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If you were given the
opportunity to sum up life in a few words, what would they be?
"Man is the product of
causes which had no prevision of the end they were achieving; his origin and
growth, his hopes and fears, his loves and beliefs are but the outcome of
accidental collocations (arrangements) of atoms." That is a rather
philosophical way of saying, "We've come from nowhere, we are going
nowhere, and in between our life is nothing." So what does this say
about the future? Bertrand Russell gave his gloomy conclusion, "When I
die, I rot." So there it is! Philosophy
has an answer! When its starting point is
atheism it ends up in a vortex of emptiness. By saying there is no God, and
therefore no meaning to life, it leads to the position many have reached;
despair. Atheism's conclusions are recorded in one of the books of the Bible,
a book called Ecclesiastes, (which means "The Preacher"). Without God nothing has
meaning. Have you chosen your own few
words to summarise life: life, that is, without God? The Preacher gives us
the only logical conclusion, "Meaningless, meaningless, all is
meaningless." Five words with three repeats! "Once God is
excluded," he states, "everything is futile and a frustration to
the spirit." Atheism has nothing to say to
a living man to make his life meaningful. Man, whether living or dying,
laughing or crying is no better or worse off than an animal. God, speaking
through The Preacher of the Old Testament books, forces the atheist to be a
realist about his view of life.
"That God does not
exist, I cannot deny: that my whole being cries out for God I cannot
forget." (Jean-Paul Sartre shown left), and "Man is by his
constitution a religious animal." Edmund Burk There are four voices that
speak out and deny atheism. ►
The voice of creation, which speaks conclusively that there is one Creator,
who is invisible, eternal and all-powerful. ►
The voice of conscience, which, though man tries to suppress it by insisting,
"There is no God", responds with it's firm and quiet response,
"Oh yes there is." ►
The voice of Scripture, which is the written word of God, reveals all that we
need to know to come back to God. ►
And the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to live and die for sinners that we might
be forgiven and have a right relationship with God. Voltaire claimed to have had
his conscience under his control, almost until the last, but died screaming,
"Let me die in peace." Sheriden, the Irish dramatist, has recorded
as his last words, "I am absolutely undone." It was left to Alduous Huxley
to disclose the dishonesty of atheism, "I had reasons for
not wanting the world to have meaning: consequently I assumed it had
none." He had a reason that led him
to draw his conclusion. He did not draw his conclusions from the evidence,
but rather despite the evidence. Within human nature there is a bias to
reject God; to want to go our own way and to be our own master. Even those
who accept the existence of God live as what might be called "practical
atheists". They live their lives without any reference to the God who
made them. Life without God is
futile. It mocks us. It assumes no reason for anything.
Achievements are futile, failures are futile. Money, society, and family are
futile. Love is as empty as hatred. Kindness is as useless as murder. Joys
and griefs mean nothing. Giving is utterly meaningless, and so is stealing.
Laws do not matter because nothing matters. Everything is without purpose. The Preacher of the book of
Ecclesiastes compels us to see this, in order that we should turn back to
God. We are made by Him and for Him. Our sin against Him needs to be forgiven
by Him. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world, not only to pay the
punishment for sin on the cross, but also to open the eyes of our
understanding. The Philosophers, whose influence has been so profound in
permeating our thinking, are wrong. They delve into failed philosophies that
ignore or deny God as Creator and Lord. Put God in the picture and you
find there is meaning. In contrast to the turmoil of
their hopeless and dark conclusions there is a place of peace to be found in
the greatest philosopher who lived before Christ, The Preacher. He points
thinking people back to God. His book is one of 66 in the Holy Bible that
form a single signpost to the Lord Jesus Christ as the only one who can bring
us back to God; and to the right reason for our life. "In Christ are hidden
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge," writes the Apostle Paul in
the New Testament of the Bible. Atheistic philosophers have searched their
minds for meaning to life without God. Compare their conclusions with the
confident and comforting assertions of Christ. Here is the contrast. First, the Philosopher viewing
life as if there is no God, brings us his dreary conclusion. "When I die, I
rot." Bertrand Russell Then, the Physician of souls,
the Lord Jesus, who gives hope to sinners. "I am the bread of
life: he that comes to me shall never hunger; and he that believes on me
shall never thirst." "I am the light of
the world: he that follows me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life." "I am the door: by
me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find
pasture." "I am the good
shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep." "I am the
resurrection, and the life: he that believes in me, though he were dead, yet
shall he live:" "I am the way, the
truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me." "I am the vine, you
are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth
much fruit: for without me you can do nothing." The Lord Jesus Christ
The choice is set out. As for me, I have confidence
in the Lord Jesus Christ. He has died for sinners, and come back from the
dead to tell us there is a heaven to be gained and a hell to be feared. No
one is ever simply dead and done for. Now is the time to think
again: to turn to God and pray, asking that you might know both Him and the
forgiveness of sin. The result will be the joy and purpose that knowing your
Creator brings. David Harding
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m me mea mean meani meanin meaning meaningl meaningle meaningles meaningless meaningless all is meaningless Voltaire |
