On Apr. 12, I listened with interest to Kamloops radio interview.
A gentleman representing the atheistic group “Center of Inquiry” was talking about the signs ($500 each) they were putting on two Kamloops (and two Kelowna) buses: “There is probably no God - now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
Here was an intelligent man encouraging others to deny God’s existence. He was raised in a strict Christian setting, was an altar boy, even considering becoming a priest until, by his own words, he “discovered there are girls.”
He was sure 99.9 per cent there is no God, pointing out that even the greatest proponent of atheism Richard Hawkins doesn’t make a 100 per cent claim. Yet he denied that he or Hawkins were agnostics.
That same day on another talk show, another gentleman expressed his agreement with the bus signs. I recall two of his reasons for rejecting God: “God burning people in hell for eternity. A claim that the entire universe was created just for us seems egotistic and arrogant.” These seemed to be obstacles in this man’s mind.
Their sentiments seemed to stem from three main causes: a) their early religious influences; b) a distorted understanding of Biblical teachings; and c) a lack of unbiased examination of newest scientific research.
My, as well as many others’, journey in life has run opposite to theirs - acceptance of a loving God, and life of full enjoyment. Careful Bible study, by the way, doesn’t support claims of enforced celibacy or an eternally burning hell.
The Bible’s mention of 3rd heaven, throne of God surrounded by angelic beings and other passages imply a much bigger picture of “out there” and precedes the stage of Genesis’s record of creation. “When the foundations of the earth were laid, sons of God” already in existence praised God. Our universe is bigger than we realize.
It is sad that in place of independent investigation, many blindly accept popular traditions and unbiblical dogmas. Others who are thinkers pour out the baby with the bathwater. When distortions of God’s character are taught, many honest people reject Him. Who wants to love and worship God as an eternal tyrant who roasts your loved ones next door to heaven throughout eternity?
I would love to meet these two misinformed gentlemen. Their reaction should not be perceived as threat but as a challenge to our genuineness and Biblical accuracy.--Visit us at: http://ashcroft22.adventistchurchconnect.org/