“The fool says in his heart ‘There is no God’”
Psalm 53:1 (NKJV)
If we listen to the voices coming from the university or the cultural elites we hear the constant message that “faith is dead”. Scientists, who once stayed within their sphere of analysis, are increasingly championing the overthrow of religion. Evolutionary Psychologists seek to liberate those clients who neurotically cling to the maladjustive view that God exists. High school history teachers make the most of the opportunity to instruct their students in the damage religion has caused throughout the history of the world. True, within pop culture there is a widespread embracing of mystical versions of spirituality. Yet even here there is a noticeable refusal to tolerate any notion of a God to whom one must give account of their lives.
Marcus Tullius Cicero, generally considered Rome’s finest orator, once stated that “There is no people so barbarous as not to believe in the gods”. Cicero, too, lived in a time when it was becoming increasingly en vogue to reject belief in the Divine. Yet the penetrating mind of this Latin philosopher saw through that atheistic subterfuge. In the depth of our hearts, we all believe in God. In Romans 1:21 Paul says “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” Everyone serves a ‘god’ of some design, even while the depths of our hearts hold knowledge of the truth of Yahweh himself.
Recently I had a conversation with a teenager regarding belief in God. During the course of the conversation she repeatedly stated that she truly wanted to believe in Him, but just wasn’t sure if Christianity was true. Drug use, pre-marital sexuality, trouble with the police, and failing grades had become a regular part of this young woman’s life. Yet she remained adamant in her claim that she really wanted to believe.
With Romans 1:21 in mind, I asked this young woman a single question. “Have you ever considered the possibility that you already believe in God, yet you don’t want to acknowledge that because then you must live for him?” The question was followed by a long period of silence. Her eyes remained fixed on mine, as if waiting for me to continue. I kept silent. After a considerable period of time, she burst into tears and began to sob. Her only answer was to shake her head up and down. She knew God existed, but she was battling him for control of her life and soul.
Herman Bavinck once stated that “No one disbelieves in the existence of God except the person to whom God’s existence is not convenient.” 1 Once we acknowledge His existence we must then acknowledge a being to whom we are held accountable. Is it any wonder that there is well-funded, world-wide, and zealously-pursued effort to deny His existence?
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1 Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, Vol 2 (Baker, 2004), p 59
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