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Last Updated: Dec 12, 2008 - 4:54:39 PM |
The above words are from an ad for
atheism that’s being placed on city buses in Washington, D. C. It’s
made national news. Recently, I’ve watched two different debates
dealing with this ad campaign where Christians debated atheists. In
both cases, I believe the Christians argued the wrong point. Their
point seemed to be that believing in God helped people be morally good.
However, one does not need to believe
in a god in order to be outwardly moral. Many an atheist loves spouse
and children, is kind to others, and is involved in humanitarian
endeavors. On the other hand, history and experience shows us that
there are theists (people who believe in a god), as well as atheists,
who have perpetrated evil.
I agree with the theologian who said
he would not believe in God if it were not for the cross of Christ.
Thus, I argue for the existence of the authentic God, not a ‘generic
god.’ This God is “the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” This God
has come among us in the person of the Son. This God did what no one
else could do: He rescued us. This is why I believe in God and why I
believe others should also.
While people may be outwardly good,
they are still inwardly sinful. The first humans rebelled against God’s
goodness. They passed this rebellion on to all of their descendents.
The psalm writer says, “Behold, I was sinful at birth.” In other words,
no one comes into this world inwardly good. Jesus says, “Therefore, if
you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much
more shall your father in heaven give good things to the ones who ask
him?” Here are people doing outwardly good things – they give good
gifts to their children - but on the inside it’s a different story. The
Apostle Paul writes, “There is no one righteous, not even one. . .
There is no one who does good, not even one.”
Outwardly, people may do various
‘good’ things. However, no one is truly inwardly good by himself. This
is true for both atheist and theist. We don’t need a god to help us be
good. We need the true God who will rescue us from the sinfulness which
lurks inside us all. We need this God who forgives us for that
sinfulness and for the many times it shows itself in our outward
actions. For this reason, I believe in God – that is, I trust God as
the one who forgives me in Christ. In Christ my sinfulness and sin is
forgiven. The result of this is that I become “a new creation” in
Christ.
No one can be inwardly good simply
‘for goodness’ sake.’ We may be outwardly good, but it doesn’t reach
deep inside us. On the other hand, being forgiven in Christ, I truly do
want to be good, not for goodness’ sake, but for Christ’s sake. And
God, who forgives my sins in Jesus, also empowers me for goodness
through that very forgiveness.
Why believe in a god? You don’t need
to if all you want is help on outward goodness. On the other hand, the
God who comes to us in Jesus, daily and richly forgives our sins. This
forgiveness motivates and empowers us, both inwardly and outwardly, to
begin practicing that which is good. This happens not for goodness’
sake, but for the sake of Christ in whom we find forgiveness.
Pastor Douglas Morton is pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Marengo. His email is pastor@forgiveninchrist.com.
Bible verses used in this article are Psalm 51:5; Matthew 7:11; Romans 3:10, 12 and 2 Corinthians 5:17.
© Copyright 2008 by The East Iowa Herald
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