“I spent ten years addicted to drugs and alcohol. My life was wasting away. I had tried to stop many times but the power of the addictions was just too great. I was desperate, hopeless and in total despair. Then one day I discovered radical atheism. I learned that there was no God, no higher power to help me, no reason for my life. I was thrown back upon myself to try to figure out a way to help myself, because I was really all alone in this battle with addiction. Suddenly I was filled with a power I never knew possible, and I was able to leave my addiction behind and start a new life.”
“I grew up in a abusive home and I learned to hate myself. I was never good enough and soon realized nobody really loved me. I became so depressed that twice I tried to kill myself. I just needed to know I was loved, that I had a reason to live. Then I read a book by Richard Dawkins and my whole life changed. I realized for the first time that my life had no real meaning or purpose, that I was just an insignificant organism in a random universe. It filled me with such hope and joy that I am now living a new life.”
“Last week we were at my father’s bedside as he died. He lived a very hard life, never showing or giving much love to any of us. He was a hard man who I knew had a lot of regrets. As he lay dying he was filed with fear realizing his life was slipping away and he would leave behind a legacy of pain and broken relationships. He looked to me for a word of hope. Just before he took his last breath, I leaned down and whispered in his ear, ‘It’s OK, dad, your existence is about to end. There is nothing more for you, no chance for forgiveness, no hope for redemption, just total, absolute extinction.’ As he closed his eyes and died, I knew that my atheistic faith had given him deep peace at the end of his life.”
On this day, let us not forget who we would be and what life would be like in a godless universe.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3
Happy Easter!