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bigmike

Atheism Doesn’t Oppose God, It Denies Reality
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).
“I’m an atheist; I don’t need any religion to help me,” said a pilot as he talked with J. Edwin Orr, who was serving in the British air force as a chaplain in World War II. Orr, a brilliant scholar who later took several graduate degrees from Oxford, including a Ph.D., countered, “Could I ask you a couple of questions?” “Go ahead and shoot,” said the pilot.
“First, do you happen to know everything?” he asked.
“No,” replied the pilot, somewhat taken aback by the bluntness of the question. Then he commented that Albert Einstein had said that scientists as a whole were on the fringe of knowledge, and candidly he admitted, “I’ll admit that I am on the fringe of the fringe.”
“Good,” said Orr, adding, “Now the second question is this. Is it conceivable that God could exist outside of all that you happen to know?”
When the pilot hesitated, Orr asked, “How much do you know, in relationship to total knowledge—10%?”
“Ten percent!” exclaimed the pilot, “Less than 1%!” Then the blow that knocked down the house of cards: “Is it possible that God could exist outside your one percent of knowledge?”
“Yes,” the pilot agreed. Orr said, “You’re a most remarkable atheist then. A few minutes ago, you stated that there was no God, and now you say that there is a possibility there is one.”
Yes, there is a God. The vast majority of people in the world would agree with the belief there is a God. While that’s commendable though, it’s not enough. The Bible says that even the devil believes there is one God and trembles (James 2:19). But that’s still not enough. What more do you need to believe?
I am not an atheist because this great God, the one whose words were recorded by prophets and scribes long ago, sent His Son Jesus Christ to Earth and He lived among us. Atheism denies that Jesus was the son of God and was God, and confronting that issue are the testimonies of eyewitnesses who walked with Him, who eventually died for their faith, and their faith in the resurrected Christ.
I cannot ignore the simple facts, acknowledged by history, that Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, that He began His ministry at age 30, that for three years He lived among us, healing the sick, teaching the multitudes, showing us the way to God, saying things that no one else had ever dared to say before. Then, when public opinion turned against Him, He was crucified, placed in a tomb, but He arose from the dead three days later.
“Ah,” you now object, “you have ceased to talk about God and you’re talking about Jesus Christ.” And to this I would agree, apart from one thing—one very important fact. Jesus claimed to be God, which was clearly understood by those who heard Him. He said, “I and my Father are one…I proceeded and [I] came forth from God. I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 8:42, 10:30, 14:6).
Atheism and God are not two opposing forces or truths, two sides of the same coin. It is reality and denial—God and the denial of His person which we call atheism.
Yes, you have the right to disbelieve. An official in China once informed me, “We are a Communist country, and we have the right not to believe.” Indeed. But is that really a belief that can take you through life with joy and purpose or only the denial of light and life? Think about it; find out for yourself. I am not an atheist, because I believe in the testimony and the reality of Jesus Christ—God’s son.
Resource reading: John 8:54-59.

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