My Three Atheist Friends My three atheist friends

My Three Atheist Friends

My three atheist friends… I’ve always been a thinker, an analytical, and reasoning and logic has always appealed to me. My undergraduate degree was in philosophy and my masters in theology. I have always been drawn towards discussing the truths of my Christian faith and especially with those I have cared about the most, my family and friends. Over my lifetime, three men who were professed atheists have been significant to me. My friendship with them has deepened my maturity with God and yet broken my heart all at the same time. Chances are that you all have those in your lives who want no part of God. But some cross a certain kind of line when they move from agnosticism to atheism. Today I would like to discuss atheism in light of these three significant relationships in my life. Together they have spanned most of my life. � Martial arts instructor: Frank � A family relative: Luke � A business associate: Chris

Part 1 Some groundwork About Atheism

Question 1 Can any religion or philosophy claim absolute proof for its belief tenets? Answer: No

If there is no absolute proof for the Christian faith what is there then? �Much like the evidence offered in a court case, there exists a solid body of evidence for the case for God’s existence. �There is a branch of Christian theology called apologetics which centers around this body of evidence for Christianity. �The main argument in Romans 1 for God’s existence is the intelligent design argument, “Have you looked around? ” The simplest mind knows design points to a designer. Or more relevant to today, a big bang requires a big banger.

The found i. Phone… So two friends, one an atheist the other a Christian, are walking in the forest and they stumble across an i. Phone just laying on the ground. The atheist stoops down, picks it up and says, “Look someone has lost their i. Phone. ” The Christian smiles and asks why he is assuming that? The universe has been around for over thirteen billion years and it is obvious that it could just as well evolved out of nothingness. All of us know that would be a ridiculous conjecture. Yet that is the logic most scientists employ in their understanding of the universe. Science gives themselves a free pass on three questions they will never be able to answer.

Key verse… It is normal in the way God made us, to look around this incredible beautiful universe and with simple logic ascertain that an eternal intelligent designer made everything. One must have ulterior motives to deny the obvious. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. Romans 1

God’s finger prints are all over the universe…

Question 2 Does atheism have an Achilles’ heel? Answer: Yes, it cannot answer three questions

Three mega questions… 1. Why is there something rather than nothing? 2. Explain how it is possible that life came from non-life? 3. How does one explain the existence of human consciousness? BTW: If somehow God could be disproven, it doesn’t mean by default that the universe evolved from nothing. It is still impossible.

The atheist says… Give me one free miracle and I will explain everything else

Do you remember the infinite monkey theorem? That if you put enough monkeys hitting typewriter keys randomly, you could get the complete works of William Shakespeare given enough time. This was used to explain how one could account for life in the universe through evolution. What was never asked was the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. Where did the typewriter come from? How about the paper, the ink? How did the typewriter get fixed when it broke? Oh yea, where did the monkeys come from? Are you trying to prove man come from nothing by starting with the existence of life?

Question 3 Answer: Because the core issue of your existence is not whether you believe God exists for even demons do, but rather do you know God and allow Him to be Lord over your life. This is why you were created. And if one is not willing, then God is not obliged to reveal anything to that person.

Mankind’s purpose… 26 And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; Acts 17

Seeing is not always believing… �Satan and one third of the angels is evidence that talking to God directly does not take one to obedience, faith, or love of the Lord. �Right out of the gate in Genesis 4, God talks directly to Cain warning him of a lurching animal of sin at his hearts’s front door desiring him to harm his brother. He blows God off and kills Abel. �Look at the generation of Jews that Moses led out of Egypt in Exodus. Even after seeing God’s mighty hand all the miracles the Lord performed, they still rebelled against God and were killed as they wandered in the wilderness forty years. �Also, the rich man is told by Abraham that sending Lazarus resurrected from the dead back to his brothers won’t persuade them. They have Moses and the prophets. If they won’t accept that, they won’t accept a resurrected Lazarus. Luke 16. 27

Question 4 If atheism could be proven, what then would be the implications?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. After the universe fizzles out or implodes, there will have been no ultimate and meaningful purpose for anything that ever happened. There is no ultimate justice and a reckoning for atrocities. Hitler, Stalin, and Pol Pot all get off scot-free and had fun doing it. No one’s pain or sacrifice counted for any ultimate purpose. There are no moral absolutes there are only preferences. Right, wrong, good and evil are religious terms and without significance. There is no hope, no goodness, nothing worthy of applause. There is nothing worth dying for. Military courage is brain washing to keep old men alive while young soldiers die.

BTW… Even though the greatest evil ever perpetuated came from atheists, it doesn’t mean all atheists are immoral. Recently on a cruise we met two couples at dinner where the husbands were best friends. One man was a believer and his friend an atheist. They both happened to be retired pilots. The Christian told me that his atheist friend had an higher moral character than many Christians he knew but his friend could not get over why God wanted people to bow and worship Him. That was his stumbling block.

My Three Atheist Friends

1. Frank – Kung Fu instructor In 1968 I became a Christian at seventeen. All through high school I had dedicated everything to the martial arts of Kung-Fu. Frank was my instructor and mentor and the most influential person in my life at that time. Frank ridiculed religion and it really bothered him when I became a Christian. His anger toward me got to a boiling point one day. He would often take an advanced student and demonstrate a series of strikes and kicks to show a fighting technique. The last time I ever saw Frank, he demonstrated a technique on me. But he didn’t pull his punches like he normally would and threw me hard to the floor. Then he said, “Get up Christian. ” I knew at that point something was really broken and being young I never came back. When it happened I was a month from earning my black belt. I didn’t know all the mind of Frank, but I think he hated God or the notion of God and knew that he had lost his influence on me to God. He would not tolerate that.

Stumbling block: Crowning thyself God 1 The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God. ” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good. Psalm 14 30 Slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, Romans 1 14 ‘I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High. ’ Isaiah 14

Why spread bad news? �I have always wondered why some atheists want to spread the bad news. �If I was a confirmed atheist, I would want everyone else to follow the rules of goodness, fairness, and morality while I was out having a good time. �So what motivates a person to spread the bad news? Some honestly believe that religion is an hindrance to a good life. Others may feel it boosters there position when others agree with them.

Do not answer a fool according to his folly So Mr. Atheist, let me ask you a question. If I could present a case for the truth and existence of God according to your criteria and you saw proof that the God of the Bible was true, would you become a Christian? (Most will say no) That is how we differ, I would give up my faith and embrace atheism if it would be proven to my logical satisfaction. What does that tell us about both you and me?

Atheists generally argue in bad faith… � To argue in bad faith means not to accept where logic and truth takes you. � I learned this in a court case where my insurance company refused to honor a construction claim. The judge chastised the insurance company stating that I could have sued for an additional $100, 000 and won because of their bad faith. � Admittedly, most atheists will not accept Christianity if you could prove it. � But the main issue that I have with them is that they do not offer an explanation for the impossibility for the universe’s existence without a supernatural cause. � They just argue against your points and come unprepared to offer and defend their explanation. � When I took debate in college, I showed up one time and was told that my partner and I where scheduled to debate. Neither of us had prepared because we were unaware of it. When I found out that we were on the opposing negative side I was elated. All we had to do was poke at the affirmative opposition’s points without offering anything else.

Atheist debate style… After watching many debates on the subject, what I have noticed is that theist comes well prepared to debate his opponent while the atheist arrives seemingly with little or no preparation. Why? Because the atheist does not offer evidence for his position but rather takes the position that theist position does not prove God exists.

2. Luke Also in my high school years, I spent time with an older family member who was an atheist. He was not a good influence on me. I would have to characterize him as hedonist. After I came to faith in Christ, my eyes were opened to the pitfalls of improper behavior.

Stumbling block: Lover of pleasure 4 …treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. II Timothy 3 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, Romans 1 4 In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation (debauchery), and they malign you; I Peter 4

Common misbelief… � Seldom is Christianity accepted or rejected on purely rational basis. � Most people think that what one believes was arrived at by objective reasoning. Not so! � You don’t pick atheism, your philosophy of life does in order to keep your conscience stable and not in a state of cognitive dissidence. � Rather, a person either consciously or unconsciously decides how they would like to live. Am I going to be my own god or am I willing to submit to the Creator? Am I going to live by the morals mandated in Scripture or am I going to do what I want instead? People have a hard time living in a state of cognitive dissidence. So to rid oneself of guilt, one changes his belief system to one that will accommodate one’s desired life style. � My friend Alan Amavista who was a missionary in South America had a young man who had been in his youth group visit Alan on the mission field. One of the first things he told Alan was that he no longer believed in God. Alan asked, “What year did you stopped believing? “And what year did you become sexually active? ” “Oh, the same year, not to hard to do the math. ”

OBHI (One Big Harry Idea) What drives the majority of most unhappiness in the world? It is the result of the following one bad idea. People most often trade their long term happiness and with short term pleasure. The sadness lies in the fact that they rarely connect the dots.

3. Chris In 1986 I began my business in epoxy floor coatings. We did acid proofing, food processing, aerospace, pharmaceutical and other like industries as a contractor installing these advanced coating systems. Around 1995, a friend who lived in the Midwest approached me to help start manufacturing the coating systems I was then purchasing. This began a nearly twenty year business and personal friendship with Chris. � Around 2000, I invited him to my lecture at CSLB on God and the problem of pain and suffering. I had no idea at the time of his extreme anger with God over the pain and suffering in the world. � There is an answer, it is just that some won’t accept it on an emotional basis. � Driving in Arkansas, Chris said he wanted to punch God in the nose after his friend’s brother drowned in the Gulf of Mexico leaving five children behind. � His problem was schizophrenic in nature. I told him that he didn’t believe in God, and yet he does blame God for all the pain and suffering in the world. � I believe I was caught up in Chris’ story.

Stumbling block: Fearless of God 7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1 20 On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God? The thing molded will not say to the molder, “Why did you make me like this, ” will it? Romans 9 4 “Where were you when I (God) laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, Job 38

Atheist and having children… At some level, atheists do what they accuse God of doing. In that they bring children into a painful existence believing that it is better to live in a painful world than not to exist at all. At least for the Christian, after death is heaven. Not so for the atheist, their children are doomed to a hard life for no good purpose.

If there was a destruct button, and an atheist could push it and destroy life on Earth, based on atheism should he? All pain and suffering immediately ceases. Sure the happy people are gone also but so what? For most people, even in a painful existence, life has meaning enough even with the pain to make life worth living.

Conclusion… So what ever happened to these three atheist friends of mine? Over the years, I have prayed much for them.

Frank �I never saw Frank after the time he made it clear that he was finished with me. �He also disappeared from public eye. �It is too bad that I got within a month of getting my black belt and then had to walk away. �Well I did get my belt. Interesting story, around 1991 I was at a men’s retreat and Raul Ries was the speaker. He mentioned his martial arts background and something rang a bell with me. It turned out that Jimmy Woo who had brought the art from China when communism invaded, not only taught Frank but also Raul. �I told Raul my story and he invited me to his church where he taught Kung Fu during the week and I ended up getting my black belt after all.

Luke �Luke and I barely keep in contact anymore. �Sometimes he calls me to just connect and talk for a while. �During his life he has become pretty well off financially. It is obvious that mammon has become his god. �His wife and he are estranged from one another. �His son refuses to have anything to do with him. �His moral compasses is totally broken. �When I think of him I think about how said it is of how he has lived his life and think of the words of Jesus, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world and yet loses his soul. ” Mark 8. 36

Chris �I believe that the last time I spoke with Chris about spiritual matters that we were driving is Arkansas together. A brought up a spiritual subject to discuss like we had many times in the past. This time something had changed. He told me that if I wanted to remain friends I would not bring it up again. To this I obliged him. �This last year Chris in his early sixties died unexpectedly. He had a fall and seemed to be okay and died unexpectedly of an aneurism while sitting in a chair. �It was a shock to us all. I couldn’t help feeling that all those prayers for Chris were for nothing. But there was one ray of hope. His daughter while in college became a Christian and married a pastor. I thought that my prayers must have bounced off him and landed on her.