A Question from an Atheist
Time!
Something we have each thought about this week. Time is elusive, mysterious and thought provoking.
Earlier this evening, I received an e-mail with a link to a video testimony of Penn Jillette of the Penn and Teller show. He is an avowed atheist, but in this video, Penn Says: A Gift of a Bible, he discusses an interaction he has with a Christian man after a show who offered him a Bible. A little later, he makes the point that he respected the man for proselytizing. He even went so far as to say that he would not have respected him if he did not proselytize.
The part that really hit me was his off the wall question, “How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
As we enter a new year, I think it is important for each of us to answer the question from an atheist, “How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
In addition, we might as well evaluate how often we found opportunities to share our faith this past year and from a heart of prayer ask God to give us more opportunities this coming year.
It seems that some of my greatest spiritual challenges come from the most unlikely sources. Now wouldn’t it be just like God to use an atheist to challenge each of us to be more consistent in sharing our faith?
This Sunday, I will be sharing from the final verses of 1 Peter 5:12-14. After spending 16 weeks in this challenging epistle, it is my prayer that we have been challenged by our calling to suffer now in order to experience glory later. It is only fitting that the end of the book contains a personal word of greeting that clearly communicates the experience of the grace of God. As you look ahead to 2009 I hope you will stand strong as a result of that grace.
I hope this next year is marked by personal spiritual growth and wise use of time!
Something we have each thought about this week. Time is elusive, mysterious and thought provoking.
Earlier this evening, I received an e-mail with a link to a video testimony of Penn Jillette of the Penn and Teller show. He is an avowed atheist, but in this video, Penn Says: A Gift of a Bible, he discusses an interaction he has with a Christian man after a show who offered him a Bible. A little later, he makes the point that he respected the man for proselytizing. He even went so far as to say that he would not have respected him if he did not proselytize.
The part that really hit me was his off the wall question, “How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
As we enter a new year, I think it is important for each of us to answer the question from an atheist, “How much do you have to hate someone to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?”
In addition, we might as well evaluate how often we found opportunities to share our faith this past year and from a heart of prayer ask God to give us more opportunities this coming year.
It seems that some of my greatest spiritual challenges come from the most unlikely sources. Now wouldn’t it be just like God to use an atheist to challenge each of us to be more consistent in sharing our faith?
This Sunday, I will be sharing from the final verses of 1 Peter 5:12-14. After spending 16 weeks in this challenging epistle, it is my prayer that we have been challenged by our calling to suffer now in order to experience glory later. It is only fitting that the end of the book contains a personal word of greeting that clearly communicates the experience of the grace of God. As you look ahead to 2009 I hope you will stand strong as a result of that grace.
I hope this next year is marked by personal spiritual growth and wise use of time!
posted by Admin at
8:50 PM
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