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Franklin Graham Has Fire-and-Brimstone Words for Atheists
Graham had a fiery message for atheists. (Flickr)
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It's unreasonable. Scads of unbelieving atheists flocked to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., on Saturday to hold what they called a "Reason Rally."
At this humanistic political event, thousands of secularists rallied for major political issues like climate change, reproductive rights and LGBT equality in an election year. Their stated goal: "see reason taking precedence over religious-driven ideology."
Again, it's unreasonable.
"This liberal godless kind of what they call 'reason'; should concern every freedom-loving American," evangelist Franklin Graham said of the event. "Isn't it ironic that they met on the grounds of the Lincoln Memorial where these words are engraved in stone: 'We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation under God shall have a new birth of freedom.'"
It's ironic because Lincoln clearly acknowledged the role Christianity plays in establishing freedom and justice for all. Lincoln is famous for the Emancipation Proclamation that set the slaves free.
"Now these atheists promoting secularism want to strip God out of America's past, present and future," Graham said. "Here's a warning—if you remove God, you remove God's hand of blessing. That's been shown over and over throughout history."
Graham is urging Christians to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with an ever-growing secular world.
"One day each of these people is going to stand before the God that they disown, and they will face an eternity in hell if they have not trusted Christ as their Savior," Graham said. "That's where this kind of 'reason' will get them. The Bible says, 'There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death' (Prov. 14:12)."
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As UK Christians remember the Holocaust, marked on January 27 as the day in 1945 when Auschwitz was liberated, they have been reminded that it was spawned by godlessness and the rejection of faith.
Steven Jaffe, a member of the UK’s Jewish Board of Deputies, was addressing a largely Christian audience at a church in Sheffield, Yorkshire.
He said the exodus from Egypt was immediately followed by the battle with Amalek, who had no reason to attack Israel. There was no territorial dispute or history of conflict, for example. And they attacked the sick and the elderly – those who were most vulnerable. (Deuteronomy 25.17-18)
“The conflict with Amalek is not over,” he said. Amalek denied God and his power in the same way the Nazis did, and the latter mirrored their lack of mercy.
He recalled that Britain’s former Chief Rabbi, Lord Sachs, was once asked where God was during the Holocaust, to which he is said to have replied: “Where was man?”
My worry is that the growing influence of rank atheism in Britain and Europe will have a bearing on the future of anti-Semitism. The poisonous view that God does not exist naturally leads to godless behaviour and thought, even among those previously tutored in godly ways. The result is that even some who claim to have faith, and who perhaps stand in pulpits, start believing the lie that is proclaimed so often through almost every strand of media.
It is indeed frustrating that, as fast as we spread word about the horrors of the Holocaust, vowing that it should never be repeated, the vile infestation of anti-Semitism creeps into every crack and crevice of a broken society as the walls of a Judeo-Christian civilization come crashing down around us.
In polite Britain, hatred of Jews is generally not expressed openly, but often takes the form of a loathing of Israel, so that the very mention of the Jewish state is enough to raise the hackles, not only of the politically-aware man in the street, but of the semi-biblically aware man in the pew.
As Steven told the Bush Fire Church, such loathing cannot be explained in rational terms. But he was spot on target, I believe, in linking the phenomenon with a society that has thrown God out of the window. Pledges of never letting it happen again are not enough, in my opinion; without a recovery of faith in the God of Israel, there can be no guarantee that another holocaust won’t take place.
Even as I write, Iran is boasting of a nuclear deal that “has provided an historic opportunity to… face threats posed by the Zionist entity.” It is well to recall that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin al-Husseini, collaborated with Hitler, thus setting the stage for today’s jihad against Israel. And yet, bizarrely, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and current Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas have both publicly denied that the Holocaust ever took place.
Against such a dark background, however, there is plenty of encouragement. The Sheffield gathering heard much about the heroic acts of so-called ‘righteous Gentiles’ like Sir Nicholas Winton, who rescued 669 children from Czechoslovakia in 1938. Generations of people – almost 7,000 of some of the world’s greatest doctors, lawyers, teachers and inventors – owe their lives to the act of one man’s efforts to help Jewish children escape the Nazis.
And Steven Jaffe himself, through the launch last year in the neighbouring city of Leeds of the Shalom Declaration, committing to pray for the peace of Jerusalem and fight against anti-Semitism, is sending out a clear message of Christian support for Britain’s Jewish community. “There isn’t a corner of the British Isles that the Shalom Declaration has not been signed,” he said.
Making nonsense of campaigns to boycott Israel, he pointed out that one in six of the drugs and medicine dispensed through Britain’s famous health service have either been manufactured or developed in Israel.
And on the faith front, we were told that “there are more Jews learning the Torah today in Israel that at any time in our history”.
All of which is preparing them well for the great event we are perhaps soon to witness when Jesus reveals himself on a grand scale to his brothers in the flesh.
Though many Jews quite understandably have a problem with this, especially with the Holocaust in mind, the key is forgiveness.
British television viewers were treated to a remarkable Channel 4 documentary, The girl who forgave the Nazis, recounting the story of how Hungarian Jew Eva Kor, now 81, a former inmate of Auschwitz, has publicly forgiven 94-year-old Oskar Groenig, the death camp’s former accountant, who was recently sentenced to four years in jail for his part in the Nazi’s evil scheme.
Eva and her twin sister Miriam were experimented on by the infamous Dr Josef Mengele, but survived the camp, though Miriam died in 1993 possibly through the effects of the experiments. Eva said: “It’s time to forgive, but not forget… I believe that forgiveness is such a powerful thing... and I want everybody to help me sow these seeds of peace throughout the world.”
This takes amazing courage. But it’s worth remembering that Jesus, our Messiah, made the first move when he prayed, as he died in agony on a cross in Jerusalem: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23.34)
When Joseph revealed himself to his brothers, he had already long since forgiven them for acting treacherously against him.
“Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases…” (Psalm 103.2-3)
“Seek the Lord while he may be found…for he will freely pardon.” (Isaiah 55.6-7)
The mainstream media is biased toward Islam. (Flickr/Creative Commons)
Even Atheists Acknowledge the Mainstream Media's Islam Bias
Is there a double standard in the mainstream media and among many on the Left when it comes to criticizing Christianity and Islam? One man says yes.
Phil Zuckerman is a professor of Sociology and Secular Studies at Pitzer College and author of the book, The Secular Life.
He recently told an audience at Georgetown University that he believes that many in the press feel that it is OK to criticize, mock and make fun of Christianity, but said Islam gets a free pass.
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Christians drop, 'nones' soar in new religion portrait
Cathy Lynn Grossman, Religion News ServiceMay 12, 2015 USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — The United States is a significantly less Christian country than it was seven years ago.
That's the top finding — one that will ricochet through American faith, culture and politics — in the Pew Research Center's newest report, "America's Changing Religious Landscape," released Tuesday.
This trend "is big, it's broad and it's everywhere," said Alan Cooperman, Pew's director of religion research.
Christianity still dominates American religious identity (70%), but the survey shows dramatic shifts as more people move out the doors of denominations, shedding spiritual connections along the way.
Atheists and agnostics have nearly doubled their share of the religious marketplace, and overall indifference to religion of any sort is rising as well. Only the historically black Protestant churches have held a steady grip through the years of change.
Remember the familiar map of American religion? The South: A bastion of white evangelicals. The Northeast: Cradle of Catholics. The Midwest: Nest of Mainline Protestants. The West: Incubator of "nones" — people who claim no religious brand label.
Well, scratch all that in the new topography.
The shrinking numbers of Christians and their loss of market share is the most significant change since 2007 (when Pew did its first U.S. Religious Landscape survey) and the new, equally massive survey of 35,000 U.S. adults.
The percentage of people who describe themselves as Christians fell about 8 points — from 78.4% to 70.6%. This includes people in virtually all demographic groups, whether they are "nearing retirement or just entering adulthood, married or single, living in the West or the Bible Belt," according to the survey report.
State by state and regional data show:
Massachusetts is down on Catholics by 10 percentage points. South Carolina is down the same degree on evangelicals. Mainline Protestants, already sliding for 40 years or more, declined all over the Midwest by 3 to 4 percentage points.The Southern Baptist Convention and the United Methodist Church, the country's two largest Protestant denominations, are each down roughly the same 1.4 to 1.5 percentage points.Every tradition took a hit in in the West as the number of people who claim no religious brand continues to climb.
Christian faiths are troubled by generational change — each successive group is less connected than their parents — and by "switching" at all ages, the report shows. While nearly 86% of Americans say they grew up as Christians, nearly one in five (19%) say they aren't so anymore.
"Overall, there are more than four former Christians for every convert to Christianity," said Cooperman.
Although evangelicals are part of the decline, their slide has been less steep. They benefit from more people joining evangelical traditions, but they're hurt by generational change and by America's increased diversity.
According to the survey, white "born-again or evangelical" Protestants — closely watched for their political clout within the GOP — now account for 19% of American adults, down slightly from 21% in 2007.
Politicians should take note, said Mike Hout, a sociologist and demographer at New York University who is also a co-director of the General Social Survey.
"Traditionally, we thought religion was the mover and politics were the consequence," he said. Today, it's the opposite.
Many of today's formerly faithful left conservative evangelical or Catholic denominations because "they saw them align with a conservative political agenda and they don't want to be identified with that," Hout said.
Catholics dropped both in market share and in real numbers. Despite their high retention rate for people reared in the faith, they have a low conversion rate. Today, Cooperman said, 13% of U.S. adults are former Catholics, up from 10% in 2007.
Generational shifts are also hurting Catholic numbers. Greg Smith, Pew's associate director of research, said "just 16% of the 18-to-24-year-olds today are Catholic, and that is not enough to offset the numbers lost to the aging and switching."
Where are they going? To religious nowhere.
The "nones" — Americans who are unaffiliated with brand-name religion — are the new major force in American faith. And they are more secular in outlook — and "more comfortable admitting it" than ever before, said John Green, director of the Bliss Institute of Applied Politics at the University of Akron.
Their growth spans the generations, as well as racial and ethnic groups, said Green, a senior fellow in religion and American politics for the Pew Research Center.
"Nones," at 22.8% of the U.S. (up from 16% just eight years ago) run second only to evangelicals (25.4%) and ahead of Catholics (20.8%) in religious market share.
The "nones" numbers are now big enough to show noteworthy diversity:
Atheists rose from 1.6% to 3.1%, and agnostics from 2.4% to 4%. Combined, there are more "nones" than Evangelical Lutherans, United Methodists and Episcopalians all together.
"It's because we're right," crowed David Silverman, president of American Atheists. He hadn't yet seen the Pew findings, but commented based on other surveys he said showed nones rising numbers. Indeed, it's the public attention given to "nones" in the last decade, combined with the wide-open access to anti-religious discussion on the Internet, that drives the change, Silverman said.
"More people know the facts, and more people realize they are not alone," Silverman said. And with these shifts, the stigma of coming out as an atheist is lessening.
"It's now impossible for an atheist to think he is alone in this world. They are automatically empowered," said Silverman.
The bulk of the "nones" (15.8%, up from 12.1% in 2007) don't even commit to any view on God. Instead, they say they believe "nothing in particular."
But among the "nothings," there's a distinct split between "spiritual" and totally indifferent "nones."
Thirty percent of all "nones" still showed "a sort of religious pulse" by saying that religion is still at least somewhat important to them, said Cooperman.
However, the bulk of this group (39%) are not agnostic, atheist or vaguely spiritual — they're just not interested. Religion is not even somewhat important to them.
That same level of disinterest cuts into their social and political clout, said Hout.
The nothing-in-particular folks "don't vote, don't marry and don't have kids," at the same rate as other Americans, said Hout. "They are allergic to large, organized institutions — mass media, religions, big corporations, and political parties."
"None" is the winning category for religious switchers across society, particularly among gay and lesbians — 41% of gay or lesbian Americans say they have no religion. Cooperman said. "This suggests the degree of alienation and discomfort and sense of being unwelcome that they may have felt in traditional religious groups."
Other trends of note:
Intermarriage is rising with each generation. Among Americans who have gotten married since 2010, nearly four-in-ten (39%) report that they are in religiously mixed marriages, compared with 19% among those who got married before 1960, according to the report.
There's an identity gender gap. Most Christians are women (55%) and most "nones" are men (57%). However, women's unbelief numbers are growing: nearly one in five (19%) now say they have no religious identity.Diversity makes a difference. Racial and ethnic minorities now make up 41% of Catholics (up from 35% in 2007), 24% of evangelicals (up from 19%) and 14% of mainline Protestants (up from 9%). "The share of Americans who identify with non-Christian faiths also has inched up, rising 1.2 percentage points, from 4.7% in 2007 to 5.9% in 2014. Growth has been especially great among Muslims and Hindus," the report said.
The latest survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of 35,071 adults interviewed by telephone, on both cellphones and landlines, from June 4-Sept. 30, 2014. The margin of error on overall findings is plus or minus 0.6 percentage points.
JERUSALEM, Israel -- More than a decade ago, filmmaker Tim Mahoney began investigating one of the Bible's most well-known stories, the Exodus from Egypt.
According to the book of Exodus, Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the wilderness, where they journeyed for 40 years. Following his death, Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land, near Jericho.
Some believe it's all just a fable, but others say this new documentary provides evidence that demands a verdict.
Mahoney's research into the Exodus and the odyssey that followed produced startling results.
"So I actually went to the location where the events were supposed to happen in Goshen, in the eastern Delta, and went to the archaeological sites. And that's what I was told, that there was no evidence for the Exodus," Mahoney told CBN News.
The film proposes that when you get the timing right, archaeology matches history.
"Six steps in the right sequence and we match the story of the Bible in all the steps and show evidence for the Bible that people have never seen before," Mahoney said.
The film features experts who share their insights into the biblical account. Some are skeptical.
"The whole thing from the beginning of Mesogenan in Egypt, the slavery, Moses in the Exodus, the conquest of the Promised Land, it's all there in one neat line, but it's way too early," Egyptologist and author David Rohl said.
"You look for a collapse in Egyptian civilization and that's where you find Moses and the Exodus," Rohl explained.
"When you put those cities side by side, the biblical account and the archaeology match extremely well," Dr. John Bimson, a tutor in Old Testament at Trinity College in Bristol, England, concluded.
Skeptics and Believers
Mahoney kept looking for answers.
"What I started to see was there is this idea that Rameses is the pharaoh of the Exodus, and I think that happens in a particular time of history," he explained. "And when everyone looks at that particular time they're actually correct that there is no evidence for the Exodus."
"But other archaeologists and Egyptologists said, 'Wait a minute, there are evidences that are earlier than Rameses that match this story,'" he continued.
The film presents both sides of the archaeological argument as to whether the Exodus actually happened.
"I hate to disappoint people, but we have no evidence of a mass migration of people from one people coming into another country," University of Haifa archaeologist Norma Franklin states in the film. "I don't believe there was a single event that we can call the Exodus."
Egyptologist Maarten Raven, curator of the Leiden Museum in the Netherlands, also doubts the biblical account.
"This person [Moses] could not have seen all this. He imagined it," Raven asserted in the film.
"I'm very much against chronicle revisionism," said James K. Hoffmeier, Egyptologist and professor of Old Testament and Near Eastern Archaeology at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.
Egyptologist Mansour Boraik, director general of Antiquities at Luxor, maintains "there's no documented evidence about the Exodus."
And Tel Aviv University archaeologist Israel Finkelstein concludes "[The] Exodus did not happen in the way that it is described in the text."
But Mahoney believes the film's authenticity is strengthened by presenting both sides of the argument.
"The film is very, very convincing because we give both sides of it," he said. "We let you hear from archaeologists who say there is no evidence, and why, and we let you hear from these archaeologists and Egyptologists who say there is."
Why the Exodus?
Using state-of-the-art animation, ground-breaking archaeological discoveries and new interpretation, the film has already had a profound impact.
"We would show these films to people who had no understanding or interest in the story," Mahoney said. "Even atheists saw it and what they said was, 'Wow, I love this film. I love this approach.'"
"One atheist wrote, 'Well, I guess you did prove that this event might have happened, but that doesn't mean there were any miracles," he added.
Manhoney said the film is a powerful tool to reach skeptics.
"If you've got family members that [sic] don't believe in God or you have people that [sic] are suspicious or want a scientific approach, this film gives you that type of opportunity to have those kinds of conversations, which I think is the best you could ever hope for," Mahoney said.
"It's one of the most neutral and most intriguing types of films that allow you to have that opportunity," he added.
The film challenges a powerful notion that the Bible isn't true.
"Well one of the most important things is that up until now -- for the last 50, 60, 70 years -- people have been very critical of the Bible, and they said there just is no evidence," Mahoney said.
"And if the story of the Exodus isn't true, then what Jesus Christ said…about Moses and the Exodus and what the Apostle Paul said -- then those statements are false," he continued. "Because if there was no Exodus, then it starts to collapse the whole story."
"The whole Bible has a foundation in the story of the Exodus. What this film does -- which I believe it's profound -- is that it actually shows where the pattern of evidence is," Mahoney said. "And that I think has never been done before."
Defying Atheists, State Wants to Make the Bible Its Official Book
(Lightstock)
A pair of lawmakers in Mississippi have introduced a bill to make the Bible the official state book, the two said on Monday.
State Representatives Michael Evans and Tom Miles, both Democrats, said they introduced the measure on Thursday as a way to encourage people to read the Bible and be inspired to treat others with dignity.
The lawmakers said it was not their goal to force their Christian beliefs on others. The measure would not compel anyone to read the book, Evans said, adding: "It don't force anybody to do anything."
The bill came in response to constituents recommending it as a small corrective for "all the bad things happening in the world," he said.
The measure has about 20 co-sponsors, both Democrats and Republicans, and its prospects for passage appear good, said Miles.
Last year, Mississippi put "In God We Trust" on the state's seal, Miles noted.
"This (bill) isn't any more out there than that," he said.
Former pastor Ryan Bell converted to atheism. (YouTube screengrab)
Pastor Ryan Bell made a strange New Year's resolution in 2014—he aimed to live a godless year.
Bell, no relation to universalist Rob Bell, kept a blog to chronicle his yearlong journey without God and even had a documentary crew on hand to film what turned out to be his transformation from a Seventh-Day Adventist pastor to a full-blown atheist.
"I've looked at the majority of the arguments that I've been able to find for the existence of God, and on the question of God's existence or not, I have to say I don't find there to be a convincing case, in my view," Bell told NPR's Arun Rath.
"I don't think that God exists. I think that makes the most sense of the evidence that I have and my experience. But I don't think that's necessarily the most interesting thing about me."
What? How do you move from accepting a call of God into full-time ministry only to turn your back on him and decide to exchange a close relationship with God to a "closer relationship with reality"?
From Christian to Murderer?
Maybe we should ask heavy metal Christian rock star Tim Lambesis, the former front man for As I Lay Dying. Of course, that may be somewhat difficult considering he was sentenced to six years in prison for hiring a hit man to kill his wife. In the midst of that drama, Lambesis admitted he's an atheist.
In another instance, a Methodist worship and teaching pastor who served God in ministry for 20 years took up a new post, at least for a season, as public relations director for the American Atheists. She said her move to atheism was "very, very gradual."
"Actually there's not really one single moment where I can look back and say, "Ah, that was the moment," Teresa McBain told The Christian Post. "It was kind of a slow progression."
There's a long list of Christians who turned to atheism on WikiPedia. And the Clergy Project, a secret initiative that's willing to foot the bill to get you out of your pulpit and into a new career, claims to offer a "safe haven for active and former professional clergy/religious leaders who do not hold supernatural beliefs."
What is going on? Is the church doing something wrong? Or is the culture wooing once-saved Christians to the godless side? Or both?
A WikiHow article actually spells out "How to Persuade a Christian to Become Atheist" and atheists are certainly campaigning hard for their godless view. At the same time, a Barna Group study conducted among 16- to 29-year-olds shows that a new generation is more skeptical of and resistant to Christianity than were people of the same age in 1997. Just 16 percent of non-Christians in their late teens and 20s said they have a "good impression" of Christianity. Common negative perceptions include that present-day Christianity is judgmental (87 percent), hypocritical (85 percent), old-fashioned (78 percent) and too involved in politics (75 percent).
"We are far from becoming an atheist nation," says Barna researcher David Kinnaman. "There are tens of millions of active believers in America today. But the wall between the churched and the churchless is growing higher and more impenetrable as more people have no muscle memory of what it means to be a regular attender at a house of worship."
The Great Falling Away
What, then, is the root of Christians turning their back on God? I believe it's a sign of the times and may be part of the Great Falling Away. About two years ago, I asked the question: "Is the Great Falling Away Already Underway?". Jesus said that in the last days, the love of many would grow cold because iniquity will abound (see Matt. 24:12). When a God-fearing pastor becomes a godless champion for faithlessness, love has grown cold.
But there is hope. Mike McHargue is a Christian turned atheist turned follower of Christ. He says his time as an atheist actually made him a better Christian.
"Atheism doesn't pretend to have answers to every question. Losing God changed me. I no longer feel like I have to have answers to all the questions we face in life. I'm happy to look for an answer without finding one, and I'm comfortable with uncertainty. My faith is an act of simple trust now," McHargue wrote in Relevant magazine.
"What I know is less important than what I do. Knowing Jesus is not an abstract set of information or a construct of dogma. Being a Christian comes down to the simple of act of dropping my nets when I hear the words, 'Come, follow me.'"
I pray that every Christian-turned-atheist—and every atheist for that matter—would come to this same revelation. God is waiting to embrace you.
