Members of the church at CCC
 

Why I am no longer an Atheist!

In my early years my parents (Catholic dad, and Presbyterian mom) talked to me about God. At public school I was taught about evolution. Life taught me man has too many religions, which one is right?

My parents used the fear of God and religion to try and control me. The public school taught me evolution to try and educate me. Life taught me not to trust anyone.

So I declared myself an atheist at an early age. After all, so many religions, and where is God? You cannot see Him, touch Him, smell Him or hear Him, in other words unquantifiable. 

I outgrew my parents control, evolution is looking for Lucy (the missing link), physicist are looking for boson-higgs (the god particle), and religions are getting downright scary. Atheism is looking good, as an atheist you are the king of your own castle! An atheist is the smartest person who has ever lived! After all, how can you belive in something or someone you have never seen? 

But God! What God? I thought God did not exist? After all, I am an atheist! I can think as I please and do as I please. Didn't you hear me? I said there is no God! And I'll say it again, there is no God, “God is dead!” There, that settles it.

But God! Again with the God thing? Look up at the stars at night, try to count them. Don't you know that long, long, long, long ago, well more like 20 billion years ago to be exact, those stars just started appearing for no reason, scientifically known as “the BIG BANG”, very technical. God did not create those, they just happened. Okay, that was close, for a minute there I thought the heavens declare God's glory. The big bang, right? There is no God! Yeah I'll say it again, there is no God. Hey I believe it again, that settles it.

But God! What now? Who came first the chicken or the egg? What? Don't bother me with trivial stuff, of course it was the dinosaur! It came first and evolved into a chicken, which then had the egg. It's quite scientific you know, the whole evolution thing, even though I have not seen it, the books have charts with pictures that explains it. You cannot fool me, I am too smart in my own eyes. The fool says in His heart, “There is no God”. So there, I said it again, there is no God.

But God! This is getting a little tiring, I am running out of time and I have already said, there is no God, all my life, day and night, every day of my life, that should settle it. I will say it one last time, with emphasis,  there is no God!!! Why don't you believe me?

But God! “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” You mean just because I say there is no God, it's not true? You mean, God has a voice and He has spoken through His word the Bible? 

But God! I was here before you were born and will be here long after you die. I created the heavens and the earth. I created man in mine own image. I created everything you see, hear, touch, and smell. I created the chicken, before the egg, I created you!

“God is Not Dead!” He lives and once you know God lives than you can no longer say, “there is no God.” You humbly bow before the throne of the Lamb who was slain, and sing with the angels and the elders and others who believe, “worthy is the Lamb who was slain...”

God is alive and I am no longer an atheist, to God be the Glory great things He has done. You too can know God is not dead, just humble your heart and ask Him. He has ears to hear, He has a mouth to speak, He is a Spirit and took on the form of a man so he can walk among us. His name is Jesus, and He lives.

Jesus said to him (Thomas),

“Have you believed because you have seen me?

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

- John 20:29

 

Shane's Testimony

Shane (a 30 year old male) would like to start with my belief that I am a sinner justified before our Holy God by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone.

I grew up in a divided Christian home. My mother was a believer, but my father was not interested in religion. I followed the road to destruction for the majority of my life. I went to a Christian high school and was taught from the truths of scripture, but the cross meant nothing to me (1 Corinthians 1:18). I lived as a wretched unregenerate sinner for years seeking out evil. I developed many sinful habits such as alcohol, other intoxicants, lust of the flesh and many other evils that were an abomination to our Lord.

I was married in a catholic church in March of 2007 to my beautiful bride. I did not understand the importance of the marriage covenant to our God and I continued in my sin. Then in October 2011 we found ourselves without a place to live (I do not say homeless because we of course had options, but I believe our particular circumstance was divinely orchestrated to bring us to the cross). We were invited to live with some friends that we had just recently met. They opened their door to us and loved us like family. They shared the gospel with us and it began to stir something in my heart.

I was still not converted but I began to read my Bible. I continued going to church and began to develop a hunger for the word of God, but I was still relying on my own works and my religious zeal. I was trying to replicate what I saw in our friends home on my own volition without relying on Christ as my cornerstone. I started to backslide in July of 2012 while my wife and children were out of town.

I then, mistakenly felt an urgency to “fix” my situtaion, and led my family into a religious organization called the “Oneness Pentacostal” movement. They had a holiness standard and I thought that I needed that to be my cornerstone. By the grace of God I continued to listen to sermons from pastor Paul Washer of Radford Fellowship in Virginia.

One day I was listening to a message of his and one of his sentences hit me like a strong punch to the gut: “If your not relying on Christ you could be cast off into some other false belief system”. I was not relying on Christ, he was not my cornerstone, personal piety was. I was still lost in my sin and all of my righteousness was filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6). Needless to say, we left the church and returned to our former church where the Name of Christ is exalted!

From that point on God has been doing a work in my heart. I have been brought to repentance before Him. Scripture has come alive to me. Jesus has become precious to me (1 Peter 2:7). I understand the beauty of passages like Romans 5:8 “But God Commendeth his love to us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ DIED for us.” and Hymn verses like “In my hand no price I bring, SIMPLY to thy CROSS I cling”. I have spent times pacing around the house repeating“ in Christ you are a new creation”.

I now love Jesus and I am eternally grateful to God for his mercy in pursuing my heart. Praise God I am born again.