In the Absence of God

On the CBS Early Show a few years ago, Jane Clayson asked Anne Graham, "How could God let something like this happen?"  She was referring to the tragic results of Hurricane Katrina as it came ashore on the Gulf coast.  Miss Graham gave a classic response, "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives.   And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out."  Miss Graham correctly observed that, at least a small but vocal segment, of American society has been seeking to remove the influence of God from our community.

On another CBS program, Ben Stein concluded that this trend started when the atheist, Madeleine Murray O'Hare, complained that she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said okay.  Later, someone else said that we should not read the Bible in school.  And we said okay.  Then, Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem.  And we said okay.   Stein commented, "Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t seem to bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves."

The character of our children of tomorrow is greatly shaped by what they learn from us today. When people deny the existence of God and, thus, seek to remove any reference of Him from society, it isn’t that they no longer believe in something, but they believe in almost anything. Stein observed that it is strange how people believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Messages sent over the internet spread like wildfire, but people hesitate to send messages regarding the Lord. Lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace. Dysfunctional relationships are often glamorized on television while normal family relations are portrayed as abnormal.

Is it any wonder that the very moral foundation of our nation is crumbling? The psalmist wrote, "If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalms 11:3). God's word, the Bible, is the only viable moral compass for mankind; yet, it is being attacked as being outdated, impractical and unreliable. Frankly, it's wearisome to listen to the vocal minority who loudly protest the Bible's influence in our society. It’s also frustrating to see spineless politicians who willingly give them a listening ear.

Jesus taught us by precept and example how to live the greatest and most productive life we could ever experience. He came to earth that we might have life and have it abundantly (John 10:10). He taught us how to get along with one another, how to build strong families, and how to enrich our character. He went about doing good and healing those oppressed of the devil (Acts 10:38). Jesus willingly died on the cross, not in order to obtain glory from men as a martyr, but that He might provide the hope of eternal life. It is the tragedy of all tragedies for any society to seek to remove His influence from their midst.

In the absence of God men will believe almost anything.