But it’s not so. I didn’t choose faith in Christ, God chose me. I now live in gratitude and do good works because of the change He’s made in me. He’s told me that nothing can separate me from him. I choose not to behave in a way displeasing to Him, not because I can’t, but because I don’t want to.

He has opened my eyes, not me.

Your Easter sermon was a blessing to me, as have all your messages for one reason or another. I have one comment/critique/question about an application point you made regarding the resurrection in your Easter sermon yesterday. You said that if we did not believe in the resurrection, or if the resurrection was not a fact, then we ought to go ahead and live as hedonists. In other words, if Christ had not been raised then there would be no reason to live morally, etc. I think if a rational atheist were in the congregation yesterday he would not agree with you, because in his mind he actually does have a “rationale” for morality. As you know, in the last couple of years we have seen several atheist writers/philosophers become prominent through their various books on the subject of atheism. Individuals such as: Christopher Hitchens, Sam Harris, and Richard Dawkins all have very popular books now on the subject. I have read them and listened to them debate the subject and the very issue you raised always comes up as a criticism of atheism. They have to deal with it all the time. That is, if God does not exist then what basis do we have for living moral lives. Shouldn’t we all just eat, drink, be merry and go after my own interests. Their answer to the question can be various, but the one common answer is that morality serves the purpose of natural order in a community. People have to treat each other with respect and take care of one another so as to provide for the wellbeing of the whole and individual. Dawkins, who has a special interest in evolution, says that the evolutionary process allowed for community because we derive some pleasure in doing right by others - making others happy. As you know, I am not an atheist, but as I heard you speak I actually found myself going to the defense of the atheist on this point! I read Doug Wilson’s debate with Hitchens on this very subject. In fact, Hitchen made the good point in that debate that Christians are no different than Atheists in acting out of self interest and self preservation as a basis for moral behavior. The Christian fears God and damnation and sees that it is good for him to be good. He wants to trust in Christ because “he” gets to go to heaven if he does. He wants to please God because ultimately it is good for him to do so. So, the “selfish card” does not work. The Atheist is moral on the grounds that he too operates out of self interest. He discovers that he feels good when he helps others and we like to keep doing things that make us feel good. He also discovers that what is good for the community is most often good for him. Personally, I don’t think Wilson won that debate, but that does not mean I agree with his atheistic conclusions, either. So what if the atheist has a reason to be good. My conclusion is that he has a rational reason, but that reason doesn’t make him right. Perhaps, as usual, have some good food for thought on this for me.

Thanks Nathan,

Joe