In his song “Two Thousand Years,” Billy Joel sings about our children’s future… and he poses a question to his own generation, asking if it has passed on a “blessing or a curse.”
What does the future hold for our children? It is a good question.
This week (as I write), the media has reported that people were offended by Australia’s Prime Minister saying that he was praying for drought-stricken farmers. The media reported that some atheists were offended by their prime minister praying to the “sky fairy,” and that he should apologise for saying that he did.
This was not just a monumentally ungracious comment by atheists, but a highly dangerous one. In reality, everyone has a “worldview,” a chosen philosophy that guides how they live. Many may not have put a label on their worldview, but nonetheless, everyone has one. For some, it is faith in God. For others, it is atheism. What the complaining atheists are saying is that only their secular worldview is acceptable, and only their worldview should be portrayed in the media. Those with a worldview that involves faith in God should be marginalised and not heard.
History has given us a word for such thinking; it is totalitarianism—and it stinks. Those who advocate such thinking should be ashamed. The complaining atheists should be invited to look at the testimony of history. Nations that have adopted atheism as their foundational philosophy, such as those led by Hitler, Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot, have never produced a civilised, free society. Quite the reverse. So we have to ask: why are we content to let atheists lead us there?
An excuse for letting them do so is that they are being “rational,” whilst those with faith in God are irrational.
Really?
If you boil everything down to its basics, the supposed “rationality” of atheists is this: It requires you to believe that everything came from nothing, as a result of nothing, via a mechanism that has never been discovered and for which there is no precedent… and which defies the law of “cause and effect” which underpins all of science.
So tell me, who is the rationalist—really?
Christians see the remarkable order that exists in the universe. They note the beautiful mathematics used to build it. They note that quantum physics suggests that sub-atomic particles only exist when observed. They note that if ratio of the electromagnetic force to gravity had differed by as much as one ten-thousand trillion, trillion, trillionth, the universe would not exist. They note that the historical evidence for Jesus is overwhelming and that his morality has never been improved on. Finally, they note the unique power of Jesus to transform individuals, families, towns and civilisations for good. It gave us Mother Theresa.
So, I say again: Who are the rationalists?
As I look at what is happening in Western society (as it chooses to scorn Christianity and embrace neo-Marxist ideas) I note the following: 1) Our children no longer know their meaning and are suiciding in record numbers. 2) The level of civility in our society has plummeted. 3) The notion of “truth” is disappearing. It seems that our atheistic opinion leaders have not led us to utopia, but to hell.
The same paper that reported the offense of atheists at a praying Prime Minister also devoted a huge amount of space on its pages to an attack on Australia’s biggest church, Hillsong.[1] Barely disguised scorn was poured on its contemporary music. It seems the poor old church can’t win. If it sings Victorian hymns, it is accused of being culturally irrelevant. But if it sings upbeat contemporary songs, it is accused of being manipulative. The article showed a photo of worshippers, some of whom had their hands raised in worship. The caption read: “The crowd at the Hillsong Sydney Conference at fever pitch.”
Wow! So I daren’t hold my hands up in worship of God anymore for fear of it being reported that I am at “fever pitch.” The reality, is of course, that I am simply choosing to worship God.
So, can I say this to the atheistic darlings of the media: By all means keep us honest when we depart from Christ-like Christianity, but stop attacking authentic Christianity. Authentic Christianity brings everything that is good to a nation. The testimony of history is that atheism does the reverse—so don’t lead us there.
[1]The Weekend Australian, 19-20th October, 2019
