Copyright 2005; updated 2010. All scripture is Authorized King James Version, 1769 edition. This article may be copied and used without permission of the author, provided it is copied and used in its entirety. Underlining is used in Scripture passages for emphasis.
As with any answer, it is best to begin at the beginning. It is not often that I do this, but this is somewhat irresistible as the introduction contains contradictions in itself. Therefore, the introduction to this tract is where we will begin. After addressing the introduction, the “contradictions” will be addressed and explained.
The introduction of non-tract No. 5 states:
“Paul said, “God is not the author of confusion,” (I Cor. 14:33), yet never has a book produced more confusion than the bible! There are hundreds of denominations and sects, all using the “inspired Scriptures” to prove their conflicting doctrines.
Why do trained theologians differ? Why do educated translators disagree over Greek and Hebrew meanings? Why all the confusion? Shouldn’t a “divinely inspired” document be as clear as possible?
The problem is not with human limitations, as some claim. The problem is the bible itself. People who are free of theological bias notice that the bible contains hundreds of discrepancies. Should it surprise us when such a literary and moral mishmash, taken seriously, causes so much discord? Here is a brief sampling of biblical contradictions.”
The very beginning sentence begs the question: If there is a God (and there is), isn’t there also a Devil? If you are going to argue against the existence of God, shouldn’t you also argue against the existence of the Devil as well? How is it that the Atheist always argues against the existence of God, but NEVER argues against the existence of the Devil (or Satan)?
Perhaps it is because the Devil, who is the author of confusion, is heavily influencing their thinking. After all, the Scripture (the Bible) plainly states:
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will. (II Timothy 2:24-26)
If we notice, the above passage states that those that oppose themselves (the lost) are taken captive by the devil at the devil’s will. The fact that Satan uses snares to do this makes it impossible for the individual to know that Satan is influencing his or her thinking. As a testament to the Scripture’s honesty, the Bible is plain that even born-again believers can be unknowingly influenced by the Devil. There are three prominent instances in Scripture. The first is the incident with Peter in Matthew 16:
From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:21-23)
What makes this all the more amazing is that shortly before this incident, Peter was the one that declared that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of the Living God.
When Jesus came into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (Matthew 16:13-17)
By the way, it should be noticed that in the last statement by the Lord Jesus Christ, that He stated that discerning who He is, cannot be accomplished by men’s methods. Rather, the discerning of who the Lord Jesus Christ is, both then and now, strictly by revelation from God. For one to know with certainty that the Lord Jesus Christ is God in the flesh cannot be accomplished except through the operation of faith. Which leads us to a short rabbit trail that will be examined more fully later, that is: How does one obtain faith?
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans 10:17)
It is not a matter of how much you hear, rather, are you willing to hear and consider what God has to say about man (and thus you) and man’s condition and what God has done about it, as it is written:
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isaiah 1:18)
Now, let’s return to the subject of being influenced by the Devil. The second incident is with James and John, the sons of thunder. We should ask the question of just where their attitude came from as we consider this passage.
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, And sent messengers before his face: and they went, and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to make ready for him.
And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. (Luke 9:51-56)
It should be obvious, the manner of spirit they were of was demonic. They, without realizing it, were being influenced by the Devil.
The third incident is also with Peter just before the Lord’s crucifixion.
And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. And he said unto him, Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death. And he said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day, before that thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me. (Luke 22:31-34)
Of course, we should all know what Peter ended up doing: He denied the Lord Jesus Christ just as the Lord had told him he would.
Now, this being the case with those who are born of God, just what chance do those who are not the Lord’s stand against Satan and his wiles. Again the Scripture states:
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (II Corinthians 4:3-4)
By the way, the god of this world is Satan, by right of conquest. However, in returning to the issue at hand we find that the Lord Jesus Christ spoke of the Devil when He rebuked the Pharisees:
Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. (John 8:44)
Now, I have a couple of questions:
- Have you ever been lied to?
- And believed the lie?
The most accomplished liar in all of creation, both physical and spiritual, is Satan, the Devil.
How is it that the Atheist never attempts to disprove the existence of Satan?
By the way, did you know that the Supreme Court of the United States has declared Atheism to be a religion? However, as you will see by the following quote from a Atheist reviewing the video America’s Godly Heritage that the reviewer is not honest about Atheism being a religion. Please notice the last line of the quotation.
Claim 1: “The Supreme Court ruled that Secular Humanism is a viable First Amendment Religion.
Cases cited: Torcaso v. Watkins (367 U.S. 488), 1961, and an unnamed 1985 decision.
Torcaso v. Watkins ruled nothing of the sort; a footnote mentioned “Secular Humanism” as a “Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God [sic].” This did not refer to what “secular humanism” generally refers to today, but to a church in California, the Fellowship of Humanity. The footnote cited Fellowship of Humanity v. County of Alameda, 153 Cal. App. 2d 673, 315 P. 2d 394. I checked the second cite, which is the _Pacific Reporter_, and found that the Fellowship of Humanity formed in 1952 and was suing the County of Alameda to recover property taxes and penalties paid under protest. The California Appeals Court ruled that this was a legitimate religion and therefore tax exempt (2-1 decision). (This case was filed September 11, 1957.) The members of the Fellowship of Humanity referred to themselves simply as “humanists,” not as “secular humanists.” (PDF capture of the Skeptic Files page ((It was necessary to capture the page from the Wayback Machine as the site (and page) disappeared.)))
However, the Fellowship of Humanity still exists, and it has a website. On its website the following statement is quite visible:
“Humanism is about what humans ARE and DO at their Best for each other and all Life Forms without supernatural interventions.” (http://www.humanisthall.net/)
Thus to claim that the humanists at Fellowship of Humanity are not secular humanists is patently absurd. After all, they plainly state they do not believe in the supernatural (http://humanisthall.net/BYLAWS.htm) which plainly eliminates a belief in God. Thus, they are secular humanists as well, and secular humanism is a religion.
This makes one of the primary claims of Atheists a patent lie. They are influenced by their religion, and their religion influences their view of the Scriptures.
Contrary to the claim in the introduction to this “non-tract” where it is stated “People who are free of theological bias notice that the bible contains hundreds of discrepancies.” the Atheist has a theology. It just so happens that the theology the Atheist has is one of self. They are their own gods. And they worship and serve themselves. Quite obviously, there is a head-on collision with the Bible.
Again, this is not new. In the Bible the Lord Jesus Christ addressed this very issue with the Jews in John, chapter 10:
Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him.
Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me?
The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods?
If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? (John 10:31-36)
Here, He quoted the Psalms to show them that they acted like they were gods that could control their destiny and the destiny of those around them.
I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High. But ye shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes. (Psalm 82:6-7)
Again this is stated in Isaiah as the LORD God challenged men concerning their refusal to obey Him and hear His word. In fact, this particular challenge sounds very much like the LORD is speaking directly to the Atheist.
Produce your cause, saith the LORD; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob. Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come. Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together. (Isaiah 40:21-23)
Finally, twice in Psalms and once in Romans, the word of God declares that Atheism is nothing new.
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 14:1-3)
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. (Psalm 53:1-3)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. (Romans 1:18-25)
So it is that the Atheist is not honest when he declares that he has no theological bias. Moreover, the Atheist cannot honestly declare that there is no spiritual realm in which powers beyond our control influence what we think and sometimes how we act — even without our knowledge and understanding that that is what is going on. In short, until someone on this earth knows everything, and knows and can prove that they know everything, anyone that declares that a spiritual world does not exist is lying. Moreover, we would have to ask what is influencing them to declare such things.
To be continued . . .