KARL MARX FORGOT TO MENTION

Karl Marx, Sigmund Freud, and a host of other atheists are both clever and tricky. They have conveniently forgotten to mention something important. They all propagate the idea that humanity's belief in God is nothing more than wish fulfillment. What they mean by that is that we have an inner longing for God, a protecting, loving, benevolent God who is there to help us in trials, tribulations, and the buffetings of life in general. We have an inner need for such, so we wish one into existence. We invent one such god.

What would we Christians say about that? Three things, at least.

First, the God of the Bible isn't a god man would invent. Who would "invent" the concept of the Trinity? One God in three Persons, each with the same and equal essence? No, we would never think of such a God.

Second, mankind would not invent a god who saves the evilest of men by grace alone through faith alone. Every religion in the world is a testimony to the fact that man can only conceive of a god who saves through a person's production of enough good works.

Third, yes, the God of the Bible is loving, protective, and prayer-answering. But He's also righteous, holy, and just, so much so that He cannot and will not overlook our sin. He won't overlook our sin, the Bible says, to the point of His coming in judgment one day and holding man accountable for rejecting His Son. That's not a god we would wish for. That's a god we would flee.

But that's not all the atheistic warriors have neglected to mention. They ignore the proverbial saying,  "What's sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander, meaning, what applies to one, applies to the other. An example of the proverbial statement is this sentence: "After her husband went off with his fishing buddies for a week, she decided to take a vacation without him-what's sauce for the goose, you know."

There is also in man an intense desire NOT to be held accountable for anything. He seeks a way out of judgment, calling sin nothing more than "oversights," "mistakes," and due to heredity or environment. After all, if there is no God, then there's no absolute standard to define sin and there's no accountability.

So, could not atheism simply be a wish-fulfillment on the part of man, an intense desire to avoid judgment? Peter Hitchens, an atheist, was struck by an old painting depicting "The Last Judgment." The artist depicted naked men and women being cast headlong into hell. As Hitchens viewed the famous painting, he thought, "How do I know that's not going to happen--that it's not going to happen to me?" Thus began his quest into Christianity. He was essentially saying, "How do I know my philosophy that there is no God is simply a wish-fulfillment on my part?" Good question. Few ask it.

But this wish-fulfillment of an atheist has dire results. When the truth transcendent Being of a personal-infinite God is erased from a society, something must fill the spiritual vacuum. Something must become transcendent. In our society, the transcendent value is political correctness and diversity and all must worship at their altars. If they don't genuflect, the penalties are severe. That's what we're seeing here and now.

Atheism has consequences.