No God? …No Problem!

USA today reports that the American Humanist organization is running an ad campaign using the image at left.  They claim that they do not wish to offend anyone and at the same time, they attack the religious beliefs of millions of Americans.

These are the very same people who claim that Christians are intolerant. This is hypocrisy at it’s worst.  The humanists have no belief system of their own, so they attempt to tear down the belief system of others.

The claim that “we only want to show that you can be good without God” holds no water. If that were true, there would be no need to mention God at all. Why not just say, “This holiday season, be good for goodness sake” or something similar. Well, because that would not allow them to attack those who do believe in a God/god.

You see, humanist cannot tolerate the fact that their are those who believe in a higher power, particularly Christians.  Humanists, Atheists, Freethinkers, whatever you wish to call them, claim they do not accept the belief that there is a God.  And that is ok.  My question then is why do they spend so much time trying to prove there isn’t a God? I don’t believe in Santa, the Easter bunny or the tooth fairy but have never spent one moment of my 70 years trying to debunk those beliefs.  You see, when you really don’t believe in something, you don’t think about it and it doesn’t bother you if others do.  During the next few months, we’ll receive cards from well wishing friends and neighbors with cute images of Santa and his sleigh. Does it offend me? Not in the slightest.

However, if I did have just the slightest bit of doubt, but felt that I could live my life just as well without Santa, then yes, I’d probably be offended if folks kept shoving Santa in my face.

So, I’ve come to the conclusion that these folks, deep down inside realize that their is a God and that He is in control. Unfortunately they wish to carry on with their Godless lives and their egos are so large that they cannot stand the thought of not actually having control over their lives.

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Half and Half Theology

How much less are mere people, who are but worms in his sight? (Job 25:6)

A friend of mine often jokes that he’s certain half of his theology is wrong; he just doesn’t know which half. That’s true with most of us, though we don’t always like to admit it. And it’s certainly the case with Job’s three friends.

At the lowest point in his life, Job had to suffer the advice of three armchair theologians—Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. They’d been watching his plight from a distance and were certain they had his problems figured out. They weighed his situation, put their heads together, and approached Job with their solution to his quandary. It’s not as if they didn’t mean well. Their concern was genuine. But somehow their advice missed the mark. And God wasn’t too impressed with what they had to say, even though most of their advice was true—at least technically.

“God is powerful and dreadful,” says Bildad the Shuhite. “He enforces peace in the heavens. Who is able to count his heavenly army? … How can a mere mortal stand before God and claim to be righteous? … God is so glorious that even the moon and stars scarcely shine compared to him. How much less are mere people, who are but worms in his sight?” (Job 25:2-6).

You have to admit that Bildad had a point. God is glorious and all-powerful, and compared to him we might as well be worms writhing around in the dirt. But there is a fuller picture of God in Scripture.

“He will rescue the poor when they cry out to him,” writes the psalmist. “He will save them from oppression and from violence, for their lives are precious to him” (Psalm 72:12, 14). On the one hand, it is true that we are but maggots in comparison with God. On the other hand, didn’t he create us in his own image? He chose to breathe his Spirit into ours and bring us into his divine presence. We may be worms, but we’re not worms in God’s eyes. He sees us as precious children, and he loves us as he loves his own Son. Bildad may have only been half wrong, but the half that was wrong made all the difference.

Be careful when you decide to speak for God. Choose your words carefully when dishing out advice on behalf of the Savior. God doesn’t like it when we put words in his mouth.

Today’s Reading

Job 25:1-6

Reflection

How do you see yourself in the eyes of God? Is it comforting to know that you are precious in his sight?

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