With the rise of the the more belligerent form of atheism , one of the cat calls coming from their camp has been more or less , if you have a brain and use it , then you cannot believe in the God of the Bible. If you listen to these men and the more public mockers like Bill Mahar,then you would think that anyone who preaches and teaches the Bible is God's word , must have gotten their education from a bubble gum machine.
16] For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
(2 Peter 1:16 ESV)
Its not like this type of opposition is new . Peter in his letter assures believers that what they have been told are not cleverly devised myths but that they behold the truth of Jesus Christ with their own eyes . The charge leveled against Christians is that we follow a myth but in truth , from the time of the death of Christ ,to the emerging of the Church and the earliest gospels and epistles, not enough time went by to allow for the development of myth of Jesus. Plus reading the accounts in the gospels and the plain nature of them compared to real myths, and the difference is striking. So even back in Peter's day , mockers of the truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ were in full force.
But Peter after saying he was an eyewitness , tells us we have something even better , the word of God.
[19] And we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts, [20] knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. [21] For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
(2 Peter 1:19-21 ESV)
The best defense we have against the attacks and accusations that we are just not that bright , is opening up the word of God. Apologetics and defending the faith is important ,but sharing the gospel is the only thing that will awaken a dead sinner. The mind is hostile against God (Romans 8:7) .We are all dead in trespasses and sins.So when debating someone who has been influenced by the new atheistic rants, we need to be aware that we can point to many brilliant men and women in the past, and today from all disciplines, including science ,who trust the Bible and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can present counter arguments but evidences alone will never save . It is the word of God that the Holy Spirit will take and awaken the dead sinners heart to their need to repent and trust in Christ.
Belief in God , who has given us His word that we may know Him , is not a call to check our brain in the dumb dock , but to truly engage our minds.
Just a brief list of Bible believing idiots ,past and present. Blaise Pascal,Copernicus,Francis Bacon,Johannes Kepler, Galileo,Louis Pasteur,Lord Kelvin,Max Planck,John Lennox,Edgar Andrews,Stephen B Meyers . Then what do you make of contemporary theologians like James White,RC Sproul,D.A Carson,Alvin Plantinga ,Ravi Zacharius ,John Frame,Michael Horton . Well you get my point .
Verse Of The Day : And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
(Matthew 22:37 ESV)
1 comment:
Very enjoyable blog, Hon'. What's sad about it is that your inspiration for writing it also came from one of Jordie's Grade 12 classes. All though, it's certainly not a surprising source.
How far the educational system has fallen. With the advent of the Guttenburg (sp?) printing press (invented so people could read the Bible in their own language), a need for the common folk to learn to read was essential. A Sunday school was started, by Christian's, to teach poor children how to read. It was the first free school. Kind of ironic, huh? Love you, Mrs Reg
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