The Poison of Atheism

The Freedom From Religion Foundation, based out of Madison, Wisconsin, has been making a public stand against God for almost 30 years, and most recently they’ve been attacking President Bush’s Faith-based Initiative.

I’ve been following the activities of the FFRF for some time, and their philosophy and their goals speak volumes to the world. I suppose the effect of what they have to say depends on the heart of the listener.

From a worldview that is even remotely Christian, the teaching of these people is spiritually dangerous. The call themselves atheists and ‘non-theists’. Their stated purpose is to work for the separation of church and state, but the underlying message they’re giving is that not only do people not need God, but that faith in God is bad, something to be ridiculed and rejected. They have taken God’s Word, the Bible, and twisted the meaning of what it says to us. They have Scripture out of cultural and historical context, and they have denied the divinity and authority of Jesus Christ outright. They debate their non-belief with adults, and worse, they target children with books that teach them that God is a myth. Their words are poison, and taking what these people are giving will lead to absolute, permanent spiritual death.

One of the core members of the FFRF was an evangelical minister for 19 years but turned his back on God and Christianity in 1983. I do not judge anyone; because I am so far from perfect myself, I know that I have no right to judge others. I just simply cannot fathom what could cause someone who knew God, knew the Scriptures, and knew the path to eternal life with God, to decide that he either doesn’t need God, or that God doesn’t exist at all.

As I mentioned above, the Foundation takes Scripture out of context. Some parts of the Bible are specific to culture and/or historical eras. However, there are parts of Scripture that are timeless and applicable to our world today or our future. The Bible teaches us that Christ will return to earth one day to establish His kingdom here, which will be, well, simply put, an extension of Heaven on earth. Some Christians may recognize that the moral and spiritual decline of much of human society is in fact a sign that the day of the Second Coming is approaching. For the purposes of the human race at large, the period of time just before Christ’s return is called the End Times, or the Last Days. In this particular light, a passage from 1 John is appropriate as a warning to the world about what the FFRF and other atheist organizations are doing. The passage reads, “Dear children, this is the last hour; and as you have heard that the antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come. This is how we know it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1 John 2:18-19).

The antichrist as a single individual will be a future personality who will publicly deny the authority of Christ and try to assume the role of God on earth; he will have great power and as the son of Satan be the evil (and inferior) counterpart of Jesus Christ. I believe the atheist organizations in this country who have been making a name for themselves are little antichrists; they may make some noise on the political scene, but their power is small. Make no mistake about it, though, they are precursors to a greater force of evil that will make his appearance in the world one day.

As a Christian, I feel a measure of both anger and sadness when the FFRF makes its public stand against Christianity and Christian values. I’m angry because they’re attacking something good. I’m sad because they are blind to the damage they do to themselves and others, and that the “good” they think they’re doing for America is really not. Some of Jesus’ last words from the cross were for these as much as for all of us: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke23:34)

This goes out to Christians and pre- or non-Christians alike: Be wary of the words of the Freedom From Religion Foundation and any other atheist groups you may hear of; their teaching is hostile to God, and their philosophy is spiritual poison. Faith in Christ is the only way to eternal life in heaven, and anything or anyone that does not acknowledge Jesus as God and Savior absolutely will lead to eternal physical and spiritual death. Christian brothers and sisters, by the grace of our God, hold fast to what you know in your heart and always be prepared to stand up for Christ. God bless you and keep you.