Freedom of Religion, part 3
Awhile back there was a joke about the creation, going around the internet. If you find it with the original wording, please let me know by leaving a comment. I will just give the gist of it here, because it was so clever.
Thanks, ~Christine Davidson
God had a conversation with some super- brainy guy. This guy said, “Hey God, I figured out how to make man out of dirt, too.”
God said, “That’s nice. Let’s see you do it.”
Brainy guy: “I’ll just take this dirt here. . .
God: “Just a minute. Get your own dirt.”
Freedom had been hunted round the globe;
Reason was considered as rebellion;
And the slavery of fear had made men afraid to think.
But such is the irresistible nature of truth,
That all it asks, and all it wants,
Is the liberty of appearing.
~Thomas Paine, The Rights of Man, 1791
What does the Bible say about atheists?
Old Testament era
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. ~Psalm 14:1
In his inspired translation of this passage, Joseph Smith [who saw God] added a detail that highlighted the depth of misunderstanding, even among those who believe in God: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no man that hath seen God” (JSTranslation Psalm 14:1). Foolishness comes in many forms, including the false notion that God has not revealed himself face to face, particularly to his covenant spokesmen, the prophets. The Restoration offers a divine corrective: God has appeared, has spoken, and will continue to appear and speak as long as time shall last and the earth shall stand, according to the faith of the children of men. ~Lloyd D. Newell and Robert L. Millet, A Lamp unto My Feet, p.189
Ancient America
“Truly, the heavens and the earth and all things in them evidence [show] the handiwork of God, their Creator. In the Book of Mormon we learn of Korihor, an anti-Christ who was brought to the prophet Alma. He asked for a sign of God’s existence before he would believe. ‘But Alma said unto him: Thou hast had signs enough; will ye tempt your God?. . . The scriptures are laid before thee, yea, and all things denote [show] there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator.’ (Alma 30:34)” ~M. Russell Ballard, (Ensign, May 1988, 57-58)
One consequence of the enforced state religion of atheism:
United States, 1925
Growing popularity of Darwin’s theory of evolution sparked a stormy debate between science and religion. After the Scopes trial, the Biblical teaching of creation was increasingly disparaged.
Today
The theory of evolution has been taught as fact almost exclusively in the schools. Equal time to examine creation or intelligent design has been denied. Recently, reputable scientists have been bringing forth evidence of intelligent design in the creation. Furthermore, the Bible is no longer the only source of the history of the Creation. Writings of Moses and Abraham were discovered and translated in the nineteenth century. Both of these documents tell the Creation story and substantiate the Biblical account.
The account recorded by Moses includes the words, “I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them.” (Moses 2:27) The Book of Mormon, in addition to those ancient scrolls, also contains scores of testimonies of God as the Creator and Adam as the first man on earth.
If our children don’t learn the truth about their origins at school, then who will teach them?
Parental Mission: Epic Heroes in Training
If there be no Christ there be no God; and if there be no God we are not, for there could have been no creation. But there is a God. (2Nephi 11:7 emphasis added)
Hence, “we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look” for forgiveness of their sins. (2 Nephi 25:26 emphasis added )
Our families deserve to know the truth, which is:
— There is a God.
— God is eternal, and can be trusted.
— He created us in His image.
— We are His children and He loves us. He has a plan of happiness for us that provides for our deliverance from the evils of this world.
— This plan has commandments.
— Obedience to those commandments brings us safety, peace, and salvation.
(Excerpt from Epic Stories for Character Education, by C.A.Davidson)
More about the Creation, according to an eyewitness—God
Visit the Creation Museum
Related posts:
No atheists in the birthing room
Tomorrow, Defending the faith: theist or atheist?