Why I Left Atheism (Part 2)

By John Clayton

Not too long after that, I enrolled in a course in biology at the feet of one of the great primitive life scientists in the country. As we discussed the initial beginning of life upon the earth in that class, we talked about the synthesis of various primitive chemical materials such as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). As we discussed this, I once again asked a question related to the one that I had asked previously. I asked this professor what the process was by which the original life--the original living cells upon the earth--came into existence. How did the structure or generation of DNA occur? Once again, this man said, "Young man that is not a question that falls within the realm of science." In today's world we understand more about biochemical processes, but we cannot answer how in the environment of the primitive earth these processes came into operation. I guess what was happening to me was the same thing that Lord Kelvin, a very famous British scientist, described in his writings when he made the statement, "If you study science deep enough and long enough it will force you to believe in God." That is what happened to me. I began to realize that science had its limitations--that science, in fact, strongly pointed to other explanations than natural ones to certain questions.

It was about this time when another thing happened in my life and that was that a woman entered it. A lot of things begin with women (some things end with them, too). In this particular case, this young lady was by all means the most bull-headed, stubborn, cast-iron willed individual I had ever met in all my life. I can make those statements because some six years later I married her. This was the first girl I ever met that I felt I could respect. Sometimes you will hear preachers, who know absolutely nothing about what they are talking about from the role of experience, make statements such as, "If you hold on to your virtues and maintain your moral standards, a man will respect you more." Let me tell you, as one who has lived on the other side of the fence and has thought as one who is alienated from how God thinks, that statement is true. I will guarantee you that I never thought seriously about marrying anyone until I met this girl whom I could respect--who really stood for something. Not only did she stand for something morally, she believed in God and read her Bible. Though she could not answer all my questions, she kept going back to the Bible. I also learned quickly not to let her know what I was really like morally. I knew if she really knew that, she would have nothing to do with me. I did not seem to be able to break her faith as I had been able to do with other people and the thing that happened was that as a result of her stubbornness and refusal to reject the Bible, she forced me to read the Bible.

I read the Bible through from cover to cover four times during my sophomore year in college for the explicit purpose of finding scientific contradictions in it. By that, I mean statements in the Bible that were false that I could throw back at her to show her how ridiculous it was to believe in God. I had even decided to write a book called All the Stupidity of the Bible. Something amazing happened as I did this. As I considered and thought about these things, I found that I could not find a contradiction--to find some kind of scientific inaccuracy in the Bible. I just simply was not able to do it. I gave up writing the book because of lack of material! It is amazing to me that as I talk to people, I find many who claim to be Christians and who perhaps claim to have been Christians for many years who have not read the Bible through cover to cover once. I find it hard to believe that they believe in God very much if they do not even want to know what He has to say.

As I read the Bible through again and again, I began to realize that not all of the things I had been told about God and religion were what the Bible said. They may have been what organized religion said or what some men taught, but not what the Bible itself said. For example, the Bible did not say that God was an old man floating around in the sky, blasting things into existence here upon the earth. The Bible said, "God is a spirit:..." (John 4:24) and that God is not flesh and blood. Jesus made the statement, "...for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 16:17). There are many people today who do not understand this. A Russian astronaut once made the statement, "See, I told you there was no God; I didn't see him when I was in orbit." The question might be, "What was he looking for?" I began to recognize that God was not an old man in the sky. I had an anthropology professor who made the statement in all dead seriousness, "We all know what God is; He is an old man with a long white beard and big flowing robes." I am sure that this was his concept of "God." I began to recognize that this was not the biblical concept of God.

I began to recognize that the Christian life was not an altruistic life. I had been told by several people as a child that if you ever become a Christian, you cannot ever be happy, you cannot ever own anything, and you have to walk around with a long sad face and your chin dragging on the ground. Yet when I read the Bible, I read statements like, "So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it,..." (Ephesians 5:28-29). I read about the Ethiopian eunuch who went on his way rejoicing because he had found Jesus Christ and the happiness that went with that acceptance of Jesus in his life. I have had many problems come into my life, but all I have to do is to look back at how miserable life was without Christ and I can realize that life, as it is now with Jesus, is beautiful in comparison. &

Human Opinion VS the Bible (Part 5)

By Tim Haile

Salvation is another area of religion that is plagued by the addition or substitution of human opinion. People often resort to human opinion when answering the question, “What must I do to be saved?” Some form of this question is asked 3 times in the New Testament, yet few people actually look to those respective biblical texts for their answer to the question. They tend to relate their own personal experiences rather than “speak as the oracles of God,” as Peter commands us to do (1 Peter 4:11). Some people say that salvation from sin is a mere felt experience or sensation. Some say that it is the result of a mere thought: a mental act of belief. Others emphasize various human works and traditions. The Bible attributes salvation to a great many things, but man’s part involves obedient faith. According to the book of Romans, the gospel was made known for the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5; 16:26). Yes, we are “justified by faith” (Romans 5:1), but this faith is not a dead faith (James 2:26), it is an active and obedient faith.

If salvation from sin is the result of a mere mental act of belief, as alleged by some, the devil and his angels will be saved rather than lost! This is not just my conclusion; it is a necessary conclusion from what is stated by the inspired writer James who wrote, “You believe that there is one God; you do well. The demons also believe – and shudder. Do you not know, O vain man, that faith without works is useless?” (James 2:19, 20). If faith without action results in salvation, then according to the Bible, even the demons will be saved! Obviously, the devil and his angels will not be saved, for they will be cast into eternal hell fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:10). This is precisely the point! No one will be saved by mere faith “alone.” We are saved by “faith that works by love” (Galatians 5:6). This is the type of faith that is commended to us in Hebrews 11. By faith Abel “offered” a better sacrifice (Hebrews 11:4). By faith Noah “built an ark” (Heb. 11:7). By faith Abraham “obeyed” God’s calling (Heb. 11:8).  Jesus said that we must do the will of the Father in order to enter heaven (Matthew 7:21 – this is an active and obedient faith) . &

How God Changes the Heart

By Bob Myhan

God changes the heart, intellectually, with information. (Neh. 8:1-8; John 6:44-45; Acts 2:22-37)

God changes the heart, emotionally, with information concerning His love for mankind. (John 3:16; 1 John 4:19)

God changes the heart, ethically, with information concerning His authority and the authority of Jesus. (Acts 9:9-19; Mt. 28:18)

God changes the heart, volitionally, with information concerning His goodness and severity. (Rom. 2:1-4; 11:19-22) &