I can’t believe it’s April already. Did you hear about the atheist who complained to a pastor that Christians have two holidays set aside for them — Christmas and Easter. He didn’t think that was fair. Christians have two but atheists have none. The pastor assured him. “No, that’s not true. You have April Fool’s Day.” Ha!
How did this day come to be? Some historians speculate that April Fools’ Day dates back to 1582, when France switched from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar. You see, in the Julian Calendar, as in the Hindu calendar, the new year began with the spring equinox around April 1. It was 1582. There was no radio, television, or internet. People who were slow to get the news or failed to recognize that the start of the new year had moved to January 1 and continued to celebrate it during the last week of March through April 1 became the butt of jokes and hoaxes and were called “April fools.”
But, why pick on atheists on April 1st? Well, Psalm 14:1 tells us, “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” This has been proven throughout history. Atheist leaders and governments in China, Russia, North Korea, and other Communist atheist countries have killed over 110 million people in the past century and they continue to persecute Christians today. Why is such evil so prevalent amongst atheists? Romans 1 says, “…God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness. They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.”
Logic, reason, and science support God. It’s atheism which is steeped in blind faith. As Professor Peter Kreeft said, “Belief in God is more logical and rational than belief in nothing.” Furthermore, nothing can create itself. Everything has a cause – including the earth and universe. Thomas Aquinas said things move and nothing moves for no reason. Something must cause that movement. There must be a mover to begin the motion in the universe since matter never moves itself. God is the cause and mover! Eric Metaxas said because of advances in science and our knowledge of the universe increased we now know there are over 200 known parameters necessary for a planet to support life. Every one of them must be met perfectly or there is no life. Earth meets all 200. Coincidence? Really? One of the world’s most renowned theoretical physicists, Paul Davies, said, “the appearance of design is overwhelming.” Oxford University professor of Mathematics Dr. John Lennox said, “the more we get to know about our universe, the more the hypothesis that there is a Creator… gains in credibility as the best explanation of why we are here.”
The evidence for the existence of God is overwhelming. To deny it is a willful choice. A foolish one for sure. “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’” Unfortunately, there are approximately 500 million atheists worldwide. That’s only seven percent of the global adult population, but still a big number. And sadly, for some, no matter what scientific evidence or biblical truth you share with them, they continue to deny. As evangelist Ray Comfort said, “You can lead an atheist to evidence, but you can’t make him think.” That must not stop us from trying, however. Perhaps we start by not teasing them about April Fool’s Day.
—————————————————–
Remember you can email praise reports and prayer requests to southchurchprayer@gmail.com. I lift them up every Wednesday at 4:00 pm on Facebook Live.