Presbyterian Devotions: The God Delusion - Psalm 35 v 20

Psalm 35:20    They do not speak peaceably, but devise false accusations against those who live quietly in the land.

The Sunday School class that I’m currently teaching is studying the book “The God Delusion” written by British atheist Richard Dawkins. It’s a fierce attack upon religion and especially the Christian faith. Throughout the book Dawkins questions why we should placate church people’s views in society. After all, he concludes, a belief in God is akin to believing in fairy tales, so why should 21^st century civilization have anything more to do with churches, priests, religion, or faith?

Much of Britain has been affected by Dawkins’ thinking so that less than 5% of the population regularly attends church. Fifteen years ago, it was around 12-15%, so in the intervening years, the Christian church has declined by about 66%. In fact Britain has become so secular that it is now seen as a mission field by African and Asian Christian groups.

I think that we’re beginning to see something similar over here. Church has become just another leisure pursuit, lifestyle choice, or extra-curricular activity in the lives of many people. Even when we try to update date our worship and make our message relevant, the daunting truth is this: we are non-essential to 21^st century living.

This bothers me at times, and not because congregational numbers are dwindling of allover the land. I’m perturbed because we went through all of this 80 years ago, in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. Decadence and a dwindling faith brought about reactionary politics and before we knew it, the world was at war with fascism and communism. Jews and Christians were attacked and falsely accused by reactionary governments in Germany, Japan, Russia and China. Millions of people lost their lives. Are we destined to experience the same this century? God forbid!

I teach an atheist’s book in our Sunday School class so that people may be better prepared for what could lie ahead of us. It’s far better to know what our opponents are thinking and expressing, rather than fool ourselves that we are spiritually invincible and beyond being influenced or distracted by militant atheism. We only have to look at what’s happening in Europe to see what could occur here.

Prayer:                        Lord God, we pray for Christ’s Church and our Christian faith. We ask that You strengthen our resolve in the face of opposition. We pray that You give us the words to effectively counter anti-religious and atheistic ideas. Help us to prepare our hearts and minds, spirits and souls for the years ahead and days to come. In Christ’s Name, we pray. Amen.

John Stuart is the pastor of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to comment on today’s message, please send him an email to pastor@erinpresbyterian.org. He writes the devotional blog “Heaven’s Highway.”

Today’s image is John’s latest drawing called “Sunflowers.” You can view a larger version online at the following link: Sunflowers. You can also view most of his art at his current website: Stushie’s Art