Rev. David Holwick Y Hot Potatoes, #3
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
August 3, 2014
Romans 1:19-20
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I. The despised minority.
A. Americans don't think much of them.
In a study by University of Minnesota sociologists, more
than 2,000 people were asked which of their fellow citizens
lacked the proper "vision of American society."
Who do you think was viewed as the least American?
Homosexuals? No.
Illegal immigrants? No.
Muslims? No.
The answer is atheists, the most hated people in America.
They are the last people most folks would want their children
to marry.
A majority of Americans say they would be least likely to
choose a Presidential candidate who doesn't believe in God. [1]
Atheists complain that people are more tolerant of everyone
else, but not of them.
But that is not exactly true.
Atheists account for about 3% of the U.S. population.
If you combine them with agnostics - people who doubt there is
a god - you get about 12% of the population, or 36 million.
And the percent of people who claim no religion is climbing
dramatically, doubling in about a decade.
One person calculates that by the year 2030 Christians and
other religious people will be a minority, and the last
American believer in God will be buried by 2050.
That's just 36 years away.
#30826
B. Some parts of the world are already there.
Denmark and Sweden are among the least-religious countries
on earth.
Phil Zuckerman spent a year interviewing people there and
found they rarely even thought about religion.
Zuckerman asked basic questions about God, Jesus and death
and they reacted as if it was something novel.
One person told him, "I really have never thought about
that.
It's been fun to get these kinds of questions that I never,
never think about."
A pastor in Denmark told him that the word "God" is the
most embarrassing word you can say there.
He said they would rather go naked through the city than
talk about God.
Another man told Zuckerman the shock he felt when a friend
of his, after a few drinks, confessed to believing in God.
"I hope you don't feel I'm a bad person," the friend pleaded.
Ironically, Scandinavians don't view themselves as atheists.
They get baptized and married in churches.
They like the food and music of religious holidays.
But none of it has much to do with God.
#35211
II. What should we do with them?
A. You can't avoid them because they are becoming more vocal.
1) The internet has become a powerful tool for atheists.
2) Christopher Hitchens, Richard Dawkins and others have
written bestseller books about their atheism.
a) They not only don't believe in God, they think it is
bad to believe in him.
b) Religion only makes people ignorant and mean.
3) It is no secret that for over 300 years the elite in
society have moved away from religion and God.
B. You may have an atheist in your family.
1) They may be sitting next to you in your pew.
2) I even read of a Methodist pastor who announced at
an atheist conference that she was one of them.
a) (She lost her job that week.) #63709
C. Would you be able to convince an atheist there is a God?
1) If you believe in God and Jesus, do you care that others
don't?
2) What would you be willing to do to reach them with the
good news about Jesus?
3) Would they see something in your life - a joy, a hope,
a compassion - that they would want to have too?
4) If the Bible is true, then their eternity is at stake.
III. Why atheists believe what they believe.
A. Religion seems illogical.
1) The multitude of religions cancel each other out.
a) They can't all be the one way to heaven.
2) The problem of pain and evil don't have adequate answers.
a) If there is a God, how can he be all-powerful and
all-loving at the same time?
b) He allows too many tragedies that seem senseless.
B. Religion doesn't agree with Science.
1) There is no evidence of a non-material spirit world.
2) Science seems to give better answers to most questions
humans face.
a) Evolution makes sense to them.
b) The earth seems very ancient, not 6,000 years old.
c) Medicine works a lot better than prayer at making
people better.
C. Religion doesn't work very well.
1) Many religious people are ignorant and mean.
a) They may claim to be born again but don't seem that
different.
b) Atheists can be just as decent.
2) God himself seems rather mean, especially in the O.T.
D. Ultimately, atheism is a faith statement.
1) No one can prove there is no God - you can't prove a
negative.
a) Agnostics are more realistic in this, though on a
practical level they are the same as atheists.
b) Then again, so are many Christians.
2) Those who call themselves atheists tend to be combative.
a) They are proclaiming what they DON’T believe.
b) What they DO believe differs from person to person and
doesn’t seem to be as critical to them.
c) They see you as the problem.
IV. How to convince an atheist.
A. Listen to them.
1) Christians are famous for "preaching" to people.
a) We get on a roll and spew out our favorite cliches.
b) This is why people hate to be cornered by religious
people - we often treat them as targets.
2) We can learn important things from other people's beliefs
(or lack of them).
a) Find out why they believe what they do.
b) You may also find out what their fears are, and where
they are hurting, and what they yearn for.
1> These are the things we can use to turn them to God.
B. Be logical with them.
1) We don't have to pin everything on (blind) faith.
a) 1 Peter 3:15-16 tells us to calmly give people a reason
for what we believe.
b) We cannot prove our beliefs, but we can show they make
sense.
2) There are honest differences of opinion on what the Bible
teaches.
a) Young Earth vs. Ancient Earth Christians.
b) Our key thought is that there is a Creator. Rom 1:19-20
1> How he did it is open to interpretation.
2> God and his truth are larger than our puny minds
can comprehend.
3) Religion does make a difference in a person's life.
a) It gives us a different attitude toward others.
A survey done in Canada asked people what was very
important in their life.
They found stark differences between those who say
they believe in God, and those who don't.
There was a 32-point gap between believers and
atheists on whether forgiveness was "very
important."
There was a 33-point gap on patience.
There was a 30-point gap on generosity.
The researchers concluded that if atheism continues to
grow, society will pay a steep price.
#31318
b) Religious people also tend to be happier.
1> This doesn't prove there is a God, but it does
provide evidence that faith "works."
2> What you believe really does matter.
C. Love them.
1) This is what reached me.
a) As a teenager, I had lots of arguments against religion.
b) But more than answers, I wanted to feel cared for, and
to feel there was a purpose in life.
c) Christians provided this for me.
2) We don't just believe in a God, we believe in a personal God.
a) He wants to love us and give us purpose.
b) You should never try to reach an atheist with cold,
hard facts alone.
c) We should try to draw them to the Creator of the
universe who cares about the hairs on their head.
3) Even the concept of love has a powerful appeal.
Kyle Simpson, 27, was raised Christian.
He has a tattoo on the inside of his wrist that says
"Salvation from the cross" in Latin.
He says it is a little troublesome now when people see it
and assume he is a Christian.
He usually responds, "It's Latin for 'I made a mistake
when I was 18.'
Kyle says he doesn't believe in God but really wants to.
Evolution and science seem to say there is no God.
But Kyle wonders, "What about love?
What about the ideas of forgiveness?
I like to believe they are true and they are meaningful."
He adds, "I think having a God would create a meaning for
our lives, like we're working toward a purpose...."
"When I first got the tattoo I remember thinking, 'Oh,
this will be great because when I'm having troubles in
my faith I will be able to look at it, and I can't
run away from it.'
And that is exactly what is happening."
#64448
[not used in original sermon]
V. Can atheists go to heaven?
A. The death of a famous atheist.
Christopher Hitchens was well-known for taking on Christians.
He didn't just reject the gospel, he ridiculed it.
His books sold millions of copies and he was often
interviewed on TV.
Three years ago he died after a long struggle with cancer.
Some Christians gleefully remarked that he was now opening
his eyes in hell.
But Baptist theologian Russell Moore suggests Hitchens might
be in heaven.
It is not because Moore believes people get a second chance
after they are dead, or that everyone goes to heaven.
It is because he heard a sermon years ago about Jesus and
his encounters with the thieves on the cross.
One of those thieves repented and Jesus assured him he would
to to heaven.
But if this man had religious relatives, they probably never
heard what happened in the last moments of his life.
They probably assumed he was a bad man, was executed, and
ended up in hell.
None of us knows the destiny of any person.
We don't know what happens in their last moments.
It is possible Christopher Hitchens repented and believed.
Not likely, but possible.
#63465
Before he got cancer, Hitchens was interviewed by a Unitarian
minister in Oregon.
The pastor said the religion that Hitchens criticized in his
book was the fundamentalist kind.
Then the pastor said this:
"I'm a liberal Christian, and I don't take the stories from
the Bible literally.
I don't believe in the doctrine of atonement (that Jesus
died for your sins, for example).
Do you make any distinction between fundamentalist faith
and liberal religion?"
Hitchens responded, "I would say that if you don't believe
that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ and Messiah, and
that he rose again from the dead and by his sacrifice
our sins are forgiven, you're really not in any
meaningful sense a Christian."
The liberal pastor quickly changed the topic.
#22762
I don't know if Hitchens turned to God in the end, but at
least he knew what real Christianity is supposed to be
about.
If he did turn to God, he would be just as saved as I am.
God can save anyone, even the hardest atheist.
It is all by God's grace.
#63465
B. Will you go to heaven?
1) Believing there is a God is not enough.
2) You must commit yourself to Jesus.
3) And you should want to bring everyone else with you.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] See <http://www.religionnews.com/2014/05/20/americans-willing-vote-atheist-president/>.
#22762 “Renowned Atheist Leaves A Liberal Pastor Speechless,” Dave Hunt,
<http://www.thebereancall.org/>, April 28, 2010.
#30826 “America Hates Atheists,” Sploid.com internet newspaper;
< http://www.sploid.com/news/2006/03/america_hates_a.php>,
March 23, 2006.
#31318 “Atheists Less Likely To ‘Do Good’,” Michael Foust, Baptist Press,
<http://www.baptistpress.org>, October 23, 2007.
#35211 “Nonbelievers But Not Atheists?” Peter Steinfels,
<http://www.nytimes.com>, February 27, 2009.
#63465 “Could A Militant Atheist End Up In Heaven?” Russell D. Moore,
Baptist Press, <http://www.baptistpress.org>, December 16, 2011.
#63709 “From Minister To Atheist: A Story of Losing Faith,” Barbara Bradley
Hagerty, <http://www.npr.org/2012/04/30/151681248/from-minister-to-atheist-a-story-of-losing-faith>, April 30, 2012.
#64448 “Having Doubts But Loving the Idea of God,” NPR Staff, episode
called "More Young People Are Moving Away From Religion, But Why?"
from the special series "Losing Our Religion,” January 15, 2013,
<http://www.npr.org/2013/01/15/169342349/more-young-people-are-moving-away-from-religion-but-why>
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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