Speaker: Dr. Harold J. Sala | Series: Guidelines For Living | The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.  Psalm 53:1

A friend purchased a book which, based on German liberalism of the past century, attacks the integrity of the Bible.  “Would you be interested in reading it?” he asked, adding, “It shows both sides of the issue.”  “If I read it,” I explained, “I would do so only to refute the logic because there are not two sides when it comes to truth.”  Truth is truth, no matter how it is assailed, and its opposite will always be false.  When the premise is wrong, the conclusion has to be wrong as well.

That’s another reason I am not an atheist.  No, I cannot explain everything, nor do I find completely satisfying answers to the complex issues of life through faith; but the reality of God’s existence and the vast evidence for His interaction with humankind from the days of our first parents, Adam and Eve, to the present form a background of logic which makes far more sense to believe than to disbelieve.  I am not an atheist because atheism shows me nothing which satisfies.  It has given to our world no art galleries filled with paintings inspired by atheism, no great universities, no hospitals, no hospices where the dying can find comfort and compassion, no orphanages, no retirement facilities for the elderly.

Atheism hasn’t given the world the equivalent of Moses, the lawgiver who carried the Ten Commandments down from Mt. Sinai, moral directives which have become the basis of civilized jurisprudence, a David who left behind Psalm 23, or a Paul who penned 1 Corinthians 13.  Nor has it given to us a Jesus Christ who touched the needs of suffering humanity and taught us how to live and die.

Atheism doesn’t generate compassion, kindness, responsibility for humankind, care for babies and the unborn, laws which make it safe for a child to play in the streets and hope for tomorrow.  A belief in God has given the world the Bible and the Koran, yet atheism has given us nothing of moral excellence which speaks to the dying, gives direction for living, and assurance that you will live forever.

I charge that atheism is long on negative rhetoric but short on positive action which has made a difference in our world.

The Great Ideas Syntopicon is a study guide for the Great Books series, a remarkable collection of wisdom in the Western world from the time of Thales to the present time.  In this book, psychologist and educator Mortimer Adler says, “With the exception of certain mathematicians and physicists, all authors of the Great Books are represented in the chapter on God.”  D. James Kennedy explains, “The reason is obvious.  More consequences for thought and action follow the affirmation or denial of God than the answering of any other basic question.”

No, I cannot prove God’s existence, nor can you disprove it, but from the beginning of written history to the present time, the impact of ordinary men and women, driven by the desire to serve this great and awesome God, have left behind a legacy of cathedrals, churches, hospitals, orphanages and compassion unrivaled by atheists.

Centuries ago David wrote, “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God'” (Psalm 53:1). Those words can be translated literally, “The fool says in his heart, there is no God for me!” a choice which some still make.

There are no “two sides” to some issues, and that is why I choose not to be an atheist.  What’s your choice?

Resource reading: Psalm 19:1-14