I'm sure he would be disgusted to hear that I (or anyone else) feel sorry for him. But I do. Christopher Hitchens - famous atheist - author of "God Is Not Great" - and cancer victim - is dead.
And I am sorry for him.
His life was short. Only 62 years.
Worst of all, he never realized the truth - that God IS Great!
He missed out on the glory behind the wonder of this world.
And he missed out on God's promise of eternal life in the next world.
And what exactly is the point of trying to dissuade people from believing in God? What have you accomplished when you are done? How have you benefited? How have you helped?
And what if you are wrong?
Poor Christopher Hitchens!
And I am sorry for him.
His life was short. Only 62 years.
Worst of all, he never realized the truth - that God IS Great!
He missed out on the glory behind the wonder of this world.
And he missed out on God's promise of eternal life in the next world.
And what exactly is the point of trying to dissuade people from believing in God? What have you accomplished when you are done? How have you benefited? How have you helped?
And what if you are wrong?
Poor Christopher Hitchens!
(Psalms 14:1) The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
As an atheists I'd like to address the question "what if you are wrong?" Would it be better to pretend that I believe in a God when I don't? I was raised a Christian and I prayed every night from the time I was a very small child for "faith" in God. I knew I didn't really believe in Him though I desperately wanted to. That faith never appeared. If there somehow really is a God out there, wouldn't it be better to be honest than it would to just hedge your bets and say you believe just to get to heaven?
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate Barb's comment.
ReplyDeleteI understand that some people don't believe in God. I agree with Barb that if you don't believe - you might as well be honest and say, "I don't believe." It is impossible to force people to believe and unsafe to try. Besides, God certainly knows the truth, so you can't really "hedge your bets" anyway. (In fact, the gospel is not about believing there IS a God - it is about trusting His work in Christ to make you right with Him.)
But my "what if you are wrong" question has to do with the matter of the evangelistic zeal of an atheist. It puzzles me as to why a Christopher Hitchens would be evangelistic for atheism.
If he convinced people that there is no God - but ultimately there is a God - then Hitchens has affected a person for their lifetime (and possibly for ill) and, more importantly has done those people eternal harm.
If (on the other hand) I am able to convince people that there is a God - but ultimately there is not a God - then I have affected their lives to some extent for a few years (hopefully for good), but my error would not effect them for eternity.
I believe that there is a God - a benevolent, loving God who has revealed Himself in many ways. The world is screwed up, but it was selfish rebellion against God that screwed it up. And God has lovingly provided everything to straighten out the whole mess in the end - for everyone who will believe.