Last night I watched the debate between Christopher Hitchens (anti-theist) and Frank Turek (Christian). I was expecting a good scholarly debate and that it was not. While Frank was obviously a bit nervous in the beginning as it was his first debate, Hitchens one and only argument was, “I hate Catholicism therefore God doesn’t exist.” I had heard he was bitter towards God’s people and religion but it was stunning to me the attack and the lack of argument for someone recognized as a scholar.
But it’s the comments that always are disturbing. Not just for this debate but in many posts, forums and YouTube comment sections. It’s trendy right now to look at all the evidence that points to God and then say, “There’s no evidence for God.” It’s the ‘in’ thing to say and when asked to defend an atheistic worldview (they too should have a voice), the response is “I don’t have have to because I don’t believe.” ???
Regardless, the stubbornness of the heart to even consider the things of God is stunning to me. I keep remembering the Scripture that says, “The fools says in this heart, there is no God” (Ps 14:1). And it’s been distressing to me these trends sweep the nation(s). And the logic is just not even present. (See Stealing from God by Frank Turek).
The Dividing Line of the Plagues
And then I was reading today in Exodus about the plagues God brought on Egypt:
Blood
Frogs
Lice
Flies
Diseased Livestock
Boils
And now another one…a hail storm so bad that it would kill man or animal if left out in the open.
20 Those officials of Pharaoh who feared the word of the Lord hurried to bring their slaves and their livestock inside. 21 But those who ignored the word of the Lord left their slaves and livestock in the field.
And I was stunned again at the hardness of heart of those who had already experienced a number of plagues, so much so that even the magicians of Egypt believed. But at risk of their own lives, their crops, and livestock, some “ignored the word of the Lord.”
It’s astonishing again. They had seen and experienced the misery of the prior plagues and Moses proclaiming on the Egyptians, and yet they hardened their heart. This wasn’t just Pharaoh, this was the people.
Conclusion
In a strange way it encouraged me. No matter what you might do, and even God does, some will refuse to believe. If a miracle happened in front of them, they still wouldn’t believe.
I wonder if for every plague they said it wasn’t Yahweh but a really good magician’s trick. And then I’m sure after they got to the point where they lost their first-born child, that they may now “believe” but are bitter and angry towards God. Still rejecting him.
It really is a tragedy to observe. And while we keep casting seeds far and wide as some will find good soil, I fear the angry atheists have spread a message that hardens the soil of many. God will ultimately triumph. But the cost of the rejection of God is so high.
May the Lord turn the hearts of stone back into the hearts of flesh.
