“For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.” – Romans 1:20
I read an interesting status the other day that basically said
people who devote their lives to religion are statistically less intellectual
than people who choose to follow no religion. I’ve been hearing this
argument for years and it also explains a lot of atheist viewpoints as to why
they believe there’s no God. It took me
back to an article I read years ago written by an atheist who thought that
Christianity was nothing more than a man-made religion that caused an escape
from reality. Much like antidepressants, religion was created to just make you “feel better.” In his article he
stated that, "Christians are some of the most weak-minded people because of their inability to deal with their struggles or difficult circumstances. So much to the point that they
have to create a 'mythical being' who is there to help ease and take their pain
away." Now isn’t that something? We created the Creator. lol
"....as Christians we're taught to fully trust and depend on Someone we can't even see or touch."
I can’t lie, this did mess with my psyche for
a few hours. I mean think about it, as
Christians we’re taught to fully trust and depend on Someone we can’t even see
or touch. I can imagine to an outsider
how this seems completely foolish or “weak minded” as the author puts. But think
about it….is it really easier to believe
that a God who you can’t see, hear (audibly) or touch actually exists? Or is it
easier to live life selfishly, on your own terms, without restrictions? I find it quite ironic that atheists by definition
don’t believe in a higher deity, but in actuality they do...it’s just themselves.
In essence they’re their own god.
They set their own boundaries, they do things according to their own
moral judgment, and they live to please….self. Does self-reliance really make someone
more intellectual?
"It's not enough to know about Him, we've got know Him..."
Although the author of this article brings up an interesting
point, there’s just one minor hole in his accusation. Beyond the institute of
religion, we have to remember as Christians our faith is based on relationship,
not religious doctrine. It’s easy to
become devoted to something out of habit or repetition, i.e. church, bible study, choir practice, etc. But it’s our
relationship in Christ that holds our true foundation. I often encourage people
to read faith-based books and DVD series that educate us on the historical
influence of Christ, but at the end of the day there has to be more. It’s not enough to know about Him, we’ve got to know
Him and we do this by experiencing God at work in our lives. You can read about God all day, but it’s not
until you come to know Him personally that you’re able to speak from
experience.
"...even without relationship, we
have no excuse not to know there is a God because the earth itself declares His
glory."
There will be many strangers, co-workers, friends and even
family members that will challenge your beliefs and make you question if God is
really even real. But it’s in those
moments where I challenge you to simply look up. Notice the sun shining brightly during the
day and watch it leave its shift and turn it over to the moon at night. Or try the impossible task of counting the
stars and remembering them all by name.
The Bible tells us in Romans 1:20 that even without relationship, we
have no excuse not to know there is a God because the earth itself declares His
glory. Wow. God had everything so perfectly designed that
even if we choose not to give Him praise, He’ll just get a rock to cry out in our place. The existence of God, the true meaning of
Christ’s crucifixion and whether religion is just man-made will forever be questioned
and challenged….but as Christians, it’s not our job to join in the debate. The
truth is, there is no rational explanation for the existence of God. In
fact, there are countless examples in The Bible that completely defies every reason of logic. But I’m okay with that, because
the work that He’s done in my life is more than enough evidence for me.
Bible Study
*For more information on this subject, I encourage you to read the book of Romans.
