New atheists posit that the world would be a better place if we evolved past religious beliefs and fantasies about the existence of God. They advocate abolishing all religious beliefs to bring about peace.
If all religions are merely man-made ideologies, then it would seem to be no big deal to eradicate all such systems and get beyond them to peace for it seems like much of the world’s conflict stems from religious differences. (i.e. Israel v. Palestine, and the problems in the Middle East.) Such conflicts are the result of religion are they not? Religion is then dangerous. However, is a religious belief in God or is it more adequately depicted as man-made rules to earn God’s favor?
In contrast, true peace is found only in God.
If Jesus is who He said He was, then peace is only found in Him. In that case, getting rid of belief in Him (if that were possible) would not bring peace, but cause more harm in the world.
What if all religion is man’s attempts at finding God because deep in their soul they know He exists and they desire spirituality for they are attempting to connect to the supernatural world in a myriad of ways. Many different belief systems are then developed in response to this desire and there are similarities to all the systems because we are all living in the same reality even if we see it differently. However, what if there were one real belief system and all the others were distortions of that system because they were man based instead of God revealed?
What if God does exist?
And if He does, what if He is the answer to life’s problems and we go on living life without seeking Him? What if all our conflicts are because we do things man’s way instead of God’s way? What if true life, peace, and goodness are rooted in Him who created us? What if the answer is found in His love and not in man-made religions?
What if Christianity isn’t a construct of religion, but a revelation of God’s truth for the world? For the only way we as finite human beings could know He exists is through Him revealing Himself to us in a way we can understand. What if He has done that and is doing that still and yet we ignore the revelation because it didn’t come in the format we thought it should?
God can change hearts
What if knowing God can change hearts which will make the world a better place versus man making more laws for man knowing that man doesn’t keep our own laws. What if it isn’t about laws at all, but about God’s transforming power to create in us redeemed hearts that enable us to love our neighbor as ourselves? Is it too good to be true? It’s too good to be man-made.
