Christ is the Way of True Common Sense: A Critique of Atheism is the Way of Common Sense by Madalyn O’Hair (this is Part III of the essay)
Part III Homecoming
In O’Hair’s quest for the truth, she dismisses the existence of God as a possible reality because she has deemed the concept of God as being silly. O’Hair desires a better world where man can achieve a society based on truth, justice and reason and yet she suppresses the very truth that allows for such a society. How can I appeal to the atheist who believes so dearly in her heart that there is no God? I must appeal in the same way I appeal to any other religion or philosophy in that her philosophy is incomplete and actually quite contradictory. She is a seeker of truth yet is willing to suppress the very truth that confronts her.
If you truly desire to seek truth, I have a reality that not only is true, but will provide you a much greater motivation to love your fellow man, to seek greater justice, to live a life that is of greater reason and have greater common sense. It may assault your beliefs on every front, but I truly believe that this will in fact lead you to a greater quest that you are seeking.
Although Christianity began two thousand years ago, its origins come much earlier. We are confronted with the person of Jesus Christ who claims not only to be God but also reveals characteristics of a personal God who is both creator and one that is intimately involved in his creation. Through the writings from the bible, we learn of this personal God. Though we cannot prove the forces of nature are personal or impersonal, yet atheists and evolutionists all reject a personal God because they believe in the blind evolutionary process and chance. They are unwilling to even allow for the possibility that behind the chance there was one who ordered things to happen.
What does having a personal God have to do with man, life, and his future? God has everything to both the Christian and the non-Christian. In the Christian system of thought, we see a belief system that not only changes society evidenced throughout history, but we also see the God’s fingerprints all across that history. This is because it is a belief that is based on the reality of a God who is both creator of man and one that is intimately involved with his creation. Christianity offers an understanding of man that “fits” empirical data that O’Hair so quickly dismisses.
Christians believe that God created mankind in his image that is very good. In saying this, Christians acknowledge the special place in all of nature that man is in and the responsibility that comes along with it. Man is not merely an “animal,” man is made in the image of God. This means that when Christians interact with other people, they know that they are interacting with beings that are in the image of the one true God. This alone is motivation enough to love our fellow man.
Christians acknowledge the reality of sin and evil in the world. O’Hair recognizes that the world is not as it should be. She recognizes that there still remains plenty of room for improvement yet her philosophy cannot address “why” humanity is the way it is. She places tremendous faith in the man, yet cannot address why historically humanity chooses to fight, to lie, cheat, steal and kill one another. It is true that humanity needs to improve, but only in Christianity do we see what we need to overcome, namely sin and death.
Christians acknowledge that the only way for humanity to be made whole again is through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ is a historical figure that not only pointed to the Kingdom of God, but he also claimed to be God. His life as recorded by the bible points to the only way of salvation, namely his life, death and resurrection. We learn from Jesus a new ethic and a new morality that is based on grace and love. We are saved by the very God who created us. No other religion or philosophy teaches what Jesus taught and no other religion or philosophy offers a view of reality as Christ did.
Christianity offers a view of humanity that is based on the reality of a personal God who not only created but is intimately involved in his creation. Christianity views humanity as stewards of God’s creation, receivers of God’s revelation, and made in the image of God. Christianity acknowledges that man knows what true goodness, fairness, justice, and wisdom are but have departed from the truth. I appeal to O’Hair’s sense of fairness and desire to learn the truth to not discard what history has already testified to and to open herself up to possibilities that are beyond her relative point of view. Christ offers a better way. As the old hymn writer wrote, “Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see.” In order for man to truly evolve, Christianity points man to himself, first to recognize his own personal sin and need for something outside of self to save him. This is not a fairy tale, but a reality that can be seen over and over again throughout history, psychology, sociology, and all the other social sciences. Christianity not only points man away from himself, but shows him the way to a personal and intimate God. That truly is amazing grace.