God Is Still Great

“I find your lack of faith – disturbing.” Darth Vader


Timothy Keller begins his excellent book, The Reason for God, with this quote from Star Wars. Keller’s book is a response to the host of books that have come out in the past two years trumpeting a new atheism. Books like The God Delusion and God is not Great by authors like Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins have hit the bestsellers lists, prompting some media to declare 2007 the Year of the Atheist. To listen to these voices is to get the impression that millions of people are declaring their unbelief. Well, not exactly.

As Keller points out, we live in polarizing times, beliefs have become more strident and loaded with other things, like politics, for example. But to suggest that we as a nation or the whole world itself are turning away from God is to simply ignore the facts completely. Religion in general and Christianity in particular is on the rise in most parts of the globe, including the United States. There is an increase in influence, perhaps, among those who profess “no belief” or “agnostic” belief. Skepticism, fear, and anger toward traditional religion are growing in power and influence, but so is a robust orthodox faith.

For example, despite the secularism that has reigned for well over sixty years on most university campuses, it is now estimated that 10 to 25 percent of all the teachers and professors of philosophy in the country are orthodox Christians, up from less than 1 percent just thirty years ago. Keller goes on to say that some of the doubts and questions that people have today are a little different but the atheism is basically the same. He writes his book for a this current generation, much like C.S. Lewis wrote the classic, Mere Christianity, for his.

That Star Wars quote, it should be noted, is from a series of films by George Lucas, who stated that he wanted to tell a story that would give young people a reason to believe in God again. Every generation must again tell the story of God’s revelation to this world. Every generation must give reason for why it believes.

That’s what the Apostle Paul is doing, giving an account of this faith to all who would listen. It was his custom in every city he visited to first go to his fellow Jews at the synagogue. There he would present his biblical arguments for the distinctive Christian interpretation of the Messiah as one who had to suffer and be raised from the dead. Then Paul would speak to the Gentile inhabitants. Some rejected his message and started riots to stop Paul and the others.

“They shouted ‘these people who have been turning the world upside down have come here also . . .They are acting against the emperor’s decrees and are saying that there is another king, named Jesus.” Acts 17.6-7


Some Jews and Gentiles received him very favorably, like in Beroea.

“These Jews were more receptive than those in Thessalonica, for they welcomed the message very eagerly and examine the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so.” Acts 17.11

When Paul arrives at Athens he is upset to see the city full of idols and idol worship. This was upsetting to him as a monotheistic Jew and as a proclaimer of Jesus as the One true Lord. Notice Paul’s attitude was not laissez-faire or what passes for tolerance these days. Paul thought that worshipping the wrong god was not only an offense to the true God but also destructive to the people and their society. Last week we mentioned how those first Christians lived in a beautiful moral contrast to the pagan societies around them in the way they cared for the sick, the poor, and the marginalized.

“The Greco-Roman world’s religious views were open and seemingly tolerant – everyone had his or her own God. The practice of the culture was quite brutal, however. The Greco-Roman world was highly stratified economically, with a huge distance between rich and poor. By contrast, Christians insisted that there was only one true God, the dying Savior Jesus Christ. Their lives and practices were, however, remarkably welcoming to those that the culture marginalized,” Keller writes.

Paul taught that beliefs have consequences and that the truth of Jesus was meant for every culture. The popular religion in Athens was expressed in the paganism of the common people in the myriad of gods and goddesses and idols. But the highest expression of Greek thought and religion was found among the philosophers, and that’s where Paul went to find common ground and fertile soil for the Gospel. Paul went to the Areopagus, or Mars Hill, in Athens, which was an open air plaza where the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers held court. The Epicurean taught that human happiness can only be found in the pleasures of the body, while the Stoics said that happiness was only resident in the soul and the body was hopelessly corrupt. All these philosophers were interested in new ideas. I said Paul went to them, but really, they brought him there because they heard him proclaiming “foreign deities” and a new teaching, so they wanted to hear more.

They were the kind of people who delighted in “seeing through” your ideas or your life. They were ready to pounce on inconsistency or irrationality. They were ready to show how their thought was superior. We have lots of people like them today. Many self-described atheists and skeptics tend to be this way.






C.S. Lewis said that ideas are like windows, but windows that are supposed to look out on something Real. Ideas, or rather, true ideas, are not meant to be explained away.

You cannot go on “explaining away” for ever: you will find that you have explained
Explanation itself away. You cannot go on “seeing through” things for ever.
The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it.
It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond
It is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? . . .a wholly transparent world
Is an invisible world. To “see through” all things is the same as not to see.

Now Paul knew this. And he used the Greeks affinity for systematic theories of the universe teach one of his own.

“Athenians, I see how extremely religious you are in every way. . .I found among (your altars) an altar with the inscription, ‘To an unknown god.’ What you therefore worship as unknown, I proclaim to you . . .”

In Greek philosophy and poetry Paul found a bridge idea among these men on Mars Hill. Paul witnessed to the classic New Testament definition of faith:

“the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Hebrews 11.1

Paul begins to give a name and a face to this “unknown God” and preach about Christ’s death and resurrection. Not all believed – “some mocked.” But others listened and responded with, “We want to hear you again about this.”


Now that the Democratic Primary in Pennsylvania is over with, I think it’s safe for me to make a comment. Many were upset by Obama’s characterization of Pennsylvanians as people, “who cling to their guns and their religion.” Like the headline in the Altoona Mirror, I reply with, “Darn right!” Religion and guns, that’s me. Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!

But let’s put our guns aside for a moment and ask the question, “Do we cling to our religion as a crutch against life’s pain and doubts?” Or do we follow Jesus as the Way, the Truth, and the Life, as the one true God? If the former is right, then we probably are just bitter; but if the latter is true, then we are hopeful and we are humbly confident that God is not a crutch or a fable. God is great, in every sense of that word.

We live among modern Greeks and Romans. Some will mock, but some will want to hear more. Mars Hill is another name for the school you attend, the factory where you work, the neighborhood in which you live. The Lord has called you to stand up and give account on his behalf. For such a time as this we have been created.

“Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.” John 14.23