Some things an atheist should consider

I recently came across an article written by a professing atheist. In the article he mentioned some books and their authors and the fact that he had silenced these authors so those who are not intellectually advanced were to keep silent.

This professed atheist focused his attack on the Bible noting that the Bible is a book of myths and tales that lacked the supporting evidence.  He noted also that there is no proof that Jesus of Nazareth really existed.

There are some basic truths that this atheist ignored; 

1. The Bible addresses the present
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: (II Timothy 3:16 KJV). It is quite easy to miss the basic instructions to be practiced for daily living. The Bible do records historical events but it also contains basic lessons for life.

2. The Bible addresses the past

Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. (II Corinthians 10:11 KJV)
Stress, problems and testing are a part of the human experience and there is none unique to any one group of people. The Bible details the experiences of the people of Israel so that we can learn from their experiences. The people of Israel murmured and complain against God and they were punished. They serve as a warning that if we do the same then we too will suffer similar punishment.

3.  The Bible addresses the future

For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. (Romans 15:4 KJV)
The Bible is a book about victories and deliverance in times of troubles. Those persons who champion the cause of God were subjected to persecution, torture and death yet they remained faithful to God. In times of stress and anxiety many of these persons experienced supernatural deliverance. These experiences are recorded in the Bible so that when in similar situations we can take comfort in the fact that the experiences of others in the Bible can be ours too because God does not change. (Atheist have problems believing many of the stories that are written in the Bible But there are countless stories of similar proportions as in the Bible that are documented as happening in Israel since 1948).

4. More copies of the Bible are stolen each year than any other books.

5.  In excess of 52,000,000 copies of Bibles are sold, stolen or given away each year.

6.  The King James Version of the Bible has sold in excess of one billion copies. There must be something to a book that is loved and remain a best seller for four hundred years.

7.  The history of western civilization cannot be studied without noting the effect of Christianity, the church and the contribution of the Jewish people. The real motivator behind the Jewish people, Christians and the church is God. Acknowledging their impact and contribution to western civilization is also acknowledging God.

8.  A modern philosopher wrote "religion is the opium of the people". This philosopher knew the impossibly of separation of a man from his God because of the inability to reach his mind. When the man's body is tortured he simply focuses on the prize that God has waiting. The very people who declared that God does not exist make it illegal to hear about God. If God does not exist why make it illegal to own a Bible or to hear about God. This philosopher understood well the concept that man is body, spirit and soul which is a concept that an atheist must of necessity deny.

9.  Christians and the Muslims owe their knowledge about God to the Jewish people. Approximately half of the earth population subscribe to the fact that there is a God. By virtue of this the atheist should join and become a theist instead of the few looking on the billions in ridicule to declare the billions as being in the wrong and the few atheists being right.

10.  The God of the Bible is particular to the poor, the oppressed, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, the widows, the orphans, etc. These people more readily believe and experience God. The Bible does record fabulously wealthy and learned men who were close to God. The wealthy and the advanced in knowledge will have a problem accepting the message of the Bible and the writers of the Bible noted this that the message of God is a message to the poor etc.

11.  The international calendar that is in use at present is the Christian calendar. It is of no consequence whether the atheist care to accept or reject whether Jesus of Nazareth existed or not because each time he writes the date of the year he gives testimony of the existence of Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus of Nazareth was declared to be the son of God. If the atheist does not believe this everything remain fine because he is simply another who for two thousand years have been trying to prove this wrong.

12.  If the atheist were to do a historical check then he will discover that there have been countless attempts throughout history to destroy the Bible and also to destroy the Jewish people. The Bible and the Jewish people are testimony to the existence of God. The two remain strong while those that oppose are dead and have been forgotten or their memory are with ignominy and contempt.

Finding God

Science and Christianity agree that the fact that something exists means that there had to be a time when it did not exist and so there must have been a time of beginning. The means and time of the beginning of the existence the material world is where science and Christianity part ways.

Science is in the process of trying to prove the possibility of creating some thing out of nothing and that order can naturally and without external forces comes out of chaos. This bring in focus the calculation of time. The rotation of the earth on its axis allows for the season, day, night etc. The sun is estimated to be ninety millions away from the earth but what exist beyond the sun? Is there light beyond the sun or the calculation of day and night? Is it darkness,or nothingness until there is light from another sun? 

Christianity embraces the teaching of Judaism that  there is a God who is responsible for creating and sustaining everything. This God is eternal and self-existing so he lives in a sphere where there is no darkness or any regulation of day and night. Time as far as God is concerned is non-existent.

Science try to explain the evolutionary process from billions of years in the past to the present. Science also seek to provide possible answers as to the how of  what now exist could possibly have come into existence. The presupposition of science is that formulas that work for the present can also be applied to the past.

Christianity must always contend with finding proof to the existence of God. There are no philosophical or ideological argument to use to prove the existence of God. There are also no material evidence that is to be presented by the Christians to prove the existence of God. It is just as impossible to prove that God does not exist. Man demands that God provide the existence of proof for his existence. God on the other hand challenges man with the question, who are you to challenge me?

The God in which Christians believe is really the God of the Jewish nation. It is impossible to separate this God from Christianity or the who belief system of Christianity will make no sense. This God became a man (Jesus Christ) to bring man once again into a right relationship because man had rebelled against his rule. The   Jewish nation however would have nothing to do with this man Jesus Christ.

One particular Jew, Saul of Tarsus later championed the cause of presenting Jesus Christ as the Jewish Messiah and Jesus Christ being the only way to a right relationship with God. This Saul of Tarsus tried preaching this message to Jews of the Diaspora but got to the point of being so fed up with his message being rejected by the Jews that he began preaching this message about Jesus Christ to the Non-Jews. The non- Jews gladly believed and accepted the message. This resulted in the Non- Jews historically looking down on the Jews and proclaiming that the Christians are in a better standing with God than the Jewish people. The Jewish people were later dispersed from their homeland while Christianity went on to become the principal religion of the Roman empire. Christianity continue to be the dominant religion today.

In trying to find proof for the existence of God, Christianity resorts to the records in the Jewish holy writings. In Jewish thoughts and holy writings, the man who deny the existence of God was considered to be a fool. This resulted from the fact the the man had  Jewish traditions, the history passed down by word of mouth from fore parents, the prophets who spoke on God's behalf  and most importantly the tabernacle with the Ark of the Covenant as proof to the existence of God.

The God of the Jews quite often used the forces of nature to accomplish his purposes and testify of  his existence. This included his servants and prophets exercising supernatural control over the forces of nature. In a contest between Moses and Pharaoh the king of Egypt there was the gradual destruction of Egypt even as Moses called on and activated the various forces of nature. Joshua caused the diversion of the Jordan River for the people of Israel to cross over. David experienced plagues and drought and these were seen as a reflection of the displeasure of God. The prophet Elijah deliberately called for a drought over the country. 

During times of war God also acted. One military general heaped insults and curses on God and in one night lost in excess of one hundred and fifty thousand soldiers. The favorite modus operandi  of God is to use the small and insignificant to accomplish the great band impossible. These most times included God providing a battle plan. The basic instruction from God being that he be acknowledged as the one providing the victory because outside of his assistance then failure would be guaranteed. It was the divine intervention which allowed for the insignificant to become mighty through God. 

Christians regard the works of God as displayed in the Jewish holy writings to be consistent and in the same way that he brought deliverance in the past he would do in the present. At present there are many persons who chose to ignore the Holy Scriptures but the same Holy Scriptures declare that the natural things around us are clear evidence that there is a God who originally put things into place and continue to sustain nature.