Two recent changes in the nature of unbelief have taken hold in recent years.
First, the atheistic mindset has become more militant in nature. Characterized by people like Richard Dawkins, the assault against God and against believers in God has become vitriolic and insulting. Atheists are instructed to call believers fools and to dismiss them as unable to think or reason.
Second, people have stopped caring. The spiritual climate in our nation is dominated by apathy. It’s not unusual to encounter the thought: “God may or may not be around. Who cares?” People don’t even care much about atheists!
Do these two developments have any significance? Yes.
Militant atheism pushes people to live in denial and to think irrationally. Anger at God, life, religion, or the church that may drive atheistic rejection of God sends people into an detrimental way of life. It’s just not healthy to live in anger and denial. Furthermore, denying historical and eyewitness accounts of the supernatural and the miraculous leads people into inaccurate thinking. It’s bad science to ignore documented facts.
An apathetic attitude toward the Divine leads people to miss out on life. In addition to staying at arm’s length from the natural events of life, this apathetic approach robs people of the deeper mysteries of life.
What’s the answer? In a perfect world it would wonderful if everyone could engage in balanced thought and stimulating discourse about the possibility of the miraculous and supernatural. But this isn’t a perfect world.
So, the next alternative may actually be the best. It’s up to God to do the convincing. He’s the best One to prove Himself to a doubting world. He’s also the best candidate to pursue us when we don’t care.
Watch out. God has a track record of surprising a denying and slumbering world.
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