The Atheist's Church

"And it came to pass on the second Sabbath after the first, that he went through the corn fields; and his disciples plucked the ears of corn, and did eat, rubbing them in their hands. And certain of the Pharisees said unto them, Why do you that which is not lawful to do on the Sabbath days? And Jesus answering them said, Have you not read so much as this, what David did, when himself was hungry and they which were with him; How he went into the house of God, and did take and eat the showbread, and gave also to them that were with him; which it is not lawful to eat but for the priests alone? And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath” (Luke 6:1-5)

"Legalism" is a cold prison for condemned criminals. It is the foundation for those who are religious and trust in their religious works to save them. That error comes from a lack of knowledge. The Pharisees were the epitome of religious legalists. They believed that eternal life came as a result of their works commending them to God, and they certainly worked at it. They had massive lists of do's and don'ts, and if you didn’t do the do's and don'ts, as far as they were concerned, you were damned.

One of their many rules was that you didn't do any work on the Sabbath. On what is believed to be the first Sabbath after the Day of Pentecost, the disciples plucked the ears of corn as they walked through the corn fields, and "rubbed" them in their hands. They, as far as the Pharisees were concerned, their rubbing of the hands left them guilty of doing work on the Sabbath.

The Pharisees had added their own list of things to do, to the Law of God, and those rules overshadowed its function. The purpose of the Law is to act as a mirror, and the function of any mirror is to reflect the truth. No man uses a mirror to wash himself, but that’s what the Pharisees tried to do. By failing to look into the mirror of the Law they failed to see themselves as guilty criminals and therefore fell into the trap of self-righteousness. They proclaimed themselves clean and became "holier-than-thou." Jesus brought back the spirit of the Law, by pointing out how David and his men violated its precepts, but were proclaimed guiltless in the eyes of God.

When you and I look into the mirror of the Law and see ourselves in truth, we can understand that there is no way that our righteousness can please God. We are guilty criminals who have violated its holy precepts a multitude of times. However, through repentance and faith in Jesus we can be made righteous (by the free grace of God), and be guiltless in the eyes of our morally perfect Creator.

Chickenhead...

What Does a Trillion Dollars Look Like?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBxWdD9YKdY

For the Piranha Bowl...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1OLC6UZgJ0

I'm Too Late...

In reference to my recent thoughts about putting my chickens to work, typing out the Complete Works of Shakespeare, to illustrate the principle of random chance, my friend "Sooty" wrote:

Ray, you've got a quality sense of humor! Too late though. Your experiment has already been done. Plymouth University in England put six monkeys in a room with a computer. After that time, there was 5 pages of text. But do you know how many words they managed? Zero. That's right. zero words. (Remembering that the word 'a' and 'I' need to have a space before and after the letter)

"Then there's the continuing cost of the laptops and their replacements." Ray Comfort. You got that right. In Plymouth's experiment, the "lead male got a stone and started bashing... [the computer]". Also "another thing they [the monkey's] were interested in was in defecating and urinating all over the keyboard."

I guess there is no other way to finish off this comment except for this highly thoughtful quote: "It is the plain truth that we are cousins of chimpanzees, somewhat more distant cousins of monkeys..." Professor Richard Dawkins

Good News

Thanks to new spam detection and formatting by Blogger, I was able to get rid of all the spam with the click of a button. Despite this, a quick (and private) apology from Rufus and I will gladly allow him back. Those of you that love the Lord, please keep him in prayer. He's pretty upset. Thanks.

My Sincere Apologies

My apologies for not moderating comments today. "Rufus" has spammed the comments section with the "A" word hundreds of times. He's been doing it regularly. I have scripts to write for our TV program, and will therefore have to leave off moderating for a while. Thanks for your understanding.

Corruption in the Atheist Camp

"It's good to be back for the Sunday Atheist services, and thanks Ray for the kind, but misguided, words. Conversely to Ray's purported answer to what he sees as corruption, yes the biblical corruption in which we are all deemed corrupt sinners from birth, my outlook on life is vastly different. Ray used a form of the term corrupt five times in his sermon. He sees corruption everywhere. I must wonder of he looks under his bed for corruption before retiring at night." Froggie

It seems that my friend Froggie lives in a pond of his own, and needs to hop into the real world and look around. There’s corruption everywhere, and you need not look under your bed to find it.

For example, Richard Dawkins is suing Josh Timonen for embezzling money from his charity. For those who don’t know, Josh was entrusted with the U.S. atheist outreach to unbelievers.

A similar thing happened years ago with American Atheists, Inc., when one of their staff stole $54,000. The leader of American Atheists was also extremely corrupt. According to her own son, "she stole huge amounts of money. She misused the trust of people. She cheated children out of their parents' inheritance. She cheated on her taxes and even stole from her own organizations." The accused member then went on to murder the American Atheist leader, and members of her family. He then cut up their bodies into more than a dozen pieces. Tragic and horrific though this is, according to atheist philosophy, he did nothing morally wrong--as there are no moral absolutes. As an evolved ape, he simply made some wrong choices and got caught.

Josh Timonen was in charge of the sale of T-shirts, hats, mugs, trinkets, and other anti-God-money-making junk. He was so respected by the professor that he dedicated his latest book to him. Dawkins said of him, "Josh's creative talent runs deep, but the image of the iceberg captures neither the versatile breadth of his contributions to our joint endeavor, nor the warm good humor with which he makes them."

He was very creative indeed, and his versatility was an iceberg than ran deeper than was imagined. It was another betrayal, but this keeper of the bag took more than 30 pieces of silver. According to Courthousenews.com "he ran the online store for 3 years, during which he claimed the store cleared only $30,000 and 'was just squeaking by'." But according to Mr. Dawkins, Josh actually pocketed $375,000. He claims Timonen made off with 92 percent of the money generated at the store in 3 years.

Professor Dawkins has lodged a legal suit against Timonen and his girlfriend. In the complaint for the suit, he humbly described himself as "the world's best known and most respected atheist."

According to "The Happy Atheist," Josh Timonen said in his own defense:

"It's a sad, sad day today. All I'll say at this point is that the truth will prevail. It won’t begin to fix the damage that's been done, but the truth will prevail. With the internet, you can so easily spread outrageous lies, destroy someone’s reputation, self-worth and dignity, and not even have any evidence to back up your malicious attacks. And it amazes me that so many people are so quick to spew venom about people and a situation they know nothing about. Even after my name is cleared, the words and attacks will remain…A quick aside about the closing of the RichardDawkins.net forum: I can understand that this decision was devastating to many of the forum users, and for that I am sorry…This year has certainly been the darkest time of my life, the ultimate betrayal, and then the hordes of mostly-anonymous internet users decide to pile it on. It’s making it very hard for me to see the light at the end of this tunnel, where I might regain some kind of hope for humanity, and find motivation again to dedicate my life to improving it in some small way."

However, if you want a glimpse of real corruption, take the time to look in the mirror. We are all corrupt, but the majority of us refuse to do an objective self-examination. We are like a man who has breath and body odor that could kill a house plant, but he's the only one who isn't aware of his true condition. He needs an objective assessment. Here is humanity’s objective (outside source) assessment:

"As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one. No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends]; no one seeks out God. All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one! Their throat is a yawning grave; they use their tongues to deceive (to mislead and to deal treacherously). The venom of asps is beneath their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood. Destruction [as it dashes them to pieces] and misery mark their ways. And they have no experience of the way of peace [they know nothing about peace, for a peaceful way they do not even recognize]. There is no [reverential] fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:10-18).

Then the Scriptures point to the moral Law. That’s what shows us our true condition. If you refuse to take notice of the Ten Commandments, you will carry on in your corruption and reap the eternal consequences. But if you obey the gospel (repent and trust alone in Jesus for your eternal salvation), there is glorious "hope for humanity."

Pic. Josh and Richard in happier days.

Notes:
Bryce, Robert (1999-06-04). "Preying on Atheists". Austin Chronicle. http://www.austinchronicle.com/issues/vol18/issue40/pols.athiests.html. Retrieved 2007-12-01.
Murray, William J. "Madalyn Murray O'Hair Murder: Statement of William J. Murray". Religious Freedom Coalition. http://www.rfcnet.org/news/default.asp?action=detail&article=144. Retrieved 2007-12-01
http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/10/22/31283.htm
http://www.happyatheistforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=6045

Welcome to The Atheist Church

"And they said to him, Why do the disciples of John fast often, and make prayers, and likewise the disciples of the Pharisees; but yours eat and drink? And he said to them, Can you make the children of the bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, and then shall they fast in those days. And he spoke also a parable to them; No man puts a piece of a new garment upon an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old. And no man puts new wine into old bottles; else the new wine will burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall perish. But new wine must be put into new bottles; and both are preserved. No man also having drunk old wine straightway desires new: for he says, The old is better" (Luke 5:33-39).

A small town council gathered to discuss the problem of reoccurring accidents on a certain portion of nearby road. Cars were speeding around a bend, and going over a cliff. After some discussion, the council came up with what they believed was a solution to their problem. They decided to build a hospital at the bottom of the cliff.

Such is the way of man. He attacks the symptom rather than the cause, and this is never so evident as with the seesaw of political elections. Every four years the country becomes disgruntled by unfulfilled political promises, so it votes for change, and change never comes.

Even the great political force of the "religious right" gets caught up in hospital building, thinking that the answer to the accident problem is legislative. However, trying to fix a corrupt system is nothing more than putting a new patch on an old wineskin. In time it will burst.

The answer is to look to the blueprint of Christianity--the Bible, particularly the Book of Acts. It shows us the clear agenda of the early Church. It wasn’t to bring in a legislative theocracy to a corrupt society. Instead, it was to change the corrupt heart of the individual, through the power of the gospel. When a sinful man or woman is genuinely converted, they live for righteousness. They know the reality of "He leads me in paths of righteousness."

We live in a thoroughly corrupt world, evidenced by corruption within religious society, within the political world, within the business community, within every area of human endeavor. The only way to straighten the road and stop the accidents, is to preach the gospel and pray (and fast) that a sinful world listens and obeys its command to repent and trust in the Savior.

Pic. Porter with Wineskin by Niko Pirosmani.

Another Activity for the Purposeless Atheist...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6FH0C74Dys

Get a Life...

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOORING. Me"

Seeing the above comment from an atheist, reminded me of when I preached open air in New Zealand for many years. One of the things my regular hecklers enjoyed doing was to climb to the steeple of the large church building in front of me, and shout out a long, drawn-out "Boring" in unison.

A bar of solid gold is boring to a toddler. It's too heavy to play with. He hasn’t the brain-power to understand its value. To him, sucking his thumb is far more interesting.

The leader of the group of hecklers, a guy named Jeff, recently wrote to me and earnestly asked about Christianity. I guess he's grown out of thumb-sucking, and is interested in everlasting life.

Pic. New Zealand newspaper article, 1989. Heckler bottom right.

Fashion Statement

Listening to what atheists believe about science makes me smile. They remind me of teenagers and "fashion."

Teenagers embrace what they think is cool, not realizing that every generation was just like them, in that they also thought that they were up-to-date, state-of-the-art, looking cool. Yet they were more than likely the product of some marketer with a brain, who knew that people are just like sheep, especially easily fleeced teenagers.

They must laugh all the way to the bank when a generation thinks that worn out jeans with holes in the knees, looks cool. But that’s nothing new. Think of the embarrassingly stupid clothes of the 1960’s, or the ridiculous hairstyles (moustaches) and fat ties of the 70's, or the dumb disco-look of the 80’s, and the ugly mullets of the 90's. They all look stupid in retrospect, and yet those who were caught up in the look, thought they looked cool.

So it is with the atheist, as he coolly quotes what he believes is modern science. He thinks he has arrived at truth, and states his beliefs as such. He thinks that he is part of the state-of-the-art “we have finally arrived” generation. Yet, what he believes about mutations, genes, evolution, origins, planets, the universe, gravity, etc., will be laughed at with scorn in a hundred years time. We are tomorrow's flat-earther's.

In contrast, the Bible has always been laughed at and mocked, by those who don’t know God. This is simply because of its moral implications. It's unchanging words stand like a rock, as a condemnation on all sin, and hold humanity ultimately accountable to Almighty God. Very unnerving for the ungodly.

The Four Corners of the Earth

"deb said...[Ray said] 'give me the verse where the Bible says the earth is a flat circular disc," etc., and I will address each one.' I don't think that there is a specific verse that states the earth is flat. But I decided to do an internet search to discover what verses might be used to claim that the earth is not a sphere. 1. And he shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH. Isaiah 11:12 (KJV). And 2., after these things I saw four angels standing on FOUR CORNERS OF THE EARTH, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Revelation 7:1"(KJV)

"The four corners of the earth" is simply a reference to the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and west. One shoe company advertisement said “We are searching the four corners of the earth for the best deals!”

One travel agent said, "From the Grand Canyon to the Matterhorn, the world’s most iconic vistas are part of the travel canon for good reason...They get us thinking about the four corners of the earth as well as humankind’s minor place in the scheme of things.” And modern map-makers create square paper maps that show the earth as having four corners.

Does this mean that the shoe company, travel site and map makers believe that the earth is square? Of course not. If you said that they did, it would make me suspicious that you (for some strange reason) wanted to make each of them look foolish.

And that’s the motive when it comes to those who twist Bible verses. They want to discredit God's Word because they don't want to be held morally responsible for their actions.

The Cambridge Idioms Dictionary explains the popular idiom "go to the ends of the earth" as "to do everything possible in order to achieve something." Then they give an example: "Some journalists would go to the ends of the earth to get a story."

And some atheists will go to the ends of the earth to try and justify their own sinful actions. Don't believe their lies. Instead, direct your faith towards the Bible. The stakes are too high for you to mess up this issue.

Can't...or Won't See

"Captain Howdy said...Ray explains to us that--For those who think that this is a mistake in the Bible, “Levi” is another name for "Matthew." People in those days went by different names, as they do today--Bob and Robert, John and Jim, Chuck and Charles, etc. Ray, Ray, Ray...What am I gonna do with you?? "John" and "Jim" are NOT the same name, genius. But I just bet you're absolutely right about everything else you tell us, like evolution is a lie, falling is a violation of the law of gravity, Jesus is coming back..."

Captain...you are right. My apologies. It's Jack and John. BTW. Regarding my calling gravity a "law." Some time ago I quoted Steven Hawking saying that gravity was a law. I guess you didn't see it. You may deny that gravity is a law that can be broken. But if you violate its precepts and jump from 10,000 feet without a parachute you will think you are right, until you hit the ground. It's the same with the Law of God. I'm sure you will stubbornly hold onto your belief that you haven't violated it until the moment you die, but then it will be too late.

Regarding the Second Coming of Jesus. Keep one eye on Israel and its surrounding nations. What is going on there is an elephant sitting on your nose, but I guess you can't see that either.

Finally, evolution isn't a science. It's a belief on a par with fairytales of frogs turning into princes. It just takes longer. It is a theory for the believing simple masses--for those who have a ton more blind faith than any Christian.

The Atheists Church

"And after these things he went forth, and saw a publican, named Levi, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he said to him, Follow me. And he left all, rose up, and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his own house: and there was a great company of publicans and of others that sat down with them. But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do you eat and drink with publicans and sinners? And Jesus answering said to them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:27-32).

For those who think that this is a mistake in the Bible, “Levi” is another name for "Matthew." People in those days went by different names, as they do today--Bob and Robert, John and Jim, Chuck and Charles, etc.

Notice how the religious leaders began to whine because Jesus sat down with "publicans" and those they condescendingly called "sinners." Matthew had gathered his fellow tax collectors and had a great feast, with Jesus as his special guest. When anyone truly meets the Savior, they want others to come to Him. This is because when Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit, lives within a Christian, His presence guarantees them of everlasting life. They are "sealed" with the very source of life, and where life dwells death leaves--in the same way that the presence of light banishes darkness.

Notice what Jesus told them that only sick people need a doctor. If you think you are well, you don’t need one; and if you are righteous, you don’t need a Savior. If you think you are morally perfect, you won’t see your need of God’s forgiveness. Many people fit that category.

Then again, someone who is ignorant of a disease won't bother to see a doctor also. If you feel a hard lump in your neck and you think that's normal, then you will carry on with everyday living. And you will for a time. However, someone with a little common sense will tell you that if there’s a lump, you had better see a doctor real quick.

If you think that lust, greed, hatred, pride, etc., are normal and natural you will carry on in your delusion. But anyone with a little understanding will tell you that you are a sinner, and that you need a Savior. You have the symptoms of a terminal disease called "sin," and that you need a Savior. You have to face a holy God on the Day of Judgment, who will damn all who have transgressed His moral Law.

Media Bias?

There is an interesting parallel between the 33 rescued Chilean minors and the rescuing of lost sinners. The Bible describes the state of the unsaved--"without hope;" "in darkness"…waiting for death to come.

But in Jesus Christ, we are "translated from darkness to light" and given a "living hope." Jesus "came down" and rescued us from the cursed, stale, lifeless grave of a very dark world.

I can’t express the joy I have had from the moment I, by the grace of God, burst into the "glorious light."

Of course the miners didn’t feel that way about God; not from what a bias media told us: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONQBqOCApC4

I Almost Met the Professor...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTElttRJ1dw

Atheists' Ironic Preoccupation

"Did you see the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life released the results of a survey showing that Atheists an Agnostics know more on religion than...Well the religious. especially the Christians? Just curious to your take on this since you have dealt with our kind for awhile." Caveman73

The survey showed that atheists are more preoccupied with God than the average uncommitted church-goer. For them, it's not a one-hour once-a-week thing. It's 24/7. Atheists think, write, talk, and text about God. They put up billboards, make DVD's, and write books about God. They religiously gather together and confirm each other's beliefs about how God doesn’t exist.

It's a kind of infatuation that could even be termed "religious zeal" by psychology. This preoccupation with what they believe is non-existent, exists because atheists have nothing to do. They have no purpose in existence, and this gives them one. If God didn't exist, neither would they.

They hang around Christians like little bugs around a warm camp-fire. I have been bugged by atheists for years, but have developed an immunity to their jabs of poison. I've become as thick-skinned as a not-quite-ripe banana.

To be honest, I enjoy their presence. In more than three years of blogging, I have only had to swat two of them. Come to think about it, I don't think that I've ever met an atheist I didn’t like.

The Promise of Immortality

"Ray, can you provide some proof that Muslims don't have as deep a relationship with Allah as you do with Jesus Christ?" Deb.

I have spoken to many Muslims, as well as studied their religion, and can tell you that they don't have any assurance (as does the Christian) that they will make it to Heaven. For the Muslim, the decision of Heaven or Hell will be made by God on Judgment Day.

Ask them yourself and you will find that they have no idea where they will spend eternity. That's why they strive to do religious works, because their salvation is based on human effort, rather than on the grace of God.

The Christian's relationship with God, however, (his peace, joy, gratitude, love for God, etc.) is build on trust in His promise that because he trusts in Jesus, he is forgiven, and therefore has everlasting life. It has nothing to do with doing any religious works. Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, without any works. Good works issue from his faith, but they have no part in his salvation.

We are saved because of God's goodness, not ours--because we don't have any. A Muslim has no such promise of immortality. You probably won't see this as as any sort of evidence because it's theological in nature. Still, what evidence could I provide that would convince you? The issue comes back to subjectivity, as does almost everything in this life.

Welcome to the Atheist Church

"And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said to him, Man, thy sins are forgiven you. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone? But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said to them, What do you reason in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, Your sins are forgiven you; or to say, Rise up and walk? But that you may know that the Son of man has power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say to you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go into your house. And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God. And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day" (Luke 4:17-26).

Strange things happened indeed. It's not every day that these people saw a paralyzed man miraculously healed, and he was healed because "the power of the Lord was present to heal." God is omniscient (He dwells everywhere), but on this particular occasion He was present to heal. The reason for this was because faith was present, and without faith, it's impossible to please God (see Hebrews 11:6).

Without faith, it's almost impossible to please anyone. Tell your spouse that you don’t have any faith in him or her, and watch the reaction. Tell it to your professor that you don’t trust him. Or how about telling your boss that you have no faith in him at all, and see how long you have a job.

So many people were pressing in to hear Jesus of Nazareth and to see His miracles that there was no room for these men to take their paralyzed friend to the Savior. So they let him down through the roof, and when Jesus saw their faith, He raised the paralyzed man from his sick-bed. So it goes to show that when your friends let you down, Jesus will raise you up.

But He didn't just raise him up and heal his paralyzed body. He forgave his sins. There is no point in healing a sinner’s body and having him end up in Hell. He forgave His sins because He had the power to forgive sins--He was God in human form.

The best friends you have ever had are those who bring you to Jesus, because without Him you are nothing but a paralyzed human being. You are waiting to die, and you can't do anything to help yourself. It’s just a matter of time. Today, may you find that what you thought would be the biggest let-down of your life--coming to Jesus Christ, is the most incredible thing that can ever happen to any human being. They find everlasting life.

Talking to Yourself . . .

"Sometimes I ask myself... Who Would Jesus Mock?" Lurker

Stop asking yourself the question, and instead read your Bible, and you will see that Jesus mocked the religious leaders and others--calling them all sort of bad names--snakes, dogs, hypocrites, blind guides, and even camel-swallowers and gnat-strainers. I'm sure He would call you a fool because of your professed atheism (oh...He already did--see Psalm 14:1). Look at how God mocks rebellious sinners:

"Surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, when your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you" (Proverbs 1:23-27).

The problem is that you have this strange but common view of Jesus--as though He was some sort of pale-faced and weak pacifist, who turned the other cheek because He didn’t have the strength of character to fight back. But the principle of "turn the cheek" is, you go ahead and hit me if you wish and I won’t hit you back--God will, if He sees fit to do so.

This is what the Bible says of Jesus and why He didn’t fight back:

"Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth; Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously..."(1 Peter 2:22-23).

The first time Jesus came, He came as the sacrificial Lamb of God, meek and lowly, to suffer for the sin of the world. The second time He comes, He will come as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, to bring Justice to a wicked world:

"This same Jesus is when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed" (2 Thessalonians 7:10).

So make sure you trust in His mercy, through repentance and faith in Him, or you will come until His terrible wrath:

"He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:10-12).

Atheists Ignore Dawkin's Advice

As you may remember, last year teams passed out more than 220,000 copies of Darwin's Origin of Species, which contained a 50-page Foreword explaining Intelligent Design and presenting the gospel. Approximately 170,000 of these were given to students in 100 of America’s top universities.

A clearly angered Richard Dawkins, who had encouraged students to tear out the Foreword, called me "an idiot" on CNN when asked for his thoughts on the giveaway. In March of 2010, when the Professor lectured in Australia and New Zealand, teams gave away over 20,000 books at his meetings. On that occasion he called me a "flat-earther."

During this past week, Professor Dawkins has been speaking in five U.S. universities, so we made sure that books were given away at every meeting. In New York City, after he held up a copy of the book (pictured) and told students to ignore it, students ignored him, and a thousand of them took copies.

The problem with any message is getting it to the people you want to reach. Over the last week we have been able to get the book directly into the hands of thousands of atheists throughout the country. I was so delighted that the professor had pulled them all together for us, that I sent him a gift basket and a thank you note. Last night we gave out over 800 books in Pasadena. When Professor Dawkins was offered another book, he refused and said, "Oh, he's here too."

Promotional literature for his tour said, "Science can provide the answers to many of the questions life on earth poses; questions previously considered better addressed by spiritual authorities." That's just not true. Believers in evolution haven't a clue where we came from, what we are doing here, or where we go after we die. To look to professor Dawkins for answers to life's big questions, is like looking to a blind man for advice about what color you should paint your house.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RAAhTL4Arg

Scientific Experiment

Could it be that this entire universe was the result of random chance, with no Intelligent Designer? I am thinking of conducting an experiment to see if it could be.

We have 12 chickens in a coop. They are confined to an area of about 100 square feet. I will get 12 laptops, put them in the coop, and see how long it takes for them to put their feet square on the keys and type out the complete works of William Shakespeare. The moment they complete the work, it will prove that chance can create design. All it takes is time. The key is time.

But that also poses a couple of problems. Chickens die off every few years, so they will need to be replaced. So will the laptops. And they will need to link to one screen, and the person waiting for Hamlet, etc., to appear will also die off, in time.

Then there's the continuing cost of the laptops and their replacements. Perhaps Microsoft would like to be a sponsor.

This whole thing could take some time. I had better give it some serious thought. I think that's what was missing in the first place. Thought.

One Bill to Another

I’m not a big fan of Bill O’Reilly. I watch his program but often change the channel because of the content. However, I was thrilled with his recent interview with Bill Maher. Maher calls anyone who believes in God an idiot, and he used the old, "The Bible says that if you find your neighbor working on a Sunday, you are to kill him" to show how dumb Christians are.

He then backed up his statement by saying that the verse was in the book of Deuteronomy. Maher not only got the book wrong (it's in Exodus), but he got the day wrong, and he got the interpretation wrong. Nowhere are Christians told to kill someone who works on the Sabbath. The verse is from Mosaic civil law for the ancient Hebrew nation. It has nothing to do with Christians in America, 3,000 years later.

O’Reilly said that he personally lived by the New Testament--where Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself, and not to go around calling people "idiots." He didn’t use well-thought-out presuppositional apologetics. Neither did he confound Maher with powerful biblical theology, but by saying what he did, he made the normally quick-witted and confident Maher look like a bitter, intolerant, hate-filled, didn’t-have-my-facts together Christ-ophobic. Which he is.

Never mind. Mr. Maher will retreat to the safety of his fan-base to confirm his beliefs, and get his confidence back.

Pic. Angela George

Steven J's Review of my Book...

When I decided to publish Steven J’s review of How to Know God Exists, it was on the condition that it didn’t become tiresome. It really has come down to the old same-old (from both of us), and that tends to become a cure for insomnia for most of us who like a little variety.

For those who will say that he therefore wins the debate, so be it. They are very welcome to go to his new site and read the rest of his lengthy review: http://theshipwreckoftime.blogspot.com (Thank you Steven for all your hard work. I hope I haven't offended you).

Atheist Review of How to Know God Exists (by Steven J.).

REVIEW: Is Evolution Scientific (Part Two). Ray's problem in dealing with the Big Bang is that to him, the Big Bang simply means "nothing created everything." You will seek in vain, in chapter 3, for any mention of galactic redshifts, or the cosmic microwave background, or relative cosmic abundances of hydrogen and helium, or the expansion of space. Ray has, in short, no interest in the evidence the Big Bang was actually devised to explain. Note that Ray is not interested in arguing (as old earth creationists do) that God initiated the Big Bang; to Ray, the Big Bang is simply an atheistic creation story, not a reconstruction of the history of the universe.

The only question that matters to Ray is what came before the beginning, "nothing" or "God." That there was no "before the beginning" -- that the universe might have existed, if not forever, then at least for all the time that has ever existed and hence not need a cause or explanation -- Ray does not consider. He does insist that science has shown that the universe cannot have existed forever, though he does not say how science has shown this.

AUTHOR’S REBUTTAL: The reason I don’t spend time addressing the thought that the universe is eternal, is because it is axiomatic. Everything is running down. It’s not improving--from the stars, to our own sun, to the moon, to nature, to your grandmother. Everything degenerates. It withers and dies.

To believe that the universe is eternal is to paint yourself into an intellectual corner. If it was forever in the past, it would have become dust eons ago. This is so basic it hardly needs to be addressed. However, to appeal to an atheist to use common sense is senseless, because their premise is founded upon foolishness to begin with.

Again, the argument for God is not intellectual. A child can understand that nature didn’t make itself. The argument is moral. The professing atheist don’t like the thought of being morally responsible to God, so he pretends that He doesn’t exist. Nevertheless, he must face a Law that says that lust is adultery, hatred is murder, and warns that all liars will have their part in the lake of fire.

This same morally perfect God is rich in mercy and has provided a way where every vile, sin-loving human being can be forgiven, cleansed, and granted everlasting life. And He made that way through the suffering death of Jesus Christ. He took the punishment for our sins upon Himself, rose from the dead, and now all who repent and trust Him receive everlasting life. Everyday, time runs out for 150,000 human beings. Seek God today, while you still have time. You may not even get a chance to wither.

The Atheist Church

"And it came to pass, when he was in a certain city, behold a man full of leprosy: who seeing Jesus fell on his face, and besought him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And he put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will: be thou clean. And immediately the leprosy departed from him. And he charged him to tell no man: but go, and show yourself to the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded, for a testimony unto them. But so much the more went there a fame abroad of him: and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by him of their infirmities. And he withdrew himself into the wilderness, and prayed" (Luke 4:12-16).

Most skeptics haven't a clue that the Bible is filled with "types." They don't know that the story of Moses is a type of the Christian’s deliverance from death. God opens the Red Sea and delivers His people from the Egypt (the world) so that He can bring them into the Promised Land (Heaven). Like the army of pharaoh that died as they tried to follow the Hebrews, the world cannot enter Heaven. The story of a faultless Joseph is a type of Jesus being betrayed by his brothers (Israel), but then being exalted to the highest place of authority to rule the world. They read it without the “eyes” of their "understanding being enlightened." The same goes with Noah, Samson, etc. To the skeptic, they are just "silly" Bible stories.

Leprosy in Scripture is a type of sin. The disease causes the sufferer to lose the sense of pain. If you lie down for too long without moving, you feel uncomfortable and instinctively shift the position of your body. You do this unconsciously multiple times in your sleep. This allows your blood to flow. The Bible says "the life of the flesh is in the blood," and without the blood flowing through your flesh, your skin will lose its life. It will rot. A leper doesn’t feel any sensation in his flesh, doesn’t move, and it rots on his body.

The sense for sin is your conscience. When you lose the ability to feel any sense of guilt (that uncomfortable feeling) when you lie, steal, lust, fornicate, etc., your soul (the real you) begins to rot and die. You become unclean in the eyes of God.

When a sinner comes to Jesus, the authenticity of his cleansing is that he will satisfy the demands of Moses. "Moses" is a type of the moral Law of God. Multitudes of professed converts will never make it to Heaven because they had no regard to the moral Law. They professed to be cleansed, but they continued to lie, steal, lust, etc., and will be thrust from Heaven into Hell on the Day of Judgment (see Mathew 7:21-24). How do you do when examined by the Law? To satisfy its holy demands, you must first go to Jesus for cleansing.

Advice About my Credibility

"Ray First: there is no museum of evolution in Paris. I should know, I grew up there. Perhaps you are referring to the museum of natural history? One of its permanent exhibits is the great evolution gallery. It would help your credibility somewhat if you actually took the care to name thongs properly. Second: had you loved in 1600, would you have cited the existence and inability of scientists to explain lightning as proof of the existence of your God?" French Engineer

First: Yes, I was referring to the "Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Grande Galerie de L’Evolution." I thought its full title was a bit of a mouthful for those who speak English (see pic. of my entrance ticket).

Second: You talk about taking care to name thongs properly. I will. Down-under, thongs are the name of summer flip flops, while in other places around the world, a thong is the name for a string bikini.
Third: Had I loved in the year 1600, I hope I would have loved someone as sweet as my wife.

Thank you for making sure I got things right. You are a model atheist.

The Steven J. book review of How to Know God Exists will continue next Monday.

STOP PRESS!!
Noah buddy said..."Ladies and gentlemen, I must share 'Wait What?s' concern and express some serious doubt about the ticket being Ray's. And the person to tell me is none other than...Ray Comfort himself!! You did one mistake Mr. Comfort. There is a date on your ticket (10/11/2008) and I've looked at your blogs. The only time that you were in France was on September 26 2007. Here's proof: http://fourthseason.blogspot.com/2007/09/paris-france.html/. So it wasn't during your trip to Europe that you went obviously. And you certainly were not there on the date of the issued ticket, while there isn't an entry in your blog on said date, there is one the next day, and there was one on the 10th. So where were you on the October 11th 2008? Well it was a SATURDAY!! Hence, you were obviously at home! Hence why you didn't post and that was before the 'Atheist Church' trend, which explains your lack of activity. So Ray, since there is evidence proving that this isn't your ticket, how about coming clean about this?"

Noah buddy...you are right. I'm coming clean. Ladies and Gentlemen, I WAS in Paris in September of 2007, filming for Season Four of our TV program.

However, a few months later, a large church in Paris, flew me back to speak three times. You said “So where were you on the October 11th 2008!” Actually, the date on my ticket was a Monday November 10th. In Europe they put the day first, then the month.

I spoke on the Sunday, and we went to the museum on the Monday. The church was very kind, and took us (my manager Mark Spence, and my son Daniel) all over the city, including to the museum--which is why I didn’t blog that day (I have video of when I was there). See pictures and blog on http://raycomfortfood.blogspot.com/2008/11/back-from-paris.html The two pictures are of my son, myself and my friend Manuel Brambila in Paris, and Noah’s Ark (the evolution museum).

Atheists interpret the evidence in the Bible the same way you interpreted the above. It's very sad.