Joseph’s Alabaster Box

I learned the futility of debating spiritual matters long ago. Even men who are smart and wise usually fail in the attempt. I’ve never succeeded in persuading anyone to change their course in life when they were satisfied

with their lot. Most major religions have ways of perpetuating their beliefs by force or intimidation.

Which brings me to say emphatically that I do not have a religion. Religion killed my Saviour. I am bound to no dogmas, rituals, ceremonies, or priests. I am bound only to Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and His word.

Let me ask: Do you know everything there is to know? That may appear a silly question, and everybody I know would hasten to say they do not know everything. I then would ask, how can you know there is no God? Is it not

possible that He exists in some knowledge that you do not possess? Have you ever sought Him in the place where He reveals Himself? You say you have searched His creation without success.It doesn’t matter that you don’t

believe the Bible. But let me challenge you to read the Gospel of John while thinking, “I don’t believe you exist, god, but if you do, show yourself to me now.” Be honest.

Let me point out that your head (and mine) is composed of pure matter. Our head is somewhat more complex (and softer) than a stone, containing elements like hydrogen and oxygen, but, after all, those things are just matter,

also. What is the difference in our heads and stones, if not the soul (life)? Even the sparrow sitting on the bird feeder outside my window this morning can think. My dog can think. She decides whether she wants to come

to breakfast. My yelling at her has little effect. The trees across the street don’t think, but they do respond to stimuli. How is the tree different from the columns on my front porch? Can you tell me what is the difference in that squirrel racing up that tree thinking about a nut he left in the crotch of a limb, and the cement squirrel sitting on my front porch?

If you can explain all that without saying “soul,” or “life,” or “God,” I will consider you a genius. You may, sure enough, know everything.

When one of your high priest, Dr. Dawkins, was asked where life came from, he replied with divine insight, “It must have come from outer space.” In response to which I fell into a knee-slapping fit of irreverent hilarity. It requires a lot of education to be that dumb.

Have a good day. God made it.

DR.ISSAAC ASIMOV

“I am an atheist, out and out. It took me a long time to say it. I’ve been an atheist for years and years, but somehow I felt it was intellectually unrespectable to say one was an atheist, because it assumed knowledge that one didn’t have. Somehow it was better to say one was a humanist or an agnostic. I finally decided that I’m a creature of emotion as well as of reason.
Emotionally, I am an atheist. I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time.”1

Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page) has this to say about Dr. Asimov who wrote the words above: “Isaac Asimov January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was a Russian-born American author and professor of biochemistry, a highly successful writer, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books.”

Enter: God Almighty, also known as Jehovah, never born, eternally existent, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, Writer of sixty-six books. Also known as Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit.

According to Dr. Asimov’s testimony given above, he did not believe God exists. God knows Dr. Asimov existed. God wrote in Psalm 14:1, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” (Psalm 14:1)

God reiterated His remark when He wrote through David the prophet, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.” (Psalm 53:1)

Dr. Asimov wrote over 400 thick, hard back books. He evidently wrote on every scientific subject he could think of. He wrote only eight hours a day, so he surely didn’t need to do much proofreading and rewriting. He wrote a commentary of the Old and New Testaments. He must have overlooked the two verses given above, but I can’t imagine Dr. Asimov overlooking or forgetting anything. He was indeed a genius of the first order.

Dr. Asimov was a signer of the Secular Humanist Declaration, “drafted by Dr. Paul Kurtz, a professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo, and published in the first issue of Free Inquiry, edited by Dr. Kurtz, in October 1980.”2

My copy of “Humanist Manifestos I and II” list Dr. Asimov as a signer of the second Manifesto. This document states on page 16 the following: “We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural, it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity.”3

Dr. Asimov believes there is no God, and God is saying, “I’m standing right here all around you,” so we have a conflict. Perhaps the mystery will clear up if we recognize there is a difference in what the brain does, and what the heart does. The head accumulates knowledge, and regulates the functions of the body. The heart pumps millions of gallons of blood – yes, but the heart is also the seat of the emotions. It is the soul of man. The head and the heart must get together in agreement if a human is to be normal – and saved.

Dr. Asimov readily admits it is his heart that has the trouble believing God. (“Emotionally, I am an atheist.”). That’s exactly what God said thousands of years ago, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” The fool did not say in his “head” there is no God because his head wouldn’t let him.

An atheist scientist looks at a cell, and knows much about it. But oddly, life can leave that cell, and the scientist can’t tell any difference in the cell until the matter in the cell begins to deteriorate. The scientist cannot identify what it was that left the cell. In other words, the scientist does not know what life is. Why doesn’t the scientist, an absolutely brilliant man, realize that it is God Who took the life out of that cell, and God can put it back in. He did that to whole bodies made up of cells several times right here on Earth while men were watching.

It is a mystery how a cell lives. It is a greater mystery how 1014 of them can work together to make a body of some sort. How is it that some cells develop into a big toe, while others form the invisible lens of the eye? A master scientist must have designed such an organism. Why do some plants grow from the ground up, while others grow only at the top? A scientist, of all people, should know that these things are not the result of accidental movement of atoms.

Scientists should be the strongest believers on Earth. A man who recognizes the complexities in an eye, or a kidney, or a sparrow sitting on tree limb should know that all things are lifeless atoms. They can only live because there is a “Life Giver,” and His name is Jehovah. A scientist would not think of building something without doing much intricate designing, yet he cannot believe that the finest machinery in the world is designed. How can dead matter make itself alive, or better? How can you believe the spinning of atoms can result in complicated living things? That is so nonsensical that even a scientist ought to recognize the foolishness of holding a belief that there is not One who can make things live.

“I don’t have the evidence to prove that God doesn’t exist, but I so strongly suspect he doesn’t that I don’t want to waste my time.” Of course, he didn’t have evidence! It’s the evidence that God doesn’t exist. His brain had more sense than his stupid heart. His brain could see the glory of God in the night sky. His head could see God’s handiwork all around him. The very idea of a man like Dr. Asimov going to Hell with his unscientific heart, rather than listening to his scientific brain!

Dr. Asimov made many decisions in his life, I’m sure. He was married. He lived in a fine apartment. No doubt he had stocks and bonds. All humans make decisions almost every day. Dr. Asimov had a scientist’s brain. He would not make decisions without considering all the available evidence. Often his heart had to agree with his head as when he married, but it was his head that ruled. But when Dr. Asimov came to make the most important decision in his life, he failed to believe his head. The best evidence was discarded for the silly advice of his heart.

God’s knowledge is unlimited. That’s what omniscience means. He knows every thing there is to know. He knows the most intimate thought of every person. There are no secrets to God. He is perfectly aware of all the psychological razmataz about every human. Wasn’t He wise to say, “The fool hath said in his heart . . .” Why is the heart of man so wicked? So corrupt? It depends on whether the heart listens to the brain, or goes off on a tangent by itself, making decisions that are eternal, without good reason.

Motives are pretty hard to discern. Why people do things is often a secret locked up in their heart. Why did Dr. Asimov say, “. . . I so strongly suspect he doesn’t (exist ed.) that I don’t want to waste my time.” What is the motive for ignoring the brain? Some one said it is because of sexual, or moral reasons. Reproductive behavior is very strong motivation, but morals are a product of the heart.

Little wonder God laughs (Job 2:4).

It matters little to atheists what I believe. It matters little to them what God says, so I’m in good company. I both hate atheists and love them. My head hates them because it knows what terrible influences they have on the world. My heart loves them because they are people for whom my LORD gave His life. He loves them, and so I d, too. I can only say that I am glad my head and heart came together is December 1937, and I committed my soul into the care of the God of grace. It has been a good life ever since.

_____
1. Henry M. Morris, The Long War Against God: The History and Impact of the Creation/Evolution Conflict (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1989), pg. 114. And many other sources.
2. Ibid., pg 49.
3. Paul Kurtz, ed., “Humanist Manifestos I and II” (Buffalo: Prometheus Books, 1973),
pg. 16.

To say I hate artiest may not br entirely accurate because I am not sure I have the ability to hate. I’m not even sure I would recognize hate if I met it on the street. Hate, it seems to me would be a very difficult emotion to handle. The hater would have to be conscious of his hatred at all times. The person a hater hates would have to be constantly in the mind of the hater. Hate, I believe, would require more discipline than most humans could maintain. If you hated somebody, you would have to do everything in your power to make that person miserable, and suffer loses. These things are the opposite of what love would do.

Hating is not just not liking somebody or something. Mr. Webster seems to have come to a dead end when he came to hatred. Mr. Webster could only write that hate is dislike, to despise, etc. World Book says “hate” is to dislike strongly. I see “hatred” as wishing someone or something were dead or nonexistent.God hates perfectly. Just as He loves perfectly, He hates perfectly. The Bible tells us seven times that God hates. He hates people the same as things or ideas. God says in Malachi he hated Esau, and reiterates that statement in Romans 9:13. God could not love if He could not hate, and vice versa. God hates sin, rebellion, a proud look, and unbelief. Anything that is harmful to His creation is hated by God. God is capable of hatred because He is omnipotent and sovereign. The very fact that Hell exists is evidence that God hates. Hell is not a place of discipline, for no one ever comes out. Hell is eternal torture, prepared for the devil and his angels.

If I am capable of hatred, I admit that I hate atheists. Not just their unbelief, but because of their active attempts to cause others to reject God. I think I hate atheists because I wish they had never been born. However, wishing they had never been born is good for atheists, because it would be better for one that he were never born than to live and die in unbelief, and spend eternity in Hell.

But I understand that the atheist would have nothing but contempt for my emotions. The atheist cares not even for what God feels. Now that we have a president with strange, alien ideas, we can expect people with strange, alien ideas to uncover themselves. Along with those who are already uncovered, they will be more aggressive in their push to destroy America, and replace her with a mass of violent, lust-crazed individuals who see other people as sources of their own personal pleasure.

Acts and Facts is a monthly publication produced by the Institute of Creation Research (www.icr.org/resources). In the September 2008 issue, there is an article by Brian Thomas, M.S. The article, titled “Empiricism: A Glaring Flaw of New Atheism”, points out how men like Dr. Richard Dawkins, Dr. Christopher Hitchens, Dr. Sam Harris were not content to be atheists, but were evangelistic in their hatred of faith. “Their best-selling books are characterized by vitriolic disdain for those who believe in God.” (pg. 15, 1st paragraph.)

In delving into the lives of these men, I can find nothing that they have contributed to the benefit of human kind. They spent their lives as evangelists for humanism, evolution and atheism. They merely pandered to the lusts of mortals for more reason to reject the God who created them. They used their God-given talents to attack Him.

If I were an atheist, I would hope I would have the common sense to realize the “opiate of the people” is what makes the world tick. It is faith that brought man out of the caves, and forces him to go to work on Monday morning. It is faith that causes men and women to marry, and produce children who put some measure of happiness into their old age. What Dawson, Hitchens, Harris, and their sort advocate would soon annihilate man; and leave the planet for the creatures who worship God every minute of the day.

According to the testimony of the Lord, God loves the world. All the people on Earth are objects of His love, including atheists. He offers benefits of great value to all men. Atheists are among these objects of God’s love. God will not hate them until they die, or until they cross the eternal deadline of His offering of grace. Of course, atheism falls into the list of things God hates. The atheist would say, “If God hates atheism, he hates me, for atheism is me.” But God does not see it that way. He extends grace to the atheist just like all other dark-minded humans.

Neither do I hate atheists. I don’t like them. I hate what they do. “Love” and “like” are two different things, just as truly as the fact that “lust” and “love” are two different things. I think it was an atheist who said, “If I believed in Hell, I would crawl through broken glass to warn people not to go there.” That atheist didn’t understand that he wouldn’t accomplish anything by doing that, except convince people that he was a nut. Truth is, I don’t like any sinner (except children). I don’t like them because they hate my Lord. So I would do the same thing for an atheist as for anyone else who needs to be saved. I’d do my best to introduce them tp Jesus Christ.

There’s no greater love for a fellow human, than to express a love for his soul.

And so, if I could persuade an atheist that God loves him, I would, even if I had to make a great sacrifice. Yes, Mr. Atheist, I love you with a heart created in me by the Lover of all men’s souls. He died for all people everywhere.

To the atheists I address these informative words printed on a red flag, for God has told us certain important things that all of us, atheists included, would be well served to consider seriously. Finance is a matter that old age does not accommodate well. Industry, likewise, is only a temporary influence in our life. Sports, as important as they seem right now, will soon fade in importance. Sexual behavior disappears long before the desire for it goes. Because of the law of thermodynamics, we, like everything around us, will be old and crumbling in only a few years. When we are reduced to a living cinder, our thoughts and behavior will be regulated by such things as medicines, drugs, dental adhesives, glasses on the nose, crutches, canes, Preparation H; remedies for whatever breaks down first.

Unfortunately, our brain may lead the way into the caverns of old age. Confusion, loss of memory, dizziness become the norm. The ability to think and reason seem like normal, natural functions, and they are, but they are infinitely more than that. The ability to think can lead us to know some truths of eternal value. We tend to take it for granted that we have a functional brain. Just an organ that evolved, some force themselves to believe. However, it is the brain that enables us to consider the creation around us, and realize that it is too complex for the forces of nature to form by natural processes.

The fact is that the brain of the atheist does virtually the same thing. The brain evidently malfunctions when it denies the existence of God. With so much information coming in continually, and much more available, a brain has to be dysfunctional to miss all the obvious evidence of God’s existence. A man who uses himself as his defense lawyer has a fool for a client, somebody said. A man who declares that there is no God has a fool making his decisions.

There is probably no greater boaster than an atheist. His declarations that there is no God mean that he has not only been behind every planet to search out God, but he has journeyed to the nucleus of the atom on the same quest. God may be hiding anywhere. If you were a bacterium in the bowel of a man, you’d never see the man. The Russian astronaut who declared that he had been in space and hadn’t seen God was so simple minded we wonder how such a man had the intelligence or thinking power to become an astronaut. I suspect the reasoning of all atheists is on the same level. I learned early in college that intelligence does not mean the intelligent one has good sense.

Since all humans are born with an innate knowledge there is a God, the brain of the atheist must develop some serious problem. Perhaps a cyst or cancer eats away the spot in the brain where such knowledge is stored. Maybe an aneurysm has swollen, and cut off the blood flow of another artery that leads to the dead spot in the brain. Thirteen billion brain cells, and not one with enough potency to recognize the One who created them all. Often, it is lust for money, or lust for sex, or Lord only knows what else may destroy that particular spot in the brain where that primeval intelligence was stored.

I marvel at the great faith and discipline of the atheist. I would that I had such. When one has faith in non-existent “evidence,” and oft-disproved “facts,” the discipline needed to cling to such a frayed rope is admirable. This is quite amusing to God, however, for He laughs at such tomfoolery.
What I think matters not. What the atheist thinks matters not. It is God and His thoughts and His word that matter. We are at liberty to believe what ever we wish. We are at liberty to do whatever we wish within the limits of what we can afford, or can get away with. The sovereign God gave this right to atheists as well as normal people. A person’s Constitutional rights, and his spiritual rights must be recognized if one is to conduct his life successfully.

In fact, God is a God of blood shed and violence, just like the Old Testament portrays Him, and many people accuse Him. He can hate the same as He can love, and both His hate and His love are perfect. He loves the world with a perfect love. He clothed Himself in human flesh, and died under the penalty for humans’ sin. Many sinners have acknowledged that historical fact, and the righteous Judge has declared them righteous. A sinner can only experience God’s love during his lifetime. If he dies in his unbelief, then God will hate him. Hate him so badly that He will consign him to a place of ultimate torture for eternity. God sends the sinner to Hell because He will not allow the sinner to make Heaven a Hell as he has made Earth, He loves His Believers too much for that. And there’s no other place to put the sinner except in the place He prepared for the devil and his angels.

Humanity became lost when Adam sinned. Adam sinned by doubt and rebellion. Man can be reclaimed because God paid Justice the full prince for his soul. He paid that price in the currency of His own unpolluted blood (His life). When the lost sinner acknowledges that God did indeed pay for his crimes, and accepts the Calvary payment for his sin, he is saved. Just as man became lost by doubt and rebellion, he must be saved by belief (faith) and submission. Nothing man can do can add to what Christ did for him. Man cannot help God save him. It is by faith alone.

Of course, no self-respecting atheist will believe this. He considers himself a hairless monkey who is too sophisticated to believe such a tale. The atheist with his flawed brain, and his sex lust (or whatever lust) will suddenly find that the long-suffering God is a monster of hatred and violence Who will listen to no pleas, no excuses. The atheist can no longer rationalize his “faith.” He can no longer mock his Creator’s work of redemption. He must suddenly face the cold, heart-chilling reality that he has blown it – forever.