From the first, our rebellion against God has taken the form of questioning the wisdom of His statements and prohibitions.

We see this today as popular atheists are lining up to ridicule God and the Bible. To do so requires that the atheist sets himself up as the authority as to what is right and proper. Sound familiar? This is exactly what happened in Genesis 3. Adam had the choice between listening to his wife or believing God. He chose the former and we’ve been choosing badly ever since.

Recently I saw two blog posts, one by Doug Geivett and the other by Chad Missildine, about Christians behaving like atheists. If I am honest (or attempting to be), I will admit that at times I choose my own way over God’s and in that moment, I am a functional atheist. I do not always act as if I believe that God is always with me. I do not always act as though God is the most important relationship in my life. I sometimes act as if I am the final authority and can stand in judgment of God and his word.

The point of this is that before we go on a verbal seek and destroy mission against atheists, we should look inside and see that the “did God say?” virus is still in our system and will not be completely eradicated until we are with Jesus. This reflection should put is in a better position to present truth in a loving way. It is easier to be loving when we realize that the atheist is living out what we would be without the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.

The first atheist to conquer is the one in the mirror.