This is April Fool’s Day.
….
When a person believes that there is no God, they become a god unto themselves. They determine what is right and wrong. They set the standards for their life. They live as if they have all the answers for when they die and eternity. Such a person is going to be very unpleasantly surprised. [MacFarlane reveals he knows very little about atheists. Call me, John. You know where I live.]
“And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: (17) And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? (18) And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. (19) And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. (20) But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? (21) So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21)
This April Fool’s Day, be careful not to cross any Biblical lines as you prank someone. And remember those who are fools by the Biblical definition. There’s nothing funny about their day and certainly nothing funny about their future.
— John MacFarlane, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bryan, Ohio, Don’t Be a Fool, April 1, 2021
Bruce Gerencser, 66, lives in rural Northwest Ohio with his wife of 45 years. He and his wife have six grown children and thirteen grandchildren. Bruce pastored Evangelical churches for twenty-five years in Ohio, Texas, and Michigan. Bruce left the ministry in 2005, and in 2008 he left Christianity. Bruce is now a humanist and an atheist.
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<blockquote.They determine what is right and wrong. They set the standards for their life. They live as if they have all the answers for when they die and eternity.
It wasn’t intended that way, but that sounds like a description of conservative Christians.
We may not have all the answers, but I’m reasonably sure our answers are closer to reality than theirs.
So all I had to do to become a deity was not to believe in deities? Cool….
poor dear MacFarlane, just one more Christian coward who finds he has to bear false witness.
I’m with Obstaclechick. Hey, we’re deities! And unlike the saints my Catholic mother prayed to, we’re not even obligated to find people’s car keys and such!
Down is up, left is right, the universe is tiny and this god of theirs is ginormous but can’t seem to get off his behind and actually accomplish much good. I can’t do miracles, but I can at least do some good in the world. Not a lot, I’m only one person, but anything’s better than flat-out zero.
Sorry, I’m grumpy today.
I am an atheist. I’m willing to believe that makes me a god. But my cat just knows that she’s one!