GOOD NEWS FOR THE CHURCH: ATHEISTS ARE ANGRY
"The
lady doth protest too much, methinks."
William
Shakespeare, Hamlet.
The rise
of militant atheism actually portends well for the
Church. I am hopeful that as a civilization we have
finally climbed out of the depths of our lukewarm
apathy toward God and have entered a new era where
man has become either HOT or COLD for Jesus. It may
not bode well in the short term for believers in the
wordly sense because the result is persecution. But
the battle has begun and this fire will test the
sincerity of our faith and ultimately prove the truth
of Christianity to Christ's enemies. After
all--"it is
hard for [atheists] to kick against the
goad". Acts
26:14
When an unbeliever becomes angry in discussing the
faith it may mean that they are actually closer to
conversion than if they display "toleration" and a
distant and withdrawn "respect". Toleration reveals
one's apathy while intolerance the opposite. Witness
how very tolerant so many atheists are of Buddhism,
Hinduism or even Islam while they condemn
Christianity. In this intolerance lies something very
meaningful and mysterious--that at the name of Jesus
a very tender nerve has been struck in the depths of
an unbeliever's soul. It is in this apparent anger
and coldness that a recognition of truth may lie.
Recall that the Devil also fears the Name of Jesus,
who conquered him on the Cross.
Even our Lord prefers those who are cold toward Him
than those who can take or leave Him.
I know
thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee
out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and
increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable,
and poor, and blind, and naked: Revelation 3:14-22
Christ is
essentially saying that he prefers outright rejection
of the faith to the lukewarm. For so long our nation
and the West as a whole has been steeped in apathy
toward God. We attend Church when it is convenient,
we condemn those as "too religious" or fanatical who
seek to truly live the Christian faith--while we
embrace all the world's enticements. We have become
exactly what Christ spoke of in Revelations: we are
rich, we are drowning in possessions and we think we
have all we need. But the lukewarm who are silent in
the face of evil, compromise everything in the
pursuit of riches, and "have
nothing against religion" are more
repulsive and worthy of condemnation than the
radically angry atheists.
The faith stagnates and rots in times where
lukewarmth prevails. It is in the trenches where
saints and martyrs are created and ultimately the
church will grow. The faithfulness of truly devout
believers who persevere on the narrow road and who
reject all that the culture of death represents will
bear witness to the undeniable truth of Christ and
His Church. The Church may ultimately suffer in
numbers but at least its members will be as HOT as
the atheists are COLD.
