b"SERMONThe Truth Behind AtheismThe fool says in his heart, There is no God. Theythey do not believe in God or a higher power or incould change in some countries around the world are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is nonea spiritual force of any kind.[A]theists obvi- inthenearfuture,however,asmorepeopleare who does good.ously dont believe anything exists aside fromincreasingly identifying as atheists, according to aPsalm 14:1 what our given senses tell us 2015 report in National Geographic Magazine. The You see, the atheistic worldview tells us that long,following was posted by Simon Paynton on March By Dr. Sandra Powell long ago, a chance event hap- 17,2015inReligionandthe pened,wherelifecameintoReligions, Atheism and Atheists being.And through an innu- on the AtheistZone.commerable series of other randomTheFourTenetsof P erhapsyouvenoticedasyouvelookedattheeventsovermillionsofyears,Atheism1.Theuniverseis Bible that within its pages, there is - never onceinanimate matter evolved intopurelymaterial.Itisstrictly - an argument for the existence of God! thelifewehavetoday.Now,natural, and there is no such Atheism is contrasted with theism, which, inasintelligenthumanbeingsthing as the supernatural (e.g., its most general form, is the belief that at least one-madeintheimageofourGodsorspiritualforces).2. deity exist.In fact, todays scripture is the only verseCreator - we know this is abso- Theuniverseisscientific.It that directly addresses anything close to the subject,lute foolishness!And the rea- isobservable,knowableand but it tells us much about the mindset behind thesonmanypeopleadheretoitgovernedstrictlybythelaws atheistic worldview,' which is the view that there isisntbecauseoftheplausi- ofphysics.3.Theuniverseis no God.The literal definition of atheist is a personbilityofthearguments,butimpersonal. It does not a have who does not believe in the existence of a God orbehindtheatheisticmindsetconsciousness or a will, nor is it anyGod,accordingtotheMerriam-Websterdic- is a rebellious spirit that wantsguided by a consciousness or a tionary.U.S. atheists fit this description:81% saytotakeGodoutofthepic- will.4. Meaning comes from the ture!Thats because if theresliving world. Pope Benedict XVI no God, theres ultimately nosaid 'practical atheism' is more accountability! destructive than disbelief. The But if we look at whats mostpractical atheism of those who Dr. Sandra Powell say they are Christian' but live logical,weknowthatcre- asifGoddoesnotexistis ationrequiresatranscendent But if we look at whatsCreator.And that Creator is the father of the Lordatheism.Atheistsagreaterthreatthanactual Jesus Christ.We know God by the relationship wearenotasuncommonasthey most logical, we knowhave with his son, Jesus! The etymological root foronce were; there are literally countless notable athe-thewordatheismoriginatedbeforethe5thcen- ists in the world, but these are some of the most that creation requires atury BCE, from the ancient Greek, meaning withoutwell-known:Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Stephan God(s).The first individuals to identify themselvesHawking, Richard Branson, Andrew Carnegie, Ricky transcendent Creator.Andusing the word atheist lived in the 18th century,Gervais, Mark Zuckerberg, Sigmund Freud, Warren during the Age of Enlightenment. One of the mostBuffet,Confucius,JimCarrey,JackNicholson, Bruce Lee, George Carlinto name a few.that Creator is the father ofcommonargumentsforatheismistheviewthatAs the world leans to a more secular way of life, religious belief is mere wishful thinking.According the Lord Jesus Christ. to this view, Christianity is just an emotional crutchone may begin to wonder if atheism is truly on the for those who are unable to deal with the reality ofrise, or if they're simply coming out of the woodwork life without God.Those that are strong enough toas the belief that there is no God has become more do without religion, this argument concludes, shouldaccepted, even among Christians!Although, many do without religion! Atheists do not currently make up the majority of the global population.That factContinued on Page 156 DECEMBER 2020 BOCNEWS.com"