Why I am Not an Athiest

Why I Am Not an Atheist

  By Donald H Sullivan

  Copyright 2014 Donald H Sullivan

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  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Evolution vs Creationism

  Why I Chose Christianity

  A Few Observations on the Bible and Common Sense

  Christianity Is Losing Ground

  Good Christians, Bad Christians

  Good Muslims, Bad Muslims

  About the Author

  Evolution VS Creationism

  Picture this: A large ball is floating in space. It is completely sterile, completely devoid of life. Not a single living creature is on it. This large ball is one of eight planets that revolve around the sun, and as you have probably guessed, the ball is Planet Earth as it was billions of years ago.

  There was a time when it was as lifeless as all the planets, moons, and other bodies making up the Solar System.

  According to the scientific explanation, there were bodies of water, perhaps ponds, that were made up from some sort of primordial soup and from that soup some sort of life emerged. Now granted, there was water on Earth, but bear in mind that all water that was on Earth at that time was as sterile as everything else on the planet.

  Volcanic ash or any other ingredients that might have gotten into those bodies of water were also sterile, as was everything else on the face of the earth.

  But scientists must have an explanation for everything, so the best thing they could come up with was the primordial soup theory. Over time, chemical reactions resulted in the spontaneous emergence of a simple cell life form, from which all forms of life on Earth evolved.

  This simple cell life form, according to scientists, is the common ancestor of all life on this planet. Giant redwoods, ants, whales, bats, mushrooms, polar bears, seaweed, grasshoppers, you name it.

  Now consider the complexity of life. The makeup of a frog, for example, is more complicated than that of an automobile, or a TV set, a computer, or any other man-made contrivance. Its heart, brains, eyes, reproductive system, digestive system, and all its other organs must work together in order for it and its kind to survive and reproduce.

  Did all the frog's organs develop at the same time? Or did they develop separately at different times? That all its organs developed separately would have been impossible. Which of its organs would have come first? Which would have come second? And as it evolved, it would have taken a very long time in between organs. So how would it have survived?

  Even a tree is a complicated. Like the frog, its roots, trunk, bark, leaves, and other parts must work together for it to survive and reproduce. As Joyce Kilmer said in his poem, "Only God can make a tree."

  Consider the countless forms of life on Earth, many being much more complicated than a frog or a tree. Try to sit down and list all the creatures in the sea. It would probably take a very long time, and even then you wouldn't get them all.

  Then there are the birds, the insects, the mollusks, the rodents, the worms, the reptiles, and on and on. Everything that creeps, crawls, swims, flies, walks, and burrows would be almost impossible to list.

  All these countless forms of life, each more complicated than the machines we make, were supposed to have just happened. They evolved from random events. Even teams of scientists led by Einstein himself, if they could somehow go back in time to when there was nothing probably couldn't create a blade of grass.

  Now go back to the huge ball, which was similar to what the planet Mars is today, floating around in space. It staggers the mind to think that all of these myriad life forms came from a sterile pond in a sterile world.

  Supposedly all these creatures on Earth slowly evolved into what they are today. Let's look at an example, say a rattlesnake, and try to figure out what happened to make it what it is today.

  The rattlesnake has heat sensors in its head that can sense warm blooded prey. It has venom that can kill its prey. It has the means to deliver the venom into its prey.

  Did the snake randomly acquire these sensors? Did it randomly acquire its deadly venom? Did it randomly acquire hollow fangs to inject the venom into its prey? These acquired traits could hardly be random.

  Was the snake aware that it needed the heat sensors to find prey and therefore developed them? Did it then become aware that deadly venom would help to kill its prey and then proceed to concoct it? Did it come to realize that hollow fangs would be a good method to inject the venom?

  After killing its prey, it would need a way to consume it and digest it, so it developed jaws that would unhinge allowing it to swallow prey larger than its body, and then developed that which would dissolve its meal, extract all the nutrients it needed to survive, and then expel the waste from its body.

  If the scientists' theories are correct, then it would have taken a very long time to develop all these traits, so how did the snake survive during this process?

  Now a rattlesnake is not considered to be a very intelligent creature, so it probably didn't figure any of this out. Even if it were smart enough to be aware of its needs and desires, how could it acquire such traits?

  The rattlesnake is only one example. How would a chameleon decide that changing its color would be excellent camouflage and then acquire that ability? Or how would an eel be able to acquire the ability to deliver an electric shock?

  How about birds and their ability to fly? Or moles and their ability to burrow? And on and on. And I haven’t even mentioned humans and their marvelous brains.

  Doesn't common sense tell us that it would be impossible for a living being to emerge from a sterile pond? Doesn't common sense tell us that the different kinds of traits and abilities of creatures most probably didn't happen randomly?

  So here we have an Earth teeming with countless billions of creatures of innumerable varieties, each being more complicated than our marvelous machines, all of which originated in a sterile pond in a sterile world.

  For the most part I respect science. It's given us many inventions that have made life more comfortable and healthy for us. But science has one bad habit.

  When they can't explain something, someone will come up with a theory about it. Others will look for ways to bolster that theory. Scientists will start fitting pieces into the puzzle. Many of those pieces may not fit perfectly, however, so they will trim them, hammer them, and squeeze them into place.

  After a time, what was once a theory begins to be accepted as a fact.

  *****

  As for Creationism, I don't completely accept the computation of those biblical scholars who figured out the age of the earth by calculating the ages of biblical figures. To me, it is obvious that there are factors that they were unaware of. There's no doubt that a lot of meticulous research and painstaking studies went into calculating Earth's age, and of course, the bible is true and correct in its genealogical listing of all figures from Adam on down to Jesus Christ.

  One of the factors that may have escaped them is God's awesome power. As Jesus pointed out, "With God, all things are possible." So it wouldn't be farfetched to surmise that God made something happen in a single day that would have taken millions of years.

  Or there may be other factors that both scientists and biblical scholars are unaware of, something that is completely beyond the understanding of man.

  It's generally believed that Moses wrote Genesis. Moses, and the people of that time, would not have understood complicated concepts, so God must have told him of those miraculous events in the simplest of terms.

  Atheists love to call the Holy Bible a book of fairy tales, and derisively refer to God as
a magician waving a magic wand to make miracles. He is not a magician who waves wands and utters incantations. It's pretty obvious that God controls the laws of physics to perform His miracles. He doesn't follow those laws, He controls them.

  And he may exercise control from another dimension. In our world we know only three dimensions, and not even Einstein can imagine anything other than a three dimensional world. But many religious leaders believe that Heaven is in a different dimension, a fantastic place beyond our understanding.

  Some have been privileged to glimpse or otherwise learn about Heaven. Paul may have been one of them. His statement that "Now we see but a dim reflection; then we shall see with clarity," could be a hint of another dimension.

  It appears that Paul is saying that in this world we don’t see the whole picture, but in Heaven it will all become clear to us.

  And so, when we leave this world and enter into Heaven, then we will become enlightened and gain an understanding of all that happened during the creation, and all the mysteries of life in this world.

  *****

  Is All That Happens God’s Will?

  Yes, for that is what The Bible tells us, and God is in Control. But by looking at all that happens on Earth, it would seem that man is in control. The will of man seems to control all that happens here on Earth. We can assume that is so because God gave us a free will to make our own choices. We can choose between good and evil. We can choose our vocation. We can choose between work and idleness. We can destroy or build.

  If one man chooses to lead a life of crime and robs and kills a good man in a dark alley, why doesn’t God stop the criminal? Why didn’t God stop Hitler? Or Attila? Or tsunamis and tornadoes? After all He is in control and what happens is His will.

  Common sense can answer these questions. All that happens here is his will. For it is His will that we be in control, or to put it another way, we are only in control because He wills it. Most of what happens on Earth is man’s doing, but God does intervene at times as He sees fit. He will also intervene through our prayers, also as He sees fit.

  As for natural disasters, God created nature and set it in motion. In the beginning God controlled nature, keeping Adam and Eve comfortable and safe from the vagaries of nature. But Adam and Eve disobeyed God, thereby forfeiting their protection from nature as well as that of their descendants.

  *****

  Why Does God Allow Misery?

  Many people often ask why God allows all the misery, pain, and hardships in the world. Those who ask are not all Atheists, but are mostly good Christians. They do not ask so as to be critical of God, or to imply that if God really existed He wouldn't allow misery. They are genuinely concerned as to why He chooses to allow it.

  I've pondered the question as much as anyone. I've lain awake many nights trying to think of an answer.

  When lightning strikes, it's as likely to strike a church or synagogue as it is to strike a whore house or a gambling casino. The same with all natural disasters. When a tornado, earthquake, or hurricane hits, churches suffer the same as other structures do.

  Wealth and fame come to sinful people as much as to Christians, maybe more so. Sickness, hardships, and poverty strike Christians no less than others.

  It rains on the just and the unjust alike.

  But actually the question is why The Lord allows so much misery in the world that affects everyone, not just Christians.

  I've come to the conclusion that there is only one answer: we brought it on ourselves

  We once had a perfect world. Everything we needed was there for the taking. We didn't need clothing because the climate was perfect. Thunderstorms, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions were unknown. We were protected from all natural disasters. All the animals, even snakes, were there for our enjoyment. The bible probably doesn't go into all the other pleasures that were available to us.

  We had it made, but we blew it. When Satan, in the form of a beautiful serpent, tempted Eve to disobey God, she gave in, and in turn tempted Adam. Both Adam and Eve disobeyed God and committed the original sin. When you get down to it, all sin can be defined simply as disobedience of God.

  To make a long story short, God was angered. He took all the comforts and pleasures that we enjoyed and decreed that we would struggle for a living, and would be on our own more or less.

  We no longer enjoy protection from the elements. We are subject to diseases and illnesses. We grow old, and weaken with age. Whatever pleasure we get from life we must struggle and strive for it.

  But it was Adam and Eve that disobeyed God, so why must we pay for it? The simple answer is that when God first created them, he saw that they were good. But when tempted with a promise to be like God they succumbed to evil. They were no longer good, but had become corrupt.

  God looked into their hearts and saw that all humanity possesses the same weaknesses and thus punished us all. But God, in his goodness, sent his beloved son to save us from the ultimate punishment.

  And that is why I am not an Atheist.

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  Why I Chose Christianity

  Throughout history there have been many great religious leaders, some of whom founded great religions. All of them were great men. All were great leaders, all possessed charisma, all were excellent organizers, and all were astute men who were knowledgeable of the affairs of their times.

  They were teachers, traders, farmers, and priests, among other things. Some claimed to have been visited by The Almighty God Himself, and were given commands on what they must do. Some claim to have been visited by angels, and some had visions.

  Joseph Smith, who founded the Mormon Church, claimed these events, as did Muhammed, who founded the Muslim faith. Gautama Buddha claimed none none of these things. He lived a virtuous life and taught his followers virtue. Though he made no claims of divinity, after his death and the passage of time he was eventually considered a diety by his followers.

  Among all these great religious leaders, one man stands out: Jesus Christ. Jesus made a claim that is astounding; that he was one and the same as God, whom he called His Father. Christ as an entity was complicated. He called God his father, which would make him the Son of God. He has also stated that if you have seen him you have seen The Father. He has also called himself The Son of Man.

  After carefully reading of the birth, life, and death of Christ in the Bible, we can see that He is all these things. Being born of The Virgin Mary, he was indeed the Son of Man (man being used here as in "mankind".) God caused Mary to give birth as a virgin, which would indeed make him the Son of God.

  Jesus had the power of God, which he demonstrated many times while here on Earth. Jesus stated that seeing Him was the same as seeing God. This makes sense because elsewhere in the Bible it tells us that Jesus was in existence long before he was born to Mary. God created all things, so when he created Jesus it followed that he evidently inserted an element of himself, thus giving Jesus the very nature of God.

  Unlike the others, Jesus had his disciples as witnesses. There could hardly have been a conspiracy, since all but one was put to death for their spreading of the gospel. They could have saved themselves by simply renouncing their support of Jesus, but not one of them did.

  The account of Paul is fascinating. He was one of the main persecutors of Jesus and his followers, yet Jesus saw something in him. The vision given to Paul on the road to Damascus forever changed Paul's life. He, more than any other, was responsible for bringing Christianity to the Gentiles.

  Further, nearly all the personages, Jews, Romans, and Gentiles, mentioned in the New Testament have been verified historically. Many people knew and associated with Jesus: relatives, friends, associates, and yes, his enemies, too.

  Also, unlike the others, Jesus performed many miracles during his stay on Earth. I, personally, cannot see how anyone can read the New Testament with an open mind, and not conclude that Jesus is indeed The Son o
f God.

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  What Will Heaven Be Like?

  How in the world did anyone ever come up with the idea that we will float on clouds with halos over our heads while strumming on harps for all eternity? None of us really knows what it will be like, for Heaven is a mystery to us. We will not know until we get there, but we can be sure it’s not strumming on a harp.

  The Mormons teach that all who are chosen to be with God will have a world of their own in the hereafter. That is interesting. It makes one wonder about the vastness of God's universe, and why it is so vast. God surely must have had a reason to make the heavens so boundless. Are there other worlds out there? God has existed forever, and it is doubtful that he and his angels haven't been busy creating things. Are the Mormons right? Who can say?

  We do know that Heavent is a wondrous place, wondrous beyond all human understanding. From what the Bible tells us, God and his angels do not stay idle, so it’s reasonable to assume He will have work for us. It’s safe to say that it won’t be drudgery; it will be joyous and satisfying work.

  A few observations on The Bible and Common Sense.

  Jesus said “No one comes to the Father except through me.” Many have reasoned that a just God would not punish those who had never heard of Christ. There are those who existed long before the first coming of Christ. There are uncivilized tribes in jungles and rain forests. There are millions who grew up in other religions, and so on.

  Romans 2: 11-16 tells us that all of us know right from wrong in our hearts and may choose to obey or disobey what our conscience tells us. Now 2 Corinthians 5:10 tells us that we must all stand before Christ to be judged. So each and every one of us must go through Christ. So is it not common sense and reasonable to hold that when a man who had never heard of Christ does go through Christ when he stands before him to be judged? So this man will not go to the Father except through Christ, for Christ must judge him worthy.