Atheism and satanic deception

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Gustave Doré’s depiction of Satan from John Milton‘s Paradise Lost.

Creation Ministries International in their article on atheism declare concerning atheism and deception:

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Another reason for rejecting God (choosing atheism), is a willing acceptance of satanic deception.The angel Lucifer (“luminous one”) fell and became Satan (“adversary”) due to his desire to supplant God. This was Lucifer’s single-minded obsession. He not only rejected God by attempting to supplant Him, but he urged humans to do likewise. Satan urged Eve to choose against God for her own self-fulfilment: He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5 ESV). The tactic is clear: firstly, question God’s statements, then, contradict God’s statements and, finally, urge rebellion in seeking equality with God. This manifests in atheists as 1. Questioning whether there is a God to make statements in the first place, so God did not say anything. 2. Contradicting the statements said to have been spoken by God. 3. Seeking equality with God by replacing God with the self. This satanic deception appeals strongly to atheists as it bolsters two of their desired delusions: 1) absolute autonomy—being free to do as they please, and 2) the lack of ultimate accountability—there are no eternal consequences for doing as they please.[1]

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In a 2008 interview, Dinesh D’Souza declared:

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Look at Satan’s reason for rebelling against God. It’s not that he doesn’t recognize that God is greater than he is. He does. It’s just that he doesn’t want to play by anybody else’s rules. This idea that it is better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven is Satan’s motto, and it turns out that this is also the motto of contemporary atheists such as Christopher Hitchens.[2]

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Contents [hide] 1 Promulgation of Atheism and Some Historical Consequences of Atheism 2 Charles Baudelaire – atheism and satanic deception 3 See also 4 Notes

Promulgation of Atheism and Some Historical Consequences of Atheism

See also: Atheism and morality

Stain glass depiction of the Apostle John

The Apostle John records Jesus making an allusion to the devil and declaring that he is a thief that comes to rob, kill, and destroy.^[3] Jesus also declares the children of the devil want to carry out their father’s wishes and that the devil was a liar and a murderer.^[4] As far as the methods used to promulgate atheism, there is a history of using deception. In addition, atheistic communist countries have used violent means to suppress theism.

Concerning atheism and mass murder, Christian apologist Gregory Koukl wrote that “the assertion is that religion has caused most of the killing and bloodshed in the world. There are people who make accusations and assertions that are empirically false. This is one of them.”^[5] Koukl details the number of people killed in various events involving theism and compares them to the much higher tens of millions of people killed under communist atheistic regimes.^[5] It has been estimated that in less than the past 100 years, governments under the banner of communism have caused the death of somewhere between 40,472,000 to 259,432,000 human lives.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]} Dr. R. J. Rummel, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Hawaii, is the scholar who first coined the term democide (death by government). Dr. R. J. Rummel’s mid estimate regarding the loss of life due to communism is that communism caused the death of approximately 110,286,000 people between 1917 and 1987.^[12]

Koukl summarized by stating:

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It is true that it’s possible that religion can produce evil, and generally when we look closer at the detail it produces evil because the individual people are actually living in a rejection of the tenets of Christianity and a rejection of the God that they are supposed to be following. So it can produce it, but the historical fact is that outright rejection of God and institutionalizing of atheism actually does produce evil on incredible levels. We’re talking about tens of millions of people as a result of the rejection of God.[5]

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Charles Baudelaire – atheism and satanic deception

Charles Baudelaire

See also: Atheism Quotes

Charles Baudelaire expressed a common belief concerning atheism and satanic deception in his short story The Generous Gambler written in 1864:

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He complained in no way of the evil reputation under which he lived, indeed, all over the world, and he assured me that he himself was of all living beings the most interested in the destruction of Superstition, and he avowed to me that he had been afraid, relatively as to his proper power, once only, and that was on the day when he had heard a preacher, more subtle than the rest of the human herd, cry in his pulpit: “My dear brethren, do not ever forget, when you hear the progress of lights praised, that the loveliest trick of the Devil is to persuade you that he does not exist!

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See also

• Atheism and deception
• Causes of Atheism
• Atheism and uncharitableness
• Theory of Evolution, Liberalism, Atheism, and Irrationality
• Evolution
• Theory of Evolution and Cases of Fraud, Hoaxes and Speculation
• Atheism and mass murder
• There Are No Atheists In Foxholes

The Danger of Affirming Homosexuality in the Public Schools

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by Brian Thomas, M.S. *

Modern culture increasingly embraces the notion that homosexuals are born, not made. It is even sometimes presented as fact that a “gay gene” compels some people to seek same-sex partners. In that vein, more and more public school educators are being pressured to present homosexuality as a normal lifestyle that should be affirmed in students who feel they might be gay. The American College of Pediatricians, however, has issued a caution to educators warning of the dangers of these falsehoods.

An open letter addressed to school superintendents cited portions of The Language of God, a book by National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins. He wrote that homosexuality is “not hardwired by DNA, and that whatever genes are involved represent predispositions, not predeterminations.”¹ Dr. Collins, who is also the former director of the Genome Project, summarized studies showing that no known gene compels any behavior, and he further stated that “environment, particularly childhood experiences, and the prominent role of individual free will choices have a profound effect on us.”²

A news release from the college stated that “schools should not seek to develop policy which ‘affirms’ or encourages these non-heterosexual attractions among students who may merely be experimenting or experiencing temporary sexual confusion.”³

Nor are there merely moral motivations underlying this admonition. The letter provided a link to a fact sheet that highlights research-based conclusions that counter pro-homosexual school programs. For example:

The homosexual lifestyle, especially for males, carries grave health risks…. For many youth, homosexual attraction develops due to negative or traumatic experiences, such as sexual abuse. These students need therapy for the trauma, not affirmation of a “gay identity.”⁴

The letter also cited a “landmark survey and analysis of 125 years of scientific studies” into homosexuality. This survey affirmed that sexual orientation can be changed with therapy, especially among youth who are undergoing temporary sexual identity questions. In addition, homosexuals are plagued by far more diseases and suicides than heterosexuals, making it a very dangerous lifestyle.

An online summary of this landmark survey stated:

This is supported by studies that demonstrate the life-threatening risk-taking of unprotected sex, violence, antisocial behavior, higher levels of substance abuse, anxiety disorders, depression, general suicidality, higher levels of promiscuity and of non-monogamous primary relationships, higher levels of paraphilias (such as fisting), sexual addiction, personality disorders, and greater overall pathology among homosexual vs. heterosexual populations.⁵

Indeed, another study concluded that homosexuality and its associated practices serve to shorten life spans by 20 to 30 years.⁶

Both observations–that homosexuality is caused by choices and influences and not by DNA, and that a homosexual lifestyle is utterly unsafe–are consistent with a biblical worldview. On the one hand, the Creator intended that male and female “shall be one flesh.”⁷ And on the other hand, He uses the harsh consequences of disregarding those intentions as a kind of natural tutor to bring people back into relationship with Him. Romans 1 explicitly named homosexuality as deserving of judgment, but the next chapter warned anyone who would heed:

But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life.⁸

Adolescents are vulnerable to confusions and outside influences as they make the transition from child to adult. A school environment that encourages a child to “come out” or self-identify as gay–especially based on false or misleading information–can cause tremendous harm. As the American College of Pediatricians’ letter to school officials states:

It is the school’s legitimate role to provide a safe environment for respectful self-expression for all students. It is not the school’s role to diagnose and attempt to treat any student’s medical condition, and certainly not a school’s role to “affirm” a student’s perceived personal sexual orientation.¹

The efforts of the American College of Pediatricians and others who care for the well-being of youth are to be commended.

References

1. Benton, T. Letter to School Officials. Facts About Youth, a project of the American College of Pediatricians. Posted on factsaboutyouth.com March 31, 2010, accessed April 13, 2010.
2. Collins, F. 2004. The Language of God. New York: Free Press, 260, 263.
3. College Cautions Educators About Sexual Orientation in Youth. American College of Pediatricians press release, April 5, 2010.
4. What You Should Know About Sexual Orientation of Youth. Facts About Youth fact sheet. Posted on factsaboutyouth.com, accessed April 13, 2010.
5. What Research Shows (Summary). National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality. Posted on narth.com, accessed April 13, 2010.
6. Cameron, P., K. Cameron and W. L. Playfair. 1998. Does homosexual activity shorten life? Psychological Reports. 83 (3 pt 1): 847-866.
7. Genesis 2:24.
8. Romans 2:5-7.

UN Attacks Poland’s Pro-Life Laws at Human Rights Meetings

By Hilary White

GENEVA, June 7, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Officials of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva have launched a full-scale attack on Poland’s pro-life laws. Poland protects the right to conscientious objection for health care workers and the rights of the Catholic Church.

Pat Buckley, European officer for the United Kingdom’s Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) said that the 14th session of the Human Rights Council sitting this week “promises to be lively.”

A report submitted to the council by Anand Grover, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on health care rights, includes what Buckley called a “radical and comprehensive attack on Poland’s pro-life position on access to abortion, conscientious objection, contraception and sex education.”

Poland, Malta, and the Republic of Ireland are the last countries in the European Union to retain specific and effective protections for unborn children. These countries have been placed in the direct line of fire for abortion activists within the UN and the EU.

SPUC director John Smeaton called the report “mendacious” in its use of abortion lobby groups who provided “expert witness” that pro-life and conscientious objection laws for health care workers are a threat to the rights of women.

In his report, Grover cited a complaint by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) that Poland’s laws conflicted with their obligations under article 12 of the UN’s Convention to protect women’s equal right to access health care services. The report did not mention that CEDAW is one of the UN’s most active abortion lobbying organizations. In fact, CEDAW regularly insists that countries around the world eliminate pro-life legal protections.

Grover’s report quoted CEDAW as calling for “concrete measures to enhance women’s access to health care, in particular to sexual and reproductive health services” – language that is universally understood to include abortion, contraception and sterilization.

These “services” should include “research on the scope, causes and consequences of illegal abortion and its impact on women’s health and life; measures to ensure women’s access to legal abortion services and against limitation of such access by the use of the conscientious objection clause.”

Grover also quoted a demand made in 2009 by the UN’s Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights that Poland “take all effective measures to ensure that women enjoy their right … by enforcing the legislation on abortion and implementing a mechanism of timely and systematic referral in cases of conscientious objection.”

The Economic, Social and Cultural Rights committee, Smeaton notes, was blasted two years ago by Northern Irish pro-life leaders for demanding legal abortion in Northern Ireland.

Smeaton wrote, “The ugly face of the culture of death was seen yesterday at the Human Rights Council in Geneva in the following section of Mr Grover’s chilling report.”

“Freedom of religion, conscience and thought is to be swept aside in favour of the alleged right to kill unborn children.”

The Polish delegation to the meeting did not back down. Representative Branislav Lysák said that the country’s laws have benefitted both women and children. Infant mortality in Poland has dropped by 71% over the last 2 decades and maternal mortality is down by 82%. These figures match those released recently by the UN showing that Ireland, one of the last countries in the world to totally outlaw abortion, has one of the world’s lowest maternal mortality rates.

Lysák denied that there is such a thing as a universal right to abortion and said that the issue is the exclusive competence of independent states according to numerous international agreements.

“No Ultimate Meaning Without Immortality and God”

William Lane Craig

• William Lane Craig is Research Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology in La Mirada, California. He is well known for his work as an apologist, speaker and debater. He is the author of Reasonable Faith. View all resources by William Lane Craig

http://www.bethinking.org/who-am-i/introductory/no-ultimate-meaning-without-immortality-and-god.htm

If each individual person passes out of existence when he dies, then what ultimate meaning can be given to his life? Does it really matter whether he ever existed at all? It might be said that his life was important because it influenced others or affected the course of history. But this only shows a relative significance to his life, not an ultimate significance. His life may be important relative to certain other events, but what is the ultimate significance of any of those events? If all the events are meaningless, then what can be the ultimate meaning of influencing any of them? Ultimately it makes no difference.

Look at it from another perspective: Scientists say that the universe originated in an explosion called the ‘Big Bang’ about 15 billion years ago. Suppose the Big Bang had never occurred. Suppose the universe had never existed. What ultimate difference would it make? The universe is doomed to die anyway. In the end it makes no difference whether the universe ever existed or not. Therefore, it is without ultimate significance.

The same is true of the human race. Mankind is a doomed race in a dying universe. Because the human race will eventually cease to exist, it makes no ultimate difference whether it ever did exist. Mankind is thus no more significant than a swarm of mosquitos or a barnyard of pigs, for their end is all the same. The same blind cosmic process that coughed them up in the first place will eventually swallow them all again.

And the same is true of each individual person. The contributions of the scientist to the advance of human knowledge, the researches of the doctor to alleviate pain and suffering, the efforts of the diplomat to secure peace in the world, the sacrifices of good men everywhere to better the lot of the human race—all these come to nothing. In the end they don’t make one bit of difference, not one bit. Each person’s life is therefore without ultimate significance. And because our lives are ultimately meaningless, the activities we fill our lives with are also meaningless. The long hours spent in study at the university, our jobs, our interests, our friendships—all these are, in the final analysis, utterly meaningless. This is the horror of modern man: because he ends in nothing, he is nothing.

But it is important to see that it is not just immortality that man needs if life is to be meaningful. Mere duration of existence does not make that existence meaningful. If man and the universe could exist forever, but if there were no God, their existence would still have no ultimate significance. To illustrate: I once read a science-fiction story in which an astronaut was marooned on a barren chunk of rock lost in outer space. He had with him two vials: one containing poison and the other a potion that would make him live forever. Realizing his predicament, he gulped down the poison. But then to his horror, he discovered he had swallowed the wrong vial—he had drunk the potion for immortality. And that meant that he was cursed to exist forever—a meaningless, unending life. Now if God does not exist, our lives are just like that. They could go on and on and still be utterly without meaning. We could still ask of life, ‘So what?’ So it is not just immortality man needs if life is to be ultimately significant; he needs God and immortality. And if God does not exist, then he has neither.

Twentieth-century man came to understand this. Read Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. During this entire play two men carry on trivial conversation while waiting for a third man to arrive, who never does. Our lives are like that, Beckett is saying; we just kill time waiting—for what, we don’t know. In a tragic portrayal of man, Beckett wrote another play in which the curtain opens revealing a stage littered with junk. For thirty long seconds, the audience sits and stares in silence at that junk. Then the curtain closes. That’s all.

One of the most devastating novels I’ve ever read was Steppenwolf, by Hermann Hesse. At the novel’s end, Harry Haller stands looking at himself in a mirror. During the course of his life he had experienced all the world offers. And now he stands looking at himself, and he mutters, ‘Ah, the bitter taste of life!’ He spits at himself in the looking-glass, and then he kicks it to pieces. His life has been futile and meaningless.

French existentialists Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus understood this, too. Sartre portrayed life in his play No Exit as hell—the final line of the play are the words of resignation, ‘Well, let’s get on with it.’ Hence, Sartre writes elsewhere of the ‘nausea’ of existence. Camus, too, saw life as absurd. At the end of his brief novel The Stranger, Camus’s hero discovers in a flash of insight that the universe has no meaning and there is no God to give it one. The French biochemist Jacques Monod seemed to echo those sentiments when he wrote in his work Chance and Necessity, ‘Man finally knows he is alone in the indifferent immensity of the universe.’

Thus, if there is no God, then life itself becomes meaningless. Man and the universe are without ultimate significance.

Please follow this link to read the whole chapter
The Absurdity of Life Without God – ‘Reasonable Faith’, Chapter Two

• © This is a sample from the book ‘Reasonable Faith’ by William Lane Craig, copyright 1994, page 51-75.