I posted a bunch of stuff from Chapter One of a new book im going to buy, a followup to the movie Gods not dead Here is a version all-in-one place. (This is a big post, dont even open it unless you have a few minutes) “Why should we even be concerned with the question ‘Does God exist?’ Does it really matter?” “Have you ever written a song?” His facial expression instantly changed, as it seemed I was changing the subject from God to something he really wanted to talk about. He said, “Yes.” I then asked, “Why did you want to write a song?” He began to raise his hand to emphasize his passion and said, “I wanted to share my feelings with others, to create something they could enjoy as well as express my heart and my thoughts.” So I then asked, “What would you do if you wrote a song for those noble reasons and someone either denied you wrote the song or mistakenly gave credit to someone else for writing it instead of you? Would that bother you?” Looking as if he knew I was going to make a bigger point, he reluctantly said, “Yes, I would be upset if I didn’t get recognized as the author of the song I wrote.” I paused for just a moment and then said, “What if you created a planet?” _________________________________________________ While many bad things have been done in the name of religion and even in the name of Jesus Christ, an honest inquiry can quickly separate truth from error, as well as fact from fiction. Most of what he and others like him say can be deconstructed as erroneous. False claims must be challenged and seen for what they are: vain imaginations. Fanaticism is a human problem, not a religion problem. Don’t believe it? Just watch any sporting event, rock concert, or even political rally. Atheist fanatics are just as unreasonable as their religious counterparts. Just as you don’t dismiss politics because there are bad politicians or all businesses because there are bad businesses, you certainly must know how to separate the precious from the worthless when it comes to God and faith. Again, Jesus Christ stands apart from man-made philosophy and religion. He was the original critic of empty religious practices and shallow lives. Trying to group Christianity in with every other expression of faith is like stereotyping one ethnic group based on the failings of a few members of that group. Unfortunately, these antireligious bigots go unchallenged. ____________________________________________________ I always hear about how Religion has caused them most death and destruction. But the naturalistic worldview, stemming from Darwinian evolution, has had disastrous repercussions when applied philosophically and ethically. The evidence of that is undeniable in terms of the last century, which was the bloodiest in history. Millions died because of the atheist worldviews of the Communists and Nazis. The twentieth century was by far the bloodiest century in history, and it was caused by the atheist regimes of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and Mao Zedong. ____________________________________________________ If you were walking through the woods and you found a turtle on top of a fence post, you could rationally conclude that it didn’t get there by itself. Someone put it there. Even if you didn’t have an explanation as far as who did it, you would be reasonable in assuming that time and chance wouldn’t eventually place a turtle on a fence post. _____________________________________________________ What is amazing to watch is how quickly the arguments atheists use against God simply disappear like a mirage when they are answered by learned believers like Lewis. Atheists claim that the universe isn’t what you would expect if a supernatural God existed. All this death and suffering, they say, are plain evidence that a loving, intelligent God could not be behind it all. The truth is that God has created a world where free moral agents are able to have real choices to do good or evil. If God created a world without that fundamental choice and option to do evil, then, well, we wouldn’t be having this discussion. But God made a world where choices are real and humanity is affected by the choices of other humans. Drunk drivers kill innocent people. Some murder and steal from their fellow man. Though God gave clear commandments to mankind, we have for the most part ignored these directives. The mess that results is not God’s fault. It’s ours ______________________________________________________ If you are an atheist you do have to believe that the main point in all the religions of the whole world is simply one huge mistake. If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions, even the queerest ones, contain at least some hint of the truth. When I was an atheist I had to try to persuade myself that most of the human race have always been wrong about the question that mattered to them most. -C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 14:28:17 +0000
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