The subject of this post might sound slightly familiar. It comes from a statement on the other side of the metaphysical divide from world-famous atheist Richard Dawkins who said that, “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.” What Darwin actually did was to give atheists an excuse to reject their Creator by denying he even exists. Atheists, however, are increasingly fighting a losing battle as scientific knowledge advances. Every day it becomes more difficult to deny that nature appears to have been designed and could be not a product of chance. Even Dawkins himself said nature has the appearance of design, but Darwin allows him to be blind to that design all the while claiming the mantel of “science.” And now we know in the age of COVID that “science” is often used as an ideological cudgel to silence anyone who disagrees with the standard narrative of our cultural elites.

Turning Dawkins dubious phrase upside down popped into my head the other day as I was praying and thanking God for revealing himself in creation, which I do all the time, praying or not. This incredible revelation of God in creation is one of the reasons I subtitled my book, “God’s Provision for Building an Enduring Faith in You and Your Children.” This provision isn’t just in creation, but also in Scripture and in Christ, and why I quoted C.S. Lewis on the cover as well, that he believed in Christianity as he believed that the sun has risen, not only because he sees it, but because by it he sees everything else. It blows my mind, and it should do the same for every Christian, that God has made himself so glaringly obvious to us. So obvious that his existence is impossible to deny. So obvious that we can’t help but see him in everything everywhere all the time.

This isn’t as easy as I make it sound, however, because of two powerful influences that are a continual challenge to Christians. The first is sin, which is the inclination to rebellion against its creator in every human heart. Satan’s temptation to Adam and Eve was that they could be like God knowing good and evil, so the less compelled we are by God’s revelation of himself, the easier it is to justify our rebellion. If God would just make himself more obvious, we think, then sure, we’d submit ourselves to his lordship over our lives. The problem isn’t God’s obviousness, but as sinners we want nothing to do with him no matter how obvious he makes himself.

This sinful inclination is perfectly complimented by modern secular culture which makes God, at best, persona non grata. That Latin phrase perfectly captures the secular conception of God: a “person not welcome.” The sense we get throughout secular culture is that God is fine as long as he or it is just a personal thing, something you just don’t bring up in polite company. It’s a fascinating sociological study that over the last 50 years as homosexuality came out of “the closet,” secularists determined they would shove God, especially Christians. in the closet the homosexuals came out of. Those in the Christian-God closet require faith because there is no proof or evidence for what they believe. The messaging from secularism shoved in our face every day in every way is that if you have “science” you don’t need faith, but if that religious stuff makes you feel good then have at it. Just don’t bring it out of the closet!

Thankfully, since God created the world, and us in it, his fingerprints are all over it. The “science” that for the last several hundred years was supposed to destroy religion and God with it, is now making God undeniable. I believe God’s revelation of himself in Scripture in Christ also makes him undeniable, but it is creation to drives us there and makes him clearly seen. I previously posted about Stephen Meyer’s new book, The Return of the God Hypothesis. It’s well worth listening to another interview of Meyer I found, and you can reinforce your conviction that God has indeed made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled Christian, and that there is nothing intellectual at all about atheistic materialism.

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