When I began this work, it was meant to be much shorter, which is why it is called a “letter.” But I wanted to cover a broad spectrum of evidence for God, and also highlight the false assumptions that lead people away from God, which meant this letter became a book.
The apostle Peter wrote that Christians should be “always ready to make a defense to everyone asking you to give an account about the hope that is in you, with mildness and respect.” 1
This book is my account of the hope that is within me, although I admit I have also used a little sarcasm and humor as well, which Peter didn’t say much about. I believe I have presented a strong case for the existence of God, and more specifically for YHWH as the One who created the heavens and the Earth and all life in and upon it, the One who led Israel out of Egypt and established them as his people, and who gave his Son for us, so we could know him better, get closer to him, and have life in abundance.
Charles Darwin, at the end of the first edition of his book On The Origin Of The Species, said that “from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows,” and that “there is a grandeur in this view of life,” where “from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.”2
This might make life grand in its overall scope, but it also makes each individual irrelevant. One organism’s life means virtually nothing, their death merely serving to fuel natural selection. We are here by an accident of nature. Our purpose is to survive and reproduce. There is no real purpose beyond this. If there is a grandeur in this view, it is also somber and sobering, like the procession of a funeral.
Personally, I think the existence of YHWH is much more exciting. It means life on Earth was created for a purpose, and with humans in mind. They were given stewardship of it and its creatures, but humans were also allowed to go their own way for a time.
God has already revealed the answers to the four key questions we asked early on in this letter: Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Why is there suffering? What does the future hold?
We are here because God willed it, and because he desired to be a Creator, just as humans desire to be parents. This springs from a desire to share life with others. The purpose of life for the first humans was to become a fruitful family and manage the Earth wisely, but God also knew they would desire to seek out their own path, and so he allowed them to go their own way.
Suffering was not part of God’s purpose, but became a temporary consequence of the human desire to become independent of their Creator, their source of life. As a result, it did indeed become a world governed by the survival of the fittest, and so Darwin was right in that sense. But I think God anticipated this, and so he gave creatures their own equipment and strategies to survive during this period. I suspect these things were built into their genomes, ready to be switched on as needed, just as the peppered moth can switch on its dark mode when needed.
We would also suffer consequences from a more volatile environment, which would no longer be kept in check by God, because of the human desire to become like gods, independent of their Creator.
But now that humans know good and bad for themselves, God has purposed to remove the bad, and put things right again: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the former heaven and the former earth passed away.” 3
And again: “Look! The tabernacle of God is with humans, and he will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death; neither will there be mourning nor outcry nor sorrow anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 4 And God himself says: “Look! I am making all things new.” And “write, for these words are faithful and true.” 5
I think YHWH’s existence is exciting, but I also recognize that many people may initially find this unpleasant or even disturbing. I think a big reason for this is, they see God as “The Big Bossy Dad In The Sky.”
As humans, we spend our early years discovering the wonders of the world, and our own powers and abilities. Many of us then spend our teenage years trying to escape the authority of our parents so we can exercise our own power, desires and abilities, and we finally become free after much effort. I can therefore appreciate why the discovery that there is yet another Parent we are subject to may not be appealing. However, I would suggest that many humans respond this way because they don’t fully understand God’s purpose.
My belief, which I have implied throughout this letter, is that God is ultimately engaging humans, both collectively and as individuals, in a process of growth and maturity. He does indeed deal with us in the same way human parents deal with us, but normal, healthy parents treat their offspring differently depending on their offspring’s stage of development.
When you were born, you were utterly dependent on your parents. They would speak to you like a baby, because you couldn’t even speak a language, let alone comprehend deep things. As you became a child, you were reliant on your parents and were expected to obey them. As a teenager, these things were still true, but you began to discover your own abilities and desired independence. As an adult, you hopefully enjoyed a more mature relationship with your parents; but if not, then I think it’s fair to say that a deeper, more mature and less childlike relationship is the way it was meant to be, even if some aren’t fortunate enough to experience this.
I think God’s way of dealing with humanity in general also reflects three main stages of human development: childhood, student, and adulthood.
Children are given commands. They are told what to do, and expected to do as they are told. They are given rewards for obedience and punishments for disobedience. I think this “childhood” stage of human development also reflects how God dealt with humanity in their early stages.
We see this in the story of Adam and Eve. Physically they were adults, but they were like children in terms of understanding, wisdom, maturity and self-control. They were given one simple command: Don’t eat from a particular tree, or you’ll die. But like children, they just couldn’t keep their hand out of the cookie jar. Telling them they couldn’t have it just made it more desirable. All it took was a few words planting doubt and skepticism about God’s intentions, and they were easily enticed. This is the same story we see today, except the tools used to create doubt and skepticism have become more sophisticated.
We also see a reflection of the childhood stage of human development in the founding of ancient Israel. God gave them laws, including the Ten Commandments, where they were told not to murder, steal, commit adultery or testify falsely against their fellow humans, things that mature adults should find pretty obvious. But this was a people who, after they were brought out of Egypt with miracles and wonders, built a carved image of a bull and declared it to be their god, because Moses was busy on the mountain. They were adults, but still like children in their maturity and wisdom, so God dealt with them like children.
We also see this to a certain extent in the book of Job (usually found just before the book of Psalms), one of the oldest books in the Bible. Job was a wealthy man from the Orient who, according to the account, was blameless before God. For this reason, Satan wanted to put him to the test. He claimed that Job was only blameless because God was protecting and blessing him. Take those things away, and Job would probably end up cursing God.
To answer the accusation, God permitted Satan to test Job. Soon after, a raid by the Sabeans killed some of Job’s servants and stole his flocks. Fire fell from the heavens and blazed among the sheep and servants, consuming more of them. The person reporting this to Job assumed it was fire from God. The Chaldeans raided the camels and killed yet more servants. Finally, a great wind struck the house and killed Job’s sons and daughters. These things must have been devastating and perplexing for Job, but despite this, he didn’t sin or ascribe any wrongdoing to God.
Satan then extended his accusation. He said that a man would give everything for his own life, and that if God would touch Job’s flesh and bone, he would curse God, presumably to save his own skin. God allowed Satan to afflict Job with painful sores all over his body, although he wasn’t permitted to take Job’s life. Despite this, Job didn’t sin with his lips.
Later on, three of Job’s acquaintances arrived to comfort him. They sat with him for seven days, saying nothing because they saw his pain was great. Finally, they started talking, and much of the book of Job is a record of the debate between Job and his so-called comforters.
The bottom line is, Job’s companions accused him, either directly or by implication, of being bad. Job must have done bad things, or maybe he was so righteous that he had become arrogant, which was also bad. Why else was he experiencing these trials from God? Job couldn’t understand it either. If he had done something wrong, he pleaded to know what it was. He insisted he was a man of integrity.
As readers of the book of Job, we are given the privileged position of seeing what was really going on. We get a vantage point that Job and his friends didn’t have. Job was right to say he hadn’t done anything wrong to bring on his calamities. Near the start of the book, God’s description of Job to Satan was that “there is no one like him in the earth, a man flawless and upright, fearing God and withdrawing from bad.”6 Therefore his friends were wrong to ascribe Job’s suffering to any badness on his part.
In many ways, the logic of Job’s friends was impeccable, but only from their limited vantage point. As a result, they were actually reasoning like children, because they couldn’t see what was really going on from a higher perspective.
Job also fell into the trap of faulty reasoning. During the debate, he reasoned that God must have found fault with him; but by not revealing what his fault was, God was denying him justice. Job was aware that God punished the wicked, but since Job insisted he was blameless, he concluded that God must inflict both the wicked and the good, so there wasn’t really any advantage in being good.
Elihu, a fourth friend of Job who had been silent because he was younger than the others, added to the debate near the end by pointing out how Job was basically accusing God of being unjust. Elihu concluded his argument by saying that they couldn’t really draw up their case, because they were in the dark about the reasons for Job’s calamities.
Immediately after this, God himself intervened in the debate, by speaking to Job out of a windstorm. To emphasize the fact that Job might not have the full story, God questioned Job on various topics, including: the founding of the world, the path and abode of light, what binds the constellations, the laws of the heavens, and the design of several creatures and their strength and wisdom (or lack of it). After this relatively short summary of God’s most awe-inspiring creations, Job had to admit that he spoke rashly of things he didn’t understand, and he said that he repented in dust and ashes.
After this, God restored Job’s fortunes and gave him double what he had before, including a big family and an abundance of livestock. Nevertheless, a skeptic might see God’s actions in this account as troubling. God might not have been the direct source of Job’s calamity, but by allowing it, we could say he indirectly caused it. Why did God allow Satan to do this?
This is where the “student” level of human development comes in. The book of Job doesn’t directly answer this question for us, and similarly, the Bible doesn’t directly answer every question we might have. Instead, we are invited, like students, to think more deeply about the issues raised. This is how students learn best. They are given lessons, but the answers aren’t usually handed to them on a plate. They are encouraged to think and formulate an answer for themselves.
Sometimes a more accurate answer means seeing a bigger picture than is available from a single lesson. Sometimes it means recognizing that life isn’t always about things that are black and white, but that often shades of gray are involved.
In the case of Job, I think there are several reasons why God allowed this to happen. First of all, it was an opportunity to pull back the curtain a little, to give humans a glimpse of what was really going on, above and beyond their ordinary everyday lives. It drew attention to the existence of Satan (which means “adversary” or “one who opposes”), which humans would have been unaware of without this divinely revealed information.
Second, by allowing Satan to test Job, God was exposing Satan as the adversary not only of God but also of humans. After all, it wasn’t God who wanted to bring calamity on Job, but Satan. This may be another reason why humans experience suffering.
Third, Satan’s challenge was admittedly a valid one, which is why God allowed it to be answered. Maybe Job was only blameless because God was, in effect, protecting him. What would he be like if this protection was withdrawn? Maybe Job only blessed God during the good times. What would he be like during bad times? Would he curse God?
The bottom line is, while he did well to begin with, as his suffering went on, Job ended up saying things about God that weren’t true, which is perhaps why God literally stormed into the debate at the end, to defend himself against Job’s accusation that justice from the heavens was being denied, and that the heavens must be wrong in this instance.
God provided justice by giving to Job double what he had lost. And although some of his family members died, death can be reversed by means of a resurrection. In other words, any loss on Job’s part was only temporary. In this, Job shared in the same suffering and loss that all humans experience for the present.
A fourth reason for allowing Job’s suffering, or at least a side benefit from it, is that it would have allowed Job, who was a wealthy and privileged person, to feel more empathy toward people who were suffering, having experienced it himself. And although we don’t know whether Job was ever told of the circumstances behind his suffering, his encounter with God allowed him to grow in appreciation, understanding and wisdom.
Fifth, the book of Job highlights how human reasoning can go astray without insight. In this sense, Job’s temporary suffering was humanity’s gain. We get to see how, if we start with faulty assumptions or if we’re missing a bigger picture, we can draw false conclusions. We can see the flaws in the reasoning of Job and his friends based on their limited understanding, which helps us to move from the child to the student stage of development.
Finally, Job’s story foreshadowed that of Jesus Christ, who also suffered in a similar way. Just like Job, Jesus was a righteous man who seemed to have been plagued and struck by God. Just like Job, it could be said of Jesus that there was “no one like him in the earth, a man flawless and upright, fearing God and withdrawing from bad.” Jesus was also tested by Satan, just like Job was, although Jesus was aware of the test, while Job was not.
The story of Jesus set the stage for humanity to enter its “adulthood” phase, in terms of maturity and wisdom. Jesus showed us how to have an adult relationship with God. He invited us to see God not just as a cosmic Lawmaker, but as a loving and caring Father.
Adults aren’t motivated only by rewards and punishments, but also by higher principles and values, and Jesus taught that the highest principle was love. He even laid down his life on our behalf, to put that principle into action.
Now, someone might object to this idea of adulthood, and say: didn’t Jesus teach his followers to become like children? This is true, but every statement we make has a frame of reference, and the same is true of what Jesus said. The apostle Paul explained this best, when he wrote: “Brothers, do not become children in your disposition, but be young children to what is bad, yet become mature in your disposition.” 7
Curiously, the word here translated “disposition” is only used once in the New Testament, and is often translated as “understanding.” Whatever the word means, the apostle didn’t take Jesus’ words to be a blanket statement. Paul applied it in reference to badness, while encouraging his readers to become like adults in terms of their attitude or perception. This is a useful way in which we can evaluate statements made in the Bible, or indeed anywhere else – by asking, what is the frame of reference here?
In any case, the development from childhood to student to adulthood is, in my opinion, the real story of the Bible. It is the story of the growth to maturity of the human race.
God allowed humans to go their own way for a while, to experience good and bad for themselves, and thus to go from childhood to student, and then to adulthood. At the same time, God has made his presence felt in the world, first through the nation of Israel, to demonstrate his power and authority, and then through Jesus Christ and his apostles, to demonstrate his love and desire for reconciliation with all people.
Remarkably, God has ensured that both Israel and Christians would continue to exist somewhat independently down through the centuries, to provide not just one but two witnesses testifying about God, in their own distinctive ways.
Now, while God has encouraged humanity as a whole to grow to maturity, I believe he is also keenly interested in the growth of each individual person. But I am referring here to a different type of growth than physical growth. In a sense, it involves growing in wisdom and understanding, and in truly knowing God.
I think four things have to happen for this growth to take place. The first is an awareness that God is real. Hopefully, this book has helped you become aware that God exists after all. It has also raised your awareness of the many assumptions humans bring to the table when they reason about God.
The second thing is a recognition of God’s true nature. When I say this, I don’t mean what God is made of, or how old he is, or how many persons make up God. I have already given my opinion on these matters, and I will leave any further discussion of them for theologians to split hairs over. I mean the fact that he is actually interested in us and has our welfare in mind. This is God’s true nature.
For example, even when God seems to have acted harshly in the past, it was for the long-term benefit of humans. After all, who of us today wants to live in a city that tolerates gang rape, as Sodom did, or with neighbors who sacrifice their children to Molech? The reason we don’t live in such a world is because God dealt harshly with those people in the past.
This recognition of God’s true nature also helps us to see that he has given us more than we may have realized. He has given us life itself, along with a breathtakingly beautiful planet, and the senses and sensations in which to enjoy it.
Contrary to popular opinion, God is not opposed to pleasure. Instead, this is how we were designed – from the simple pleasures derived from a smile and laughter, or from eating a delicious meal, to the ecstasy of an orgasm. These are gifts from God to the human race. He simply asks us to enjoy these things in a balanced way, without harming ourselves or others in the process. Too often our pursuit of pleasure can become an obsession which first consumes and then ruins us, or causes physical, psychological or emotional harm to others; and this is what concerns God.
He also inspired humans to write letters and books that were later collected together into what we now call the Bible, which can help us acquire knowledge and wisdom. As we learn to put aside our skepticism, we come to see that the human authors of those books and letters weren’t liars, deceivers or fools, but were simply telling the truth. This includes the gospel writers. They weren’t involved in an elaborate conspiracy to fool you into believing a false story. They weren’t deluded, deceived or exaggerating. They were simply telling the truth. They witnessed Jesus’ resurrection, and reported it honestly.
I think the third thing necessary for growth, and which I hope to have given you by means of this book, is that of appreciation. God has gone beyond what was necessary, and provided humans with even more proof of his existence, by outlining particle and quantum physics, DNA and ribosomes, and the structure of the eukaryotic cell, thousands of years before humans would discover the physical reality of these things. God encoded them within ancient scripture and in the life of his servants of old, and then patiently waited thousands of years to reveal these things to us. I believe this demonstrates, in a striking way, the real wisdom and patience of God.
Incidentally, I only started to discover these things in the Bible a month or two after I made the decision to write this Letter To The Atheists in early 2018. I had no idea they were there before. This is how I am convinced God has also gone out of his way to give atheists the extraordinary evidence they demand, because after allowing me to find them, he revealed them first, not to Jews or Christians, but to atheists! To me, this shows he cares even for those who deny his existence. Or, perhaps I should say hopefully, for those who formerly denied his existence. Once we put away our skeptical attitude towards God, we can then begin to take a leap of faith and trust, and begin to grow into true adulthood.
I think the fourth thing necessary for growth is the concept of reconciliation – that is, making up with God. Humans alienated themselves from him for a time, but God’s will, desire and passion is to reconcile all things back to himself, to bring them back into his family as it were.
Indeed, this was one of the primary purposes of sending Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul describes God as “the one reconciling us to himself through Christ, and giving us the ministry of reconciliation – namely that God was, in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not reckoning their sins to them; and he put the word of reconciliation in us.” 8
In other words, the ministry of Christ and his disciples was really a ministry about reconciliation with God. Christ is the means by which we make up with God, and begin to have a real relationship with him. God takes the initiative, by blotting out our sins through Christ and giving us a clean slate, a fresh start. This is why he is not only “Son of God” but also “son of man.”
Once we have an awareness that God is real, and we recognize God’s true nature, that he is actually on our side, and when we gain an appreciation of what God has already given us and done for us, I think this leads naturally to a desire for reconciliation with God, just as he desires to reconcile with us.
But how can we reconcile ourselves to God? I think there are a few steps, and in my opinion, none of them are burdensome, if we acknowledge that we are all still works in progress from God’s point of view.
The first step is to get to know God better, which you have already done to a certain extent. In fact, simply by reading this book, I think you now have more knowledge about God than a lot of the people on Earth. However, this book isn’t a substitute for the Bible, the primary source of knowledge about God.
Although reading the Bible from beginning to end at some point is a good idea, it may help to start with the gospels, because God reveals his nature through Christ. As Jesus said: “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.” 9
Some things may be difficult to understand at first, without a better understanding of the context, the frame of reference, the intent, and the bigger picture; so let me throw you in at the deep end as it were, so everything else will be much easier by comparison. Let’s look at two of Jesus’ most difficult statements. If we know how to tackle these, any other issues become much easier to resolve.
Just as the fledgling nation of Israel was fed manna in the wilderness after coming out of Egypt, Jesus compared himself to bread that came down from heaven. He then said to his audience: “Most truly I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and you drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves.” 10
His disciples were shocked at hearing this, and many of them departed from him. Those who were stumbled stayed as children in their level of understanding. They were reasoning in black and white, and their only frame of reference for evaluating Jesus’ words was the Law given through Moses.
They knew drinking blood was against God’s law, and yet here was Jesus advocating drinking his blood, so Jesus couldn’t possibly be from God. After all, what man of God would tell them to drink blood?
Like Job’s friends who reasoned that Job must have been wicked or arrogant, their logic was impeccable. They were also like modern-day skeptics who point out statements in the Bible that seem to contradict other statements, and declare that those contradictions mean the Bible can’t be from God.
Jesus could have explained what he meant, but he chose not to at the time. I think Jesus said things like this to filter out those who weren’t prepared to find out what he was really saying.
Nevertheless, the apostles stayed with him, although none of them acted on Jesus’ words there and then. As far as we know, none of them started gnawing at Jesus’ arm. At the time, they probably didn’t understand what he meant, but they had enough faith in him to believe they would learn more if they stuck around.
Their understanding came later on, the night before Jesus’ execution, when they were eating the Passover meal together, and Jesus revealed to them that the unleavened bread they were eating and the wine they were drinking were his body and blood. This is how they were to eat his flesh and drink his blood – through the bread and wine. Fortunately for them, they didn’t have to munch on Jesus’ arm.
This is why we need to think about the intent of the speaker, the context and frame of reference for the words we read, as well as aim to understand the bigger picture, which comes as we gradually acquire more knowledge, understanding and wisdom.
Let’s look at one more example. Jesus said to the crowd: “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own soul, he cannot be my disciple.” 11
Now, I don’t know of any Christian who takes this literally. Perhaps they should, but I think this is another example of where Jesus is saying something to provoke the crowds into thinking more deeply about his words, and into using wisdom and discernment rather than simplistic black and white thinking.
For a start, I doubt Jesus was contradicting one of the Ten Commandments, which said to honor your father and mother. And what is the point of marriage if you are to hate your spouse? And how can a mother hate her own child?
This is where we need wisdom and discernment. An understanding of the bigger picture can also help. This is, after all, the same man who said that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, even though they may be strangers!
Elsewhere, in reference to the effect his teaching would have, Jesus said: “A man’s enemies will be those of his own household. The one loving father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and the one loving son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” 12
I think this statement helps to clarify his other one, as well as to think about the bigger picture. Jesus’ new disciples were living in a culture where family was everything, and the offspring were expected to obey the customs and traditions of their forefathers. In many ways, tradition had become even more important than God’s law, or rather, it had become one and the same in the minds of many of the people in Jesus’ day.
Jesus’ disciples were about to break free of those traditions, which would result in severe opposition, disassociation from family members, expulsion from the synagogue, the very center of the community, and perhaps even death. In a sense, they were going to find themselves expelled from society itself.
In the face of such intense social pressure, the question every disciple of Jesus had to ask themselves is: who would they love more – their family, or Jesus? In other words, we need to consider not just the immediate context of the words, but also the social context.
Another incident sheds light on Jesus’ real intent. When someone told him that his mother and brothers were outside looking to speak to him, he said: “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” And stretching out his hand over his disciples, he said: “Look! My mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father who is in the heavens, he is my brother and sister and mother.” 13
In other words, when Jesus told his disciples to “hate” their own family members and even their own souls, I think he was speaking both in a relative sense, and also in a way that emphasized physical connections as being far less important than spiritual ones. Jesus didn’t hate his own mother, he loved her. But during his ministry he treated her more like a disciple than a mother.
I also suspect Jesus used the word “hate” to help his disciples break free from the intense social pressure they would face, just as an alcoholic might need to “hate” alcohol in order to break free from their addiction, while people who are not addicted can take a more balanced approach to alcohol. In a sense, the people of Jesus’ day were addicted to their traditions.
Furthermore, if a person truly hated their own soul, they could become suicidal, which I don’t think was Jesus’ intent at all. By telling them they needed to hate even their own souls, I think he meant in the sense of not seeing their own life as important in relation to the far more important mission they had been given, in the age they were living in. If they loved their own souls, they wouldn’t be willing to die for Jesus, which was probably the fate of some of his early disciples.
This is why he often spoke in parables. His real disciples needed to stick around to discern a deeper meaning. Therefore, when he said to “hate” your father, mother, children, partner and even your own soul, I personally conclude that his intent was to make it clear that, in the Jewish system in which they lived, what should be important to his disciples wasn’t physical ties, but spiritual ones, and completing the mission given to them, which would take them across the country and later the world. In addition, they were about to be severed from a very strong tradition, which would be emotionally difficult. Jesus was, in essence, toughening them up for it in advance.
However, I can only conclude this by thinking deeply about Jesus’ words, and because I am already familiar with the Bible. Of course, I could be wrong. Jesus really might have been telling us to hate our mothers! But as far as I know, none of the early Christians took him literally in this matter, because they knew the character of Jesus, and so they discerned that his purpose and intent here was more subtle.
Incidentally, I think Jesus’ way of speaking also provides evidence that he was real. Who would make up a character that would say such things? His speech wasn’t acceptable to the Jewish leaders of his day, and many Christians don’t take some of these statements literally anyway, so who would even make these things up?
Fortunately, most of what Jesus said is much easier to understand. I have picked two of his most difficult statements, to give you an indication of how I tackle them, which means understanding intent, frame of reference, motive, context and the bigger picture. Whenever there is something you don’t understand, considering these things is usually helpful.
As you start to read the Bible with wisdom and discernment, I think the next step to reconciling with God is to learn to communicate with him. After all, he is called “the one hearing prayer.” 14
If you have never prayed before, this may feel a little awkward or difficult. The disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, and he gave them what is now often referred to as “the Lord’s prayer.” It can be found in chapter six of the gospel of Matthew. Some people recite it like a mantra, but I think it was intended to be more of a model or outline. After all, Jesus also said not to say the same things in prayer over and over again.15
If we view it as a basic model for how we can pray, we see that first of all we acknowledge God for who he is: our Father in heaven. Then we pray for his will first, which can include his name being made holy and his kingdom to come. Then we focus on our needs, and also ask for forgiveness of our sins. We can also ask to be kept from temptation and delivered from the wicked one. Many Christians say their prayer in or through Jesus Christ, and most tend to end it with “Amen” which means “so be it.”
Now, forgiveness is an important part of the process of growth. It is the third step in reconciling with God. We need to forgive others in order to receive forgiveness for ourselves, and it is also part of the process of our own repair.
I admit, forgiving people who have hurt us can be hard. The normal and arguably even natural human response to people who hurt or wrong us is to want revenge. At the very minimum, we want justice.
Certainly, there is nothing wrong with seeking justice, especially when a crime is involved. In fact, part of the role of governments and authorities is to administer justice, and to inflict punishment for crimes. As the apostle Paul said: “It is God’s servant to you for the good. But if you are doing what is bad, be in fear, for it is not for nothing that it bears the sword; for it is a servant of God, an avenger of wrath to the one practicing what is bad.” 16
In other words, if you have been hurt or abused in a way that constitutes a criminal act, the appropriate response is to report it to the relevant authorities, because ensuring justice and punishing badness is the role given to them by God.
However, when we suffer injustice or hurt from others, this can also lead to anger and resentment that can eat away at us, damaging our mind, body and heart. We could become consumed by a desire for vengeance. I think the apostle Paul also does an excellent job of summing up the concept of forgiveness and peacefulness that we are all encouraged to cultivate:
“Do not render to anyone evil for evil. Provide good things in the sight of all men. If possible, as far as it depends on you, be peaceable with all men. Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for the wrath; for it is written: ‘Vengeance is mine. I will repay,’ says the Lord. Therefore, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. For by doing this you will heap coals of fire on his head.’ Do not be conquered by the bad, but conquer the bad with the good.” 17
This is why Jesus encourages us to forgive, to turn the other cheek, and even to pray for our enemies. These are difficult things to do, but they break the cycle of revenge and retaliation. They can sear the other person’s conscience. They inspire us to take a kinder, gentler and more merciful approach to others. They allow room for the other person to come to regret their actions, or if not, perhaps to experience the wrath of God, through the authorities or by some other means.
I also think of forgiveness as “letting go” – that is, letting go of anger, resentment and the desire to retaliate. This can be hard, because sometimes we like to identify with our wounds, and they can even define us. But only when we let go of those wounds, and their power over us, can we begin to truly heal.
However, even if we can forgive others, often the hardest person to forgive is ourselves. But forgiveness needs to also extend to ourselves. If we have done bad things, we may find it hard to believe that God can forgive us; but God’s ways are higher than our ways. God forgives in a large way. He is vastly more forgiving than humans are.
At the same time, forgiveness doesn’t necessarily shield us from the consequences of our actions. For example, King David committed adultery with Bathsheba who was married to Uriah, a soldier in Israel’s army. In time, she became pregnant. David sent for Uriah and asked how the war was going, and invited Uriah to go back home, hoping that Uriah would sleep with his own wife so that David’s actions would be concealed. However, Uriah slept outside the king’s house, because he didn’t want to return home while there was a war on.
Therefore David got him drunk, but Uriah still wouldn’t return home. Finally, the king ordered the army commander to put Uriah on the front lines of the battle, and to retreat behind him, so he would be struck down and die. After Uriah died, King David took Bathsheba as his wife.
What David had done was bad in God’s eyes, so God sent the prophet Nathan to make it clear to the king what he had done. Not only had he stolen Uriah’s wife, in effect he had committed murder, by plotting to ensure Uriah would be killed. Under the Law covenant, the king was liable to death.
David admitted, “I have sinned against YHWH.” Nathan replied: “YHWH has therefore let your sin pass. You will not die; except that you have certainly given the enemies of YHWH a cause for contempt in this matter. Therefore your son born to you will certainly die.” 18
The king was forgiven, but he still had to pay a heavy price, because he had caused an innocent man to be killed. If God had simply let David off without consequences, God’s enemies would have said, where is justice for Uriah?
Of course, skeptics could still say, what about David’s son? What did he do wrong? The answer is: nothing. However, his death was a stark reminder to the king that actions still have consequences. God is willing to forgive in a large way, but sometimes a person needs to pay a penalty or experience the consequences of their actions, just as a criminal can be forgiven by God but may still need to go to prison or make amends, to satisfy human justice and also to pay a meaningful price for what they have done.
Incidentally, in the case of the son of David, the boy can be resurrected by God, so he was not lost forever; and I think God also used the incident as an analogy for Jesus, the true Son of David, who was also innocent and yet died for our sins. He paid the ultimate price of his life, so our sins could be blotted out.
Another step toward reconciling with God is what Christians have traditionally called “confession” and “repentance,” which involves admitting to what we have done and seeking to change; although in reality I think these are also processes, rather than just a single event or moment in time.
When we didn’t know God, we didn’t know we were sinners. Indeed, atheists and many skeptics reject the notion of sin altogether, because it requires a divine benchmark for defining wrongdoing, but human laws and notions of good and bad constantly change over time and in different cultures.
As we come to know God, we come to realize that we fall short of God’s standards in many ways, which is basically what sin is. In this sense, we are all sinners. We all fall short of the glory of God. Therefore, we are all works in progress. Nevertheless, we are encouraged to move closer to God’s benchmark. The big question is: How can we do this, as the flawed human beings we are?
I think there are three critical insights we need, before we can truly make any lasting changes. The first insight can be found in what Jesus said to the Pharisees, who asked him why his disciples weren’t following the traditions of their forefathers, such as washing hands when about to eat a meal.
Jesus said that whatever enters a person’s body doesn’t defile a person, “but the things going out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those things defile the person. For out of the heart come wicked reasoning, murders, adulteries, sexual immorality, thefts, false witnesses, blasphemies. These are the things defiling the person. But to eat a meal with unwashed hands does not defile the person.” 19
The Pharisees were so busy following religious rules involving washing, they forgot to wash their hearts, the real source of their sins. The heart represents our desires, passions and what we love. It is, metaphorically, the source of our emotions. The problem is, as flawed human beings, we fall in love with things that corrupt us. We are also inclined to badness, which is our real problem.
This is why commands are an inferior substitute for the laws written in a person’s heart. The ancient nation of Israel had divine laws against most of the things Jesus listed above, but this didn’t stop them doing such things. God’s law was in their mind and on their lips, but it wasn’t in their heart.
One of the purposes of Christ was to show Israel how to put the law into their heart. When we learn to love God and love our fellow human beings, our heart naturally becomes less inclined to badness. The first insight, then, is to realize that our sins and inclinations tend to stem from the desires of our heart, which by itself is often inclined to doing bad, until we begin to change our heart as it were.
The second insight is to realize that Jesus’ teachings aren’t just a set of dry religious commands, with rewards for obedience and punishments for disobedience. Instead, he was teaching us the way to truly live. For example, take the Sermon on the Mount, which can be found in chapters six to eight of the gospel of Matthew. If I had to sum up the key principles Jesus taught in it, it would go something like this:
Be merciful, peaceable, pure in heart. Be trustworthy. Don’t return evil for evil. Love even your enemies. Don’t do things for show, or be hypocritical. Pray with sincerity and from the heart, not with repetitive words and phrases. Forgive others, so that God forgives you. Don’t be materialistic. At the end of the day, it’s all just stuff. Instead, store up treasures in heaven. Don’t be anxious about your needs. When you seek God’s kingdom first and his righteousness, the things you need will be added to you. Stop judging. Deal with your own shortcomings first, and then you can better address the faults of others. Treat others as you want to be treated yourself.
This isn’t merely a religious blueprint or a set of commands for Christians. Jesus was teaching everybody how to live a healthy life now. It was, in effect, a blueprint for life. He ended his sermon by comparing those who heard and did these things to a wise man who built his house upon the rock. The rain, wind and flood came upon that house but it didn’t fall because it had been founded on the rock. Those who heard but didn’t do them were likened to a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain, wind and flood came upon that house and it fell, and its collapse was great.
When we go against the way God intended for us to live, we often experience ruin. We hurt ourselves and others. When we realize that Jesus’ teachings aren’t simply religious commands but are the way to a happy and fulfilling life, this can provide us with the motivation for change. Jesus shows us how to build our house on the rock, rather than on the sand.
For example, for those looking for the ideal partner, Jesus teaches us to work on first becoming the ideal partner – loving, forgiving, honest, kind, self-aware, treating others how we want to be treated. For those looking for happiness, Jesus teaches that happiness doesn’t come from owning more stuff, but from trusting God, and being at peace with God, with ourselves, and with others as far as possible.
The third insight that helps to facilitate change is to realize that most sins are better thought of as injuries we inflict on ourselves or others, causing unjust hurt and damage.
For example, “you must not commit adultery” is one of the Ten Commandments. Now, we could say it’s a sin simply because God says so, and leave it there. But God wants us to truly understand why he considers it bad. For example, through the prophet Malachi, he explained it was a source of emotional pain, a betrayal of one’s partner, and a source of domestic violence.20 In other words, adultery was wrong not just because God said so, but because of the unjust hurt and damage it caused.
The desire to please God can be a powerful motivation for change, but since most sins are damaging to ourselves or others, the real motivation for change often comes when we desire to stop causing unjust hurt and damage.
Sometimes change can’t happen until we resolve deeper personal issues. This requires us to be honest with ourselves, and to recognize we have those issues in the first place. To give you an analogy, a man might ask God: “Lord, send me the ideal woman!” But the man is emotionally guarded, hot-tempered, and blames others for his shortcomings, which means it’s always other people’s fault that he’s the way he is.
I suppose God could send him a woman who can deal with his emotional distance, someone who is willing to put up with his outbursts and who doesn’t mind being blamed for his failings. But even then, it’s likely the man won’t see her as ideal, or she will eventually leave him, and then he blames God for clearly sending him the wrong woman. In reality, the man was simply not ready to receive what he wanted. Metaphorically, he needed to “cleanse first the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may also become clean.” 21
This helps to explain why people don’t always get what they want from God the moment they ask for it. They may need to go through a process of growth or emotional healing before they can receive it; or the growth process itself may be the answer to their prayers. It may not seem to be as miraculous, but cleansing the inside is necessary before the outside can be cleansed, and the process may be much more valuable to the person than an instant miracle.
Of course, people prefer instant healing or instant justice, but God’s way is often more instructional, putting people on the path of deeper inner changes to resolve the root of their problems. This is precisely what he has done with the human race for thousands of years. He has allowed them to work through their issues with him in a process of growth.
This doesn’t mean we can’t get assistance when we need it. For example, when we pray, we can ask for the Holy Spirit to help us and reveal our shortcomings to us. Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as “the spirit of the truth” as well as a helper and comforter.22
We may also need to get outside help for some of our issues, from those who are qualified to deal with them, and particularly from those who understand them at a spiritual level. In a sense, God has appointed every human being to be a minister to others, at least in some capacity. This is why the apostle Peter wrote to his fellow Christians: “Above all, have sincere love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins. Be hospitable to one another without murmuring. To the extent each one has received a gift, administer it as good stewards of the variously expressed grace of God.” 23
I am not necessarily talking about official ministering positions here. In a sense, every husband is a minister to his wife, and every wife is a minister to her husband. Friends minister to one another, and some people have been trained to minister on certain subjects and matters. These can also be seen as gifts from God, and ways in which he helps people to change.
I suppose this leads naturally to the question of whether you should join something or not. I didn’t write this book to promote any church, denomination or organization. My aim has simply been to provide evidence that YHWH exists, and that Jesus Christ is God’s Son, as he and his disciples claimed.
I am not trying to get you to join anything. But neither do I wish to hinder you from doing so if you desire. When you accept Christ as Lord in your heart, you come to belong to something called the “body of Christ.” 24 Jesus also said, “where two or three are gathered together in my name, there I am in their midst.” 25 In other words, the “church” of Christ is the body of believers, not a building. However, it is often through his people, the “body of Christ,” that God administers help.
If you do join a church or organization, you will be expected to accept their distinctive views, doctrines and interpretations of scripture, and follow their rules. I will not give my opinion on any specific group. However, I will give my general opinion.
I think there are merits in many Christian organizations. Some have ancient and venerable traditions, and are focused on helping the poor and needy, which is part of what it means to be a Christian.
Some are younger, fresher and are determined that they have the exclusive truth, which is the source of their zeal, and are highly focused on evangelizing. This is good, because Jesus encourages us to invite others to him.
Some are focused on singing and expressing themselves through the Holy Spirit. Others are focused on deep knowledge and understanding. This is important, especially in these times of skepticism.
All I can say in this regard is: does not God love variety? Look at the endless variety we see in nature, in species and even in the colors and shades within species. Do not all humans differ? Do not cultures and dress codes differ? And there are different body parts, but they are all one body. If all Christians were focused on singing and dancing, who would ever have time to sit down and write a “letter” to atheists, with all the complex and occasionally tedious detail it would involve?
I believe there is only one true way to a close relationship with God, and that is through Jesus Christ; but God has given us the freedom to express this in various ways, which has resulted in the variety of churches and organizations we see today, just as God has created almost endless varieties and species.
Besides, life is a continual journey. A train passes through many stations along the way. As we grow in understanding, wisdom and maturity, we may outgrow one form of expression, just as a child outgrows its clothes many times on the journey to maturity.
I suppose my point here is, you are free to join or not to join an organization or church, because when you believe, you already come to belong to “the body of Christ.” Just keep in mind that the New Testament was written with fellowship of believers in mind, and it is through other believers that Christians can minister to one another.
However, an important step in reconciling ourselves to God is baptism. This was part of the Great Commission that Jesus gave to his disciples: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” 26 Baptism is an outward symbol of repentance for forgiveness of sins. It is “an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” 27
In the end, we are all encouraged to grow to maturity. For example, Jesus gave a parable of a man who went out to sow.28 Some seeds fell alongside the road, and the birds ate them up. Some fell on the rocks where there wasn’t much soil. The seeds sprang up but then withered because they had no root. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns choked them. Others fell on fine soil, and they began to produce fruit.
At first glance, this seems to be about how people respond to Jesus’ message. For some, it falls on deaf ears. Some hear the word and accept it with joy, but they have no root in themselves, so are stumbled in a time of tribulation or persecution. Some are metaphorically choked by anxieties and the deceptive power of riches. The one sown on the fine soil is the one hearing the word and getting the sense of it, and bearing fruit.
However, the parable also has a deeper function, in that it serves as a continual reminder. It is possible for Christians to experience any of these scenarios throughout their life. For example, they may produce fruit, and then later become distracted by anxieties. Jesus’ parable serves as a gentle reminder throughout their life. If they find themselves distracted, this parable may come to mind, and can have the effect of putting them back on the right track.
Jesus talks about having a root in oneself.29 Roots give a plant its nourishment and allow it to truly grow. The things I have talked about in this chapter, and really the whole of this letter, are provided to help you develop a root in yourself, so that you can grow to maturity.
One more thing is also asked of us, and that is to share our knowledge with others. This is because God makes the following invitation to all:
“Hey, all you thirsty ones. Come to the waters! He who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come and buy wine and milk, without money and without cost. Why are you spending money for what is not bread, and your labor for what brings no satisfaction? Listen intently to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will find great delight in fatness. Incline your ear, and come to me. Listen, and your soul will live, and I will make with you an everlasting covenant.” 30
And again: “Let the one hearing say ‘Come!’ And let the one thirsting come. And let the one who wishes take the water of life for free.” 31 This is so that, as the prophet Isaiah foretold, “the earth will be full of the knowledge of YHWH, as the waters cover the sea.” 32
This is what we would expect, from the only living and true God. I have even made this easy for you. If this book has been of use to you, then you are welcome to share the PDF version with others for free. “You received freely, give freely.” 33
1 1 Peter 3:15. 2 Charles Darwin, On The Origin Of The Species, First Edition, 1859, p490. 3 Revelation 21:1. 4 Revelation 21:3,4. 5 Revelation 21:5. 6 Job 1:8. 7 1 Corinthians 14:20. 8 2 Corinthians 5:18,19. 9 John 14:9. 10 John 6:53. 11 Luke 14:26. 12 Matthew 10:36,37. 13 Matthew 12:46-50. 14 Psalm 65:2. 15 Matthew 6:7. 16 Romans 13:4. 17 Romans 12:17-21. 18 2 Samuel 12:13,14. 19 Matthew 15:18-20. 20 Malachi 2:13-16. 21 Matthew 23:26. 22 John 16:7,13. 23 1 Peter 4:8-10. 24 Ephesians 4:12. 25 Matthew 18:20. 26 Matthew 28:19. 27 1 Peter 3:21. 28 Matthew 13:1-9,18-23. 29 Matthew 13:21. 30 Isaiah 55:1-3. 31 Revelation 22:17. 32 Isaiah 11:9. 33 Matthew 10:8.
The free PDF version of this book is available at lettertotheatheists.com