christian ammunition

At least that’s what the bumper sticker on the van in front of me said. It was one of literally several dozen, plastered all over the back of the vehicle, declaring the non-existence of God and the intellectual superiority of atheism. I couldn’t help but find the irony (and humor) in all the time, energy, and resources that were no doubt used to create this rolling billboard designed for the sole purpose of telling the world that God does not exist. After all, if there is no God, and therefore no ultimate meaning to the universe, why bother to go through all the trouble of trying to convince anyone of anything? Not to mention, for the sake of consistency, shouldn’t all ‘so called’ non-existent entities be treated with the same contempt and given their proper sticker space on the back of one’s vehicle?

This was not the case, however, as I noticed that I didn’t see even one sticker declaring the non-existence of Santa, the Easter Bunny, Harry Potter, Bigfoot, or even the Tooth Fairy……only God. The reason for this can be summed up in one word: Authority. According to Romans Chapter 1, everyone knows that God exists, but some choose to suppress that truth in unrighteousness. That is, they work very hard at pretending that God does not exist as a means of (unsuccessfully) avoiding accountability to Him. In short, some people would just rather be their own god than submit to the one true God of Scripture. This is perfectly consistent with what the Bible tells us about the depraved nature of mankind and our inherent desire to rebel against our Creator. It has been rightly stated that:

The atheist can’t find God for the same reason a criminal can’t find a policeman.

They simply don’t WANT to, as they have made themselves the enemies of God and have transgressed against His righteous Authority, through their sin and rebellion. The sole remedy for rebellion against God is complete surrender to Him, through obeying the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Of course, this can only be brought about via the regenerating work of God’s Holy Spirit upon the heart of the unbeliever. As such, the type of self-deception that the professing atheist engages in is not only very foolish and dangerous, it also ultimately means that, by definition, atheism is…..you guessed it…..pretend. Now that’s a bumper sticker I’d like to see!