THE BOTTOM LINE
Mark LaCour
"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; there is no one who does good." (Psa. 53:1).
"Gay-tivity" scenes in the Netherlands with two Josephs and two Marys, a baby-less manger nativity scene by Planned Parenthood, a human-less nativity scene by PETA, even an anti-nativity scene subsidized by the governor of Washington. 'Tis the season to be -- well, stupid. Atheism comes in many shapes and sizes, but in the end is an equal opportunist. A God-vacant heart always gives rise to God-hating actions. Three reasons why it's the epitome of foolishness:
First, it's logically self-defeating. The very word "atheism" means, no god. And for someone to say that there isn't a god anywhere and at any time would have to be omniscient to make such a claim. Universal negative propositions of reality are an impossibility to prove by their very nature. At best an atheist might be able to say that he doesn't know if a god exists, which makes him an agnostic, not an atheist.
Second, it's practically self-deprecating. Our text reveals what atheists really are -- corrupt, criminal, ignorant. There is no foundation for morality if there is no ultimate accountability to someone higher, God. It's just rhetoric for the atheist to say it's wrong to murder and argue for it on the basis of what's best for society, which begs the next question, which society -- Nazi Germany? This doesn't mean that every atheist is uncivil or unloving, it just means that If an idol worshiper ultimately becomes what he worships (Psa. 115:8), then an atheist ultimately becomes what he worships -- nothing, vanity. Now there's a role model for you.
Lastly, it's eternally self-destroying. If those who forget God are turned into hell (Psa. 9:17), how much more those who actively hate Him -- a hatred, by the way, for someone that doesn't exist to them. No wonder gnashing teeth and hell are meant for each other (Psa. 112:10).
It's one thing to be a fool because of ignorance; it's another to be one by choice. If Mr. T was right about "pitying fools," then there's more pity needed today than all of history combined. And to think something as simple as a nativity scene has a way of bringing that out.
-Mark LaCour
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