A lot of men clearly have a problem with Christian belief.

The most common

objection is simply that they don�t believe it�s true. But I think the real reason
is that they don�t want to be told how to live, and they don�t want to be
accountable for their actions and choices. To those who doubt Christian belief, I
ask you: suppose I could prove in your mind beyond all doubt that Jesus Christ was
raised from the dead, thus validating the Christian religion. If you believed that
to be true, would you suddenly become a devout Christian? Or would you still still
hold back? In my experience, contrary to all reason, many men would still refuse to
believe even with such evidence. The heart of unbelief does not lie in logic or
reason, it lies in pride and rebellion. Any man who is not willing to humble
himself before God will never know truth.�

�No one who has seriously engaged in a study of world religions and comparative
theology could make such a claim. There is nothing in Eastern religion, mysticism,
New Age spirituality, etc� approaching the depth and breadth of Christian theology.
I�ve studied all of those systems in depth. They all share a common element � they
were very obviously invented by man. Why is that obvious? Because they all flatter
us. They tell us � like you want to hear � that the power ultimately lies within
us. They tell us that if we can just become good enough (measured by various
metrics depending on the system/religion) then we can transcend this reality
through our own power. This is the common element of all false religion.

Only Christianity reveals to us the uncomfortable truth � that we are completely

powerless and have no ability to redeem ourselves. This is not the sort of teaching
that man invents to flatter himself. Nor is it a system designed for political and
economic domination (Islam). It is, rather, a strange and mysterious idea, one that
is at once both alien and familiar. God is our father, and we are his children. And
just as children are completely helpless without their parents, so we are without
God. This is the fundamental truth that atheists reject. Their pride does not allow
them to cede control and authority to God.

This is the main thing atheists must understand. If there is a God (not necessarily
even the Christian God, for the sake of argument) then you have absolutely no
authority over him. You are not in a position to dictate to the creator what is
fair, what is just, what is good, what is logical. It seems that many atheists
don�t understand the idea of God, their view being entirely too small and limited.
They seem to view God as micromanaging boss or an overbearing parent (note always
the preoccupation with rebellion against authority figures). But God is much bigger
than this. It is only the atheist�s failure to logically apprehend the power of a
sovereign, omnipotent creator that allows them to so casually denigrate him. God is
not a mean guy on a cloud who wants to tell you what to do. He is, rather, the
force beyond time and space that underlies the entire physical universe. God is the
only thing that has existence in and of itself. And this force � awesome in the
literal definition of the word � is not impersonal, but rather has an identity. And
he wants to share it with us.

This is very important for people to think about deeply. Before you reject the idea
of God you need to be very sure you�ve exhaustively explored the concept of God.
It�s not something you want to gloss over. There is everything at stake, after all.
Any man who humbles himself and earnestly seeks to follow the truth wherever it
leads will not be disappointed.