists.

3. Matter has always existed.

4. No one piece of matter is worth any more than any other piece of matter.

5. By sheer chance, dead matter became living matter.

6. By sheer chance, dead matter became conscious matter.

7. By sheer chance, dead matter became a human being.

8. By sheer chance, dead matter developed conscience.

But the atheist cannot know or prove any of these eight items! Even modern science acknowledges that the Universe is not eternal (see Miller, 2007, 27[4]:30-31). These eight are but a fraction of the insurmountable barriers to proving atheism. So the atheist cannot prove the very things that must be proven in order to assert that God does not exist. Yet, we are assured by one of the world’s leading atheists that they, in contrast to theists, are “bright.” “Professing to be wise, they became fools.... [and] exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:22,25).

REFERENCES
Castillo, Brent (2007), “Is U.S. Ready for an Atheist Revolution?,” The Wichita Eagle, October 11, [On-line], URL: http://www.kansas.com/opinion/castillo/v-print/story/197554.html.

Miller, Jeff (2007), “God and the Laws of Thermodynamics: A Mechanical Engineer’s Perspective,” Reason & Revelation, 27[4]:25-31, April, [On-line], URL: http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/3293.

Warren, Thomas B. and Antony G.N. Flew (1977), The Warren-Flew Debate on the Existence of God (Ramer, TN: National Christian Press).

Views

Philosophically, you can believe anything, so long as you do not claim it to be true. Morally, you can practice anything, so long as you do not claim that it is a “better” way. Religiously, you can hold to anything, so long as you do not bring Jesus Christ into it. If a spiritual idea is eastern, it is granted critical immunity; if western, it is thoroughly criticized. Thus, a journalist can walk into a church and mock its carrings on, but he or she dare not do the same if the ceremony is from the eastern fold. Such is the mood at the end of the twentieth century.

Ravi Zacharias

TRUTH EXISTS.

A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO TRUTH

Truth is abstract but very real. It is the standard in every realm of
existence. There are true or genuine products and there are those
which are false and counterfeit. There are true and false friends. We
are confronted daily with true and false information. There are true
and false answers to questions. There is also true and false
religion, true and false doctrines and practices, hopes and promises.
It is of this category of religious truth of which we write.

The illustrious Bohemian reformer and martyr, John Hus (1369-1415), is
credited with the following lines. "Seek the Truth, Listen to the
Truth, Teach the Truth, Love the Truth, Abide in the Truth and Defend
the Truth unto Death." This was his personal credo. For God's truth he
lost his life to the fiery flames of the executioner's stake.

Truth exists. It is within our reach but we must seek and find it
(John 5:39; Acts 17:11). God's truth is bound up in a remarkable book
of sixty-six units. It is time-tested and universally applicable to
the needs of man. The message contained therein renovates ruined
lives and makes men acceptable to their Creator and Judge. Truth is
attainable. It can be known (John 8:32).

To profit from God's truth, we must be willing to listen to it. Not
all are willing to do so. Some harden their hearts and close their
ears to truth (Matt. 13:14-15). Truth cannot save or benefit those
who will not listen to it.

The true servant of Christ will teach the truth of God (Acts
20:26-27). Paul liked to say, "I speak the truth, I lie not" (I Tim.
2:7). In a very hostile environment, John Hus believed and taught
that the Sacred Scripture was the sole and final authority in all
things moral and religious.

For truth to be fruitful in our lives we must love it. Some do not
have a love for the truth (II Thess. 2:10-11). Their faulty attitude
leaves them vulnerable to delusions and lies. Truth can easily slip
through their fingers and be lost or forgotten.

For truth to do its perfect work in our lives, we must abide in it.
Those who go onward and abide not in the teaching of Christ have not
God. Only those who abide therein have the blessings of the Father
and the Son (II John 9-11). Abiding in truth means to live by its
precepts, to abstain from that which truth forbids and to keep truth
ever in our minds and hearts (Eph. 5:18-19).

We must be willing to defend the truth at any cost. Paul understood
this. He was set for the defense of the gospel (Phil. 1:16). In the
2000 years of Christian history, thousands of believers have paid the
ultimate price for defending God's Truth. Weak, cowardly men quail
before the enemies of truth. They flee when the hateful champions of
error appear. The very thought of suffering for truth enervates their
fickle hearts. At best they are peacetime soldiers, short-timers
hoping the avoid the enemy

John Hus searched for the truth. When he found it, he loved it and
abode in it. He preached the truth throughout Catholic dominated
Bohemia. He shook the foundations of error and struck fear in the
priestly tyrants. They responded with deceit and violence. On July
6, 1415, the Catholic authorities declared Hus an obstinate heretic
and ordered him burned to death. May it never be said of us that we
failed in our duty to God's Truth.

-John Waddey