Church of Christ Articles

Fighting Atheism’s Influence in the Home

God does exist. All of the best-sellers in the world that espouse otherwise will not change that fact. But if we really expect our children to believe and follow the One True Living God, we must start thinking outside the box! Sadly, the atheists of this country are doing their job better than we Christian parents are. It’s time someone states the obvious: What we’ve done in the past hasn’t worked.

Alarmed with the rise of Atheism? Fulfill your responsibility at home.

If you do not believe this, just walk into a church building and inquire if anyone there has children who have abandoned the Faith. But be prepared—the line that forms before you may be much longer than you ever expected. Far too many young people are leaving the Church only to turn around and embrace secular humanism, or even worse, atheism.

Now think: How many of those children who have left the Church could list most of the state capitals? How many of those children know the value for pi, or how to solve for x in an algebra problem? How many of those children can name bones of the body or could describe the water cycle? How many of those children know every word to their favorite songs or could tell you, verbatim, lines from their favorite movie? How many of those children have studied for hours to take tests over meaningless material?

As you sit there considering how much time these young people have spent cramming for standardized tests, ask yourself this one simple question: How much time have they spent actually studying Christian evidences or logical arguments to prove God’s existence? If we are going to reverse this trend, we must start thinking outside the box as to what is “normal”. It’s time we expect more from ourselves and more from our children.

“Are you actually suggesting that we test or quiz our children over Christian evidences or make them study biblical material outside of Bible class?”

I guess my response would be: “Yes, whatever it takes.” After all, which “test” is ultimately more important? I’m not downplaying the importance of a good education—I’m just trying to remind parents that their children spend an enormous amount of time learning “things,” but too often they only spend a small fraction learning about God and His Word. It is no secret that during their educational years students spend a great deal of time studying evolution, humanism, other religious beliefs, and even the tenets of atheism. Why not counter this with a solid Christian foundation?

As I mentioned before, what we’ve done in the past hasn’t worked. It’s time we get serious and combat the atheists’ propaganda with knowledge! Ask yourself this question: Can my children and grandchildren truly prove that God exists? Our children are told that if you can not measure something using the scientific method (using your five senses), then it is an illusion. Where does that place God— a Spirit (John 4:24)? Anyone who has spent any time at all studying philosophy or logic understands that while a Supreme Being may not be proven in a laboratory using the scientific method, the laboratory’s very existence is proof for His existence.

Consider this simple logic: It is a self-evident truth that something cannot come from nothing. (If someone wants to argue this fact, I would love to sell them some “nothing.”) Since something now exists, this indicates that something has existed forever. That means something is eternal—meaning it has always been here. This is simple logic—something exists today, thus something has always existed. The question is what or who has eternal properties?

Atheists and evolutionists would have students believe that the Universe is eternal; however that does not fit the scientific data. We know today that the Universe is expanding, which is a clear indication it had a beginning. As evolutionist Robert Jastrow admitted: “The lingering decline predicted by astronomers for the end of the world differs from the explosive conditions they have calculated for its birth, but the impact is the same: modern science denies an eternal existence to the Universe, either in the past or the future” (1977, p. 30).

The only logical conclusion is that God is eternal and He was responsible for the creation of the Universe. With a little time and a little study we can teach these Truths to our children and grandchildren. I’ve heard it said many times that it takes more “blind” faith to be an atheist. Given the amount of evidence we have for God I would agree.

Brad Stine once mused: “Who is more irrational? A man who believes in a God he doesn’t see, or a man who’s offended by a God he doesn’t believe in?” I would take that even one step further: “Who is more irrational? A Christian who believes in a God but doesn’t teach his child about Him, or an atheist who doesn’t believe in Him but takes the time to teach the child his beliefs?