April 1: Happy (?) Atheists' Day — Plus....

by Dan Phillips

To the choirmaster. Of David.
The fool says in his heart, "There is no God."
They are corrupt,
they do abominable deeds,
there is none who does good
(Psalm 14:1)

It takes a particular kind of belligerent fool to look at creation and refuse to acknowledge his Creator. Confronted with an avalanche of evidence from without and within himself, he suppresses it all (Romans 1:18ff.). In his heart, he knows there is a God; so he shouts the louder, and bellows the more emphatically his assurance of unfaith — and is made a moron (ἐμωράνθησαν, emōranthēsan; Romans 1:22).

But he shouldn't have the day all to himself, should he?

What of the man who may or may not be "religious," but has simply settled down into his "comfort zone"? He hears warnings and rebukes, he knows that he doesn't actually exactly know 99.9% of the Bible, so he doesn't actually exactly know what's in it... but he just doesn't care? One day his span of grace will run out, disaster will overtake him utterly and without remedy (Proverbs 1:24-32), for "the complacency of fools destroys them" (v. 32). What of him?

Or what of the man so busy talking that he never listens, and never hears — not even the word of God (Proverbs 10:8)?

Or what of the man with the giant chip on his shoulder, to whom no slight is slight (Proverbs 12:16)?

Or what of the woman who uses her God-given verbal abilities to tear down her husband (Proverbs 14:1), rather than encourage and help him (12:4)?

Or what of that young man who (at thirteen, fifteen, eighteen, twenty) feels that he has amassed such deep and seasoned sagacity that the wisdom of the Fifth Commandment has little to say to him (Proverbs 15:5, 20)?

Or what of the man so in love with his straying from God that nothing can part him from it (Proverbs 17:12; 27:22), no matter how repugnant his defection truly is (26:11)?

Or what of the man so sure of himself that he doesn't even have to hear another's full sentence before answering him (Proverbs 18:13)?

Or what of the man who goes his own way and follows his own passions, and then blames God for the disaster that follows (Proverbs 19:3)?

Or what of the man to whom no voice is more persuasive, commanding, nor compelling than that of his own heart (Proverbs 28:26)?

Or what of the man whose greatest social guiding light is the imperative to "let it all hang out," fully venting every passion and temper and emotional storm that blows (Proverbs 29:11)?

What of the man who takes to the pulpit, but sees fit to use to communicate anything and everything but the Word of God, because he imagines that isn't his "calling" (Jeremiah 8:7-9; 23:29-32)?

Or what of the man who never gives thought nor effort to being ready for the coming of Christ at any moment (Matthew 25:1-13)?

Or what of the man whose car bears the bumper sticker "He who dies with the most toys wins" — and he believes it (Luke 12:16-20)?

Or what of the man who can look at the Cross of Christ, and still think that anyone can contribute anything to his salvation — except the sin from which Christ came to save him (Galatians 3:1)?

Or what of the man who can't begin to point to any specific Biblical wisdom nor direction for his daily life (Ephesians 5:17)?

Or what of the man who imagines that fruitless faith can be saving faith (James 2:20)?

Or what of the man or woman who hears the words of Christ, but does nothing about them (Matthew 7:24-27)?

Or what of the man or woman, religious or irreligious, who does not see radical submission to the person and Word of God as foundational to all of thought and life (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10)?

Ah, April 1st. Many are your celebrities!

God help them.

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