Robert Ingersoll (August 11, 1833 – July 21, 1899) was the son of a Congregationalist minister. He was a Civil War veteran, American political leader, and orator during the Golden Age of Freethought.(1) Noted for his broad range of culture and his defense of agnosticism, he was nicknamed "The Great Agnostic." Ingersoll was an extremely intelligent man, was considered to be an "electrifying" orator, and was and viewed Christianity and the Bible with great disdain. Consider these quotations: “If a man would follow, today, the teachings of the Old Testament, he would be a criminal. If he would follow strictly the teachings of the New, he would be insane.”
“Religion can never reform mankind because religion is slavery.”
“The inspiration of the Bible depends upon the ignorance of the gentleman who reads it. ”
Speaking of the Bible, Ingersoll said “In 15 years I will have this book in the morgue.” (Ironically, Ingersoll died 15 years later. A pastor purchased Ingersoll’s desk and spent his life writing sermon’s on it.)
Robert Ingersoll it just one example of how the word of God has been attacked over the years. In fact, the attacks have continued non-stop for centuries. Yet the word still stands, and millions still read the Bible, study it, and seek to order their lives according to the truth found within it.
Why is the Bible (and Christianity) under constant attack? The answer is found in Romans 1, where we read that "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness." (Romans 1:18) The truth is suppressed because there are consequences associated with the acknowledgement that God exists, and that the Bible is His inspired word. If I tell myself that there is no God, then I can live my life as I wish, and I can rationalize my immoral behavior. If I acknowledge His existence, and that His word tells me what I am to believe about Him and how I am to live my life, there are negative consequences to continuing to live as though this were not true. Rather than deal with reality, it's just "easier" for me to deny (suppress) the truth.
Suppression of the truth comes in a variety of belief systems. There are some who say that God does not exist (Atheism). Some would say that human reason is incapable of providing sufficient rational grounds to justify knowledge whether God exists or does not (Agnosticism). There are others that agree that yes, there is a God and that this is obvious from reason and observation of the natural world, but this higher power does not intervene in human affairs or suspend the natural laws of the universe.(Deism). There are many other systems of belief that suppress the truth, and the reality is that God's word and Christianity have always been under attack, and will continue to be under attack.
As believers, we must remember that we are in a war, but we do not fight this war as the world does with the traditional weapons of warfare. No, the weapons we fight with have divine power, sufficient to demolish the strongholds of atheism, agnosticism, deism, and all other false belief systems (2 Cor. 10:4). What is this weapon? It is the "sword of the Spirit" - the word of God (Ephesians 6:16-18).
If the body of Christ is to have any significant influence on the declining culture of our nation, we must be prepared for the battle. So, fellow Christian, equip yourself to make war - pick up the Sword of the Spirit - read it, study it, and most importantly, live it. Nothing will stand against it.
May it be so...
In Christ -
John
Soli Deo Gloria
(1).The Golden Age of Freethought describes the socio-political movement promoting freethought that developed in the mid 19th-century United States. The Golden Age was encouraged by the lectures of the extremely popular agnostic orator Robert G. Ingersoll, the popularization of Charles Darwin’s Origin of Species, the push for woman’s suffrage, and other political, scientific, and social trends that clashed with religious orthodoxy and caused people to question their traditional ideas about the world.
Father - we come before you sobered by our memories of this day. Each of us can close our eyes and see the images so prominent in our news media the day of the attack, and for months afterward. The sky in New York was cloudless, and the sun shined brightly - just as it did in Washington, in Shanksville, and here, in Pittsburgh. We remember the black smoke and flames rising from those towers, the people falling to their death, the billowing clouds of gray dust as the towers collapsed - panicked people running through the streets . Almost 3,000 people died that day, and we remember Lord, that each and every one of them was made in your image - each of them an eternal being destined for heaven, or destined for hell. In that unexpected instant, they met their destiny. On that day, the lives of a very large group of people - perhaps 10,000 or more - were changed forever. We think of the husbands and wives suddenly widowed. The children who lost a parent. The first-responders who lost their services brothers and sisters, and more... We lift those people before you Heavenly Father, and ask that you comfort them - not just today, on the 10th anniversary of the attack - but every day. We pray Lord, that you would bring to them the peace that only you can bring, and that your Spirit would quiet troubled hearts. It is so hard for us to imagine such hatred - such evil - that could cause anyone to do something so terrible. But you, Lord - you know the heart of man. The reality is that were it not for your grace, each of us would be capable of such evil acts - and we thank you and praise you for your grace. Father in heaven, we pray against these acts of terrorism. Right now - as we gather together - there is someone plotting evil against us. We pray for those people. We ask that you would touch their hearts and minds and bring the transformation only you can bring. We humbly ask you - sovereign Lord, to continue to protect the United States of America. You are the only true source of security, and we acknowledge that truth. Yet -we also need to do what we can do as a nation to protect ourselves. According to your word, Government is to commend the good, punish evil, and protect its citizens. We pray for our President, Senators & Representatives, our Governors, and all who serve in elected office - that you would give them wisdom and guidance to do what is needed to protect the citizens they are called to serve. And we lift before you those who have chosen to serve in our armed forces. We thank you for these men & women, and we ask that you would protect those who protect us.
Finally Lord, we acknowledge before you that terrorism is not the greatest threat to our nation. History teaches us that great nations have fallen in the past - not because of attacks by a hostile nation or ideology, but because they crumbled from within. We ask you omnipotent Lord - to save us from ourselves. We have drifted far from you and become prideful of our independence and wealth. We have somehow come to believe that we are responsible for this good life - when in reality you are the provider of every good and perfect gift.
We ask that the citizens of this nation would awaken to what is happening all around us. That each would see the profound moral decay, the extensive corruption, the rejection of religion and morality and say “Enough!” Not so that we would control the power of the state, but so that you would be honored by the general conduct of this nation.
We pray Father that you would bring revival and renewal in the United States of America, and the hearts of it’s citizens would be drawn to you.
Always aware of how undeserving we are, yet also aware of your grace, we ask all of these things in the mighty and matchless name of Jesus.
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