People typically have multiple reasons why they do something. Atheists are no different. When we look at the creation issue in light of the true spiritual nature of the battle and of the idea that oftentimes “morality dictates theology,” it begins to shed some light on the topic.
Not Many Atheists Come
We could say to an atheist, “Can you prove that God does not exist?”
To which the atheist might respond, “Can you prove that He does?”
In answer to the first question, the atheist response could also be, “Well, if there really is a supposedly good God, it seems He is not doing a good job of preventing such things as sickness, pandemics, and natural disasters from happening all over the world.” A Christian might respond, “But have you considered that your understanding of a good God may not be correct?”
From this point on, the conversation could go in many directions, but the main thing that atheists miss and do not understand is the fact that God’s relationship with this world from the very beginning with Adam and Eve has been based on His perfect character of justice, righteousness, and holiness. Because His human family failed to keep His kind and needful commandments in the garden of Eden, God had to apply His justice and break His relationship with humans—otherwise He would not have been true to His absolute perfect attributes. Thus, humans found themselves on the wrong side of God’s righteousness, condemned from having a loving relationship with Him unless a remedy could be found. So, all humans who do not have a personal relationship with God through the means of repentance of their sins through the eternal remedy of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross, are living today on the wrong wide of the righteous requirements of God.
Because of the amazing accumulation of evidences now available from the natural sciences, such as DNA, it is getting more and more challenging for professed atheists to logically and honestly maintain their disbelief in God.
When I mention to people that we have had groups of atheists visit our creation museum, they usually say with a questioning expression on their faces something such as, “And why would they want to do that?” Well, one of the reasons might be that they are hoping to justify and validate their professed belief in atheism. Some would come believing they will be able to ridicule and make fun. However, I believe there is a deeper reason for their rather aggressive reaction to creation museums, and it is a spiritual one. They themselves would most likely not be aware of this, but when people are deceived and living in spiritual blindness and darkness, the enemy of God, Satan, will certainly use such people as his pawns to attack the work of God. It has happened countless times throughout history.
The supreme example of Satan using people walking in spiritual darkness to accomplish his end is clearly seen when Jesus was crucified. In Luke 23:34, as Jesus hung on the cross he said of those who had crucified Him, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). People living in this world without a genuine relationship with God through Jesus Christ, are drifting through life in a kind of dreamlike state lacking real understanding of why they are here and why they exist. The old expression often used to make fun of those who became Christians and were showing real change in their lives was, “He’s (or she’s) seen the light.” But this is scriptural. We read in John 3:19 and 8:12: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil…Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying, ‘I am the light of the world: he that follows me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life’.”
Notice in the words of Jesus that He refers to those who “loved darkness rather than light.” This, I believe, is the root reason why evolutionists would feel threatened by a creation museum. They want to live their lives totally free and independent of anyone else telling them how to live. Since they love their freedom to live how they choose, including engaging in lifestyles the Bible refers to as sin, they certainly recoil at the thought of God, or any supposed god for that matter, as having absolute moral standards for them to live by. Therefore, it seems not many atheists visit creation museums.
The connection between these attitudes and believing in evolution should be clear. If you believe humans are descended from lower forms of animals it means you are not created by a Creator. Therefore, believing in evolution gives the atheist a way of escape from recognition of a Creator God to whom reverence, respect and obedience should rightfully be given. This goes a long way in explaining why evolutionists are willing to take a blind leap of faith in evolution when real empirical science does not support it.
One reason some atheists might choose to visit a creation museum is to cause as much disruption as possible. I heard of at least one case where security had to be called because of bad behavior in a public place. Why such hatred? As a Christian I believe Ephesians 6:12 explains the main reason: “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” As I wrote above, Satan will use those that he can against the work of God, even though those being used as his instruments are most likely not understanding or aware of the spiritual forces at work.
The truth is, Christians involved in effective ministries should expect such attacks to come. Should this discourage us? Absolutely not! We need to fortify ourselves with the truths of the Word of God. Jesus made it very clear that we have no reason to be intimidated in any way by those who would seek to persecute us. For example, in Luke 10:19 Jesus said: “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Therefore, we should boldly speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), and know beyond the shadow of a doubt that we have the God of all creation backing us up.
As Bible believing Christians we believe in eternal destiny and the reality of heaven and hell. One time at a meeting where I was speaking, a lady sitting near the front asked me this question; “Are there going to be more people in hell than in heaven?” The Holy Spirit quickly brought to my mind the words of Jesus which I quoted to her: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew 7:13,14). The truth is that ever since the tragedy of Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the garden of Eden, humans have continued to rebel against their Creator and will reap what they sow. It didn’t take long for the first murder to take place when Cain killed his brother Abel (Genesis 4).
So from a biblical perspective those who choose the belief of atheism for whatever reasons are headed for an eternal destiny in hell. One cannot play games with God and expect to come out of it without suffering serious consequences. For the sake of discussion only, I could say to an atheist, “If I’m wrong about God I will have lost nothing when I die, but if you as an atheist are wrong about God you will lose everything when you die.” However, having said this, for an honest person who is willing to sincerely and objectively compare the evidence for both sides—creation and evolution, there is no doubt as to where the evidence will lead that person. So we welcome professed atheists to our creation museum if they are willing to discuss the issues with an open mind. What could be fairer than to engage in a comparison of the two sides and let the evidence lead one to the truth? The real truth is found in the words of the One who said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Something we see in our daily lives and don’t give much thought to is trees. These staples of our world have very interesting ways of pointing back to our Creator. Let’s examine how just two species of trees give evidence of design.
Giant Flood, Giant Rocks, Giant Wonder On a recent trip to Northern Ireland, my family had the opportunity to visit one of her greatest natural wonders: Giant’s
We love helping people put the truths of the authority and reliability of God‘s Word into their hearts. We also enjoy getting resources for these truths into their hands. And with the holiday season coming up, the bookstore can be a blessing both to the ministry and to your family and friends!
Everyone has a worldview, and every worldview has questions that it must answer. The truth will naturally produce the best and most sensible answers, and the Bible does just that.
