FREETHINKERS * Atheists * Rationalists * Humanists * Secularists * Skeptics THINK WITH ME FOR 10 MINUTES! By Homer Duncan Webster defines a freethinker as "one that forms opinions on the basis of reason independently of authority; esp: one who doubts or denies religious dogma." My friend, I do not wish to unduly antagonize you, but I honestly wonder if many who call themselves "Freethinkers" are really free thinkers. I wonder how many who consider themselves to be open-minded will throw this booklet in the trash without giving me a fair hearing. I wonder how many have the courage to make an honest investigation of the facts. I am well aware that life is too short for any of us to thoroughly investigate all of the facts on any given subject. It is utterly impossible for any man to study the claims of every pholosophy and religion. Perhaps you are wondering if I have thououghly investigated such matters. No, I cannot honestly say that I have made a thorough study of any given field of learning. Since life is so short, all of us must operate on a priority basis. We must learn to major on the majors, and to minor on the minors. If we wander down every trail we cross, we shall make little progress in life. Three or four years ago I made a rather thorough study of the world's great religions and of a number of new cults in America. I have studied enough to enable me to write two books on Humanism. My main thrust in life is not opposing those who differ with me on any particular subject, but in proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. I have spent 47 years investigating His claims, and the more I study, the more deeply I am convinced of the truth of the Holy Scripture. I shall be grateful if you will take ten minutes of your time to give me a fair hearing. Consider the testimony of George Mueller of England which was given to a group of ministers about a hundred years ago: I was converted in November, 1825, but I only came into the full surrender of the heart four years later, in July, 1829. The love of money was gone, the love of place was gone, the love of position was gone, the love of worldly pleasures and engagements was gone. God, God alone became my portion. I found my all in Him; I wanted nothing else. And by the grace of God this has remained, and has made me a happy man, an exceedingly happy man, and it led me to care only about the things of God. I ask affectionately, my beloved brethren, have you fully surrendered the heart to God, or is there this thing or that thing with which you are taken up irrespective of God? I read a little of the Scriptures before, but preferred other books; but since that time the revelation He has made of Himself has become unspeakably blessed to me, and I can say from my heart, God is an infinitely lovely Being. Oh, be not satisfied until in your own inmost soul you can say, God is an infinitely lovely Being! If George Mueller was the only man who spoke in such a manner, we might brush his statement off as sheer imagination, but when thousands of other men make similar statements, we should at least give their statements honest consideration. If we do not do so, are we not guilty of the same prejudice that we charge against intolerant Christians? Consider with me four or five other examples. You may well have read the story of Gilbert West and Lord Lyttleton. These English infidels decided that they would once and for all demolish the claims of the Christian religion. West was to disprove the resurrection of Christ; Lyttleton was to disprove the conversion of the Apostle Paul. When they undertook this project, they confessed to each other that each was depending on the other as the source of their material. Being honest men they set out to study and investigate the facts for themselves. As a result of their study both men were soundly converted to Christ. West wrote a treatise on the Resurrection of Christ, and Lyttleton wrote the book 'Observations on the Conversion of St. Paul'. Dr. Samuel Johnson made this statement concerning this book: "A treatise to which infidelity has never been able to fabricate a specious answer." Dr. J.N.D. Anderson writes, "Not so very long ago there was in England a young barrister, or what you would call a trial lawyer, by the name of Frank Morison. He was an unbeliever. For years he promised himself that one day he would write a book to disprove the resurrection of Christ finally and forever. At last he got the leisure. He was an honest man and he did the necessary study. Eventually (after accepting Christ) he wrote a book that you can buy as a paperback, 'Who Moved the Stone?'. Starting from the most critical possible approach to the New Testament documents he concludes inter alia that you can explain the trial and the conviction of Jesus only on the basis that he himself had foretold his death and resurrection." Freethinkers are often unfair in giving the impression that their thinking is based on the latest findings of modern science, and the thinking of Christians is based on superstition and Hebrew folktales. However, thousands of noted scientists are dediated Christians. Dr. Wernher Von Braun, who for a number of years was Deputy Director of N.A.S.A., was soundly converted to Christ as he walked along a desert road near the U.S. Army missle testing site at White Sands, New Mexico. At a governors' prayer breakfast he said, "There is admiration for the scientific process of observation, experimentation, of testing every concept to measure its validity. But it still bothers some people that we cannot prove scientifically that God exists. Must we light a candle to see the sun? Many who believe in God as Creator have difficulty accepting Him as a personal God who is interested, not only in the human race, but in the individual. Man can know God only by His self-revelation in the person of Jesus Christ, as witnessed by Scripture. In our search to know God...Jesus Christ should be the focus of our efforts, and our inspiration." Dr. Paul C. Vitz writes: "It is difficult to document such a thing as the general attitude of a profession. But the hostility of most psychologists to Christianity is very real. For years I was part of that sentiment; today it still surrounds me. It is a curious hostility, for most psychologists are not aware of it. Their lack of awareness is due mostly to sheer ignorance of what Christianity is - for that matter, of what any religion is. The universities are so secularized that most academics can no longer articulate why they are opposed to Christianity. They merely assume that for all rational people the question of being a Christian was settled - negatively - at some time in the past." I encourage you to read "The Agnostic Who Dared to Search" by Dr. Viggo B. Olsen. Literally thousands of such examples can be cited. Any man is either uninformed or dishonest who writes as does Kai Neilsen, "Plainly, such experiences can be explained in natural or secular terms, so there is no warrant for postulating God to account for them". Thus, my first appeal to you is to consider the power of the Gospel in changing men's lives. THE FACT OF FULFILLED PROPHECY My second appeal to you is based on the fact of fulfilled prophecy. Though hundreds of books have been written on this subject, I propose to present the basic arguments that I want you to consider in five brief paragraphs. The prophecies which I ask you to consider are: prophecies concerning the Nation of Israel, concerning the nations of the world, concerning certain cities, concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, and prophecies that are being fulfilled at the present time. Before I turned to Christ, I heard people speak of fulfilled prophecy, and I thought they were talking about general events that would have taken place regardless of whether or not the prophecy had been made. How wrong I was! It is my conviction that if you honestly study the evidence presented by fulfilled prophecy you will become a Christian. One night a group of officers in the French Navy stood on the deck of a warship in the Mediterranean Sea. One of them said. "Show me one proof that there is a God." Napoleon stood by overhearing the conversation. He stepped forward and said, "The Jew, Sir." Dare to study this subject, and if you do you will be convinced that the Bible is the Word of God, and if the Bible is the Word of God, there must be a God of that Word. If you will study the second chapter of the book of Daniel, you will discover that it is prewritten history. Yes, I am mindful of the foolish efforts that have been made to prove that the prophecies were written after the events took place. Study the prophecies that were made concerning some of the cities mentioned in the Bible. In his book 'Science Speaks', Peter W. Stoner discussed eleven Old Testament prophecies, some of which we have mentioned above, and shows that there is no possibility that the fulfillment of these prophecies was mere chance. He states, "We can draw only one conclusion, and that is God inspired the writing of every one of these prophecies. What stronger proof can any man ask for the inspiration of the Bible?". The most remarkable prophecies of all concern the Lord Jesus Christ. In my book''How Firm a Foundation''I list 39 such prophecies and show how they were remarkably fulfilled. In''Science Speaks''Peter Stoner picks out eight prophecies concerning the Lord Jesus, and using the science of probabilities shows that there is one chance in 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (in mathematics you write that number in this way 10 to the 28th power) that even eight of these prophecies would come to pass; but instead of eight we have listed 39. In the Foreword to Stoner's book, the 'American Scientific Affiliation' makes this statement: "The manuscript for 'Science Speaks' has been carefully reviewed by a committee of the American Scientific Affiliation members and by the Executive Council of the same group and has been found, in general, to be dependable and accurate in regard to the scientific material presented. The mathematical analysis included is based upon principles of probability which are thoroughly sound and Professor Stoner has applied these principles in a proper and convincing way." WHAT ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT? Freethinkers deny the existence of God; they deny the deity of Christ, and they completely disregard the Third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. Christians believe that when they turn to Christ in saving faith their body becomes the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. They discover that the Holy Spirit bears witness with their spirit that they are the children of God. As they learn to "walk in the Spirit," they have the joy of finding that the Holy Spirit produces wonderful fruit in their lives such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance. They begin to experience the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives: power to live the life that God requires and expects of them; power to pray; power to witness; power to overcome sin and temptation. They begin to discover that the Holy Spirit of God is their teacher; that He delights in taking the things of Christ and showing them unto them. How do we comprehend the things of God? By His Spirit. "For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God" (1 Corinthians 2:11-12). Perhaps you are saying, "That sounds lik a lot of foolishness to me." Kai Neilsen writes, "It looks like language and indeed sense have gone on a holiday." My friend, that is exactly what the Bible says about you. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthains 2:14). When a person turns to Christ, he becomes a new creature in Christ. When he is born into the family of God, when he becomes a son of God, he receives a new nature in addition to the old nature that he had before he came to Christ. A DIFFERENT KIND OF CHRISTIANITY I trust you see that I am talking about something that is entirely different from the commonly-held concepts of Christianity. Perhaps you will be surprised to learn that I, too, hold the so-called Christian religion in contempt. Most of what passes as being Christian is a cheap Satanic counterfeit of the genuine thing. It is tragic indeed that so many of us who take the name of Christ fail to show forth the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. FAITH IN WHAT? I remember very distinctly an experience I had nearly fifty years ago. Late one afternoon as I walked on the old Navy pier in Chicago, I gave a Gospel tract to a man. He responded, "I don't believe in nothin' I can't see." It is true that God, and many of the things of God, cannot be seen with the natural eye. They cannot be measured in scientific manner in a test tube. In addition to our five natural senses, faith is a sixth sense. It is through faith we discern and comprehend things that are spiritual. Things that can be seen are temporal; things that are not seen are eternal. TWO SIMPLE ILLUSTRATIONS Permit me to share with you two very commonplace illustrations. When I was a boy in my early teens I was watering the trees in front of our house with a rubber hose that was attachged to a hydrant on the side of the house. A boy about my age who lived in the hills of New Mexico was visiting one of our neighbors. Never before had he seen water run through a hose out of the side of a house. He was fascinated. All of the water he had seen before ran in a creek or in an irrigation ditch. It was hard for him to believe that water could actually come out of the side of a house. What was difficult for him to believe was commonplace to me. Let us carry this same thought a bit further. Suppose that an Indian from the jungles of Brazil comes to visit me. (And, naturally, we must suppose that we are able to communicate.) If I were to tell him that I have a box in my house that will enable me to hear voices in all parts of the world, he would be dubious. When I tell him that this same box enables me to actually see events that are taking place in all parts of the world, he would surely think that I was deranged, or that I was playing some kind of a trick on him. FAITH IS A SIXTH SENSE Our five natural senses are very limited. I can hear certain sounds in the room in which I sit, but the room is filled with other sounds that I cannot hear with my natural ears. These sounds can easily be picked up with a transistor radio. There are many things that I can see in the room with my natural eyes, but there are also many other things that I cannot see, as is evidenced by my TV set. I repeat, faith is the sixth sense which enables those who will use it to discern that which is spiritual and eternal. It is tragic that people with brilliant minds simply tune out the possibility that such things could be true. Is not this the very thing that most freethinkers are doing? CREATION VERSUS EVOLUTION A battle is going on between creationists and evolutionists. If honesty prevails we must admit that neither creation nor the theory of cosmic and organic evolution can be proven from a scientific standpoint. Dr. Robert A. Millikan, famous physicist, Nobel Prize winner and an evolutionist, said, "The pathetic thing about it is that many scientists are trying to prove the doctrine of evolution, which no scientists can do." The doctrines of creation and evolution must be accepted by faith. Christians believe that it requires less faith to believe in creation that it does to believe in evolution. To my way of thinking, the existence of God can easily be proved from the argument of cause and effect and from the argument of design. I have considered the arguments of many freethinkers denying the existence of God, and can see why they think that believing in God is entirely a matter of unjustified faith. MANY INFALLIBLE PROOFS But, when we come to the Bible such reasoning does not hold water. I do not have to accept the truths of the Bible with a blind faith. The evidence that the Bible is the Word of God is based on sound, solid evidence. Read my father's booklet, Why I Believe The Bible. (He was a graduate of Yale), and read my book, How Firm a Foundation. I do not have to accept the Resurrection of Christ by faith since it is one of the best established facts of history. Check it out for yourself. ANSWERED PRAYER What about answered prayer? How foolish to write off as imagination or superstition tens of thousands of marvelous answers to prayer. I began this booklet with a statement from George Mueller. He lived in a period when infidelity was rampant in England. He desired to demonstrate to the world that there was a living God who heard and answered prayer. He therefore started an orphanage to take care of needy children, and determined that all needs to feed and clothe these children would be met without making requests of any kind. If you have the courage to do so, read the marvelous story of how he was able to take care of thousands of orphans through prayer and faith. Hundreds of examples can be given of people who have prayed for specific amounts of money, and who have received right to the very penny the exact amount they prayed for. Perhaps you are thinking, "What about the thousands of people who have prayed and have not received an answer to their prayers?" A study of the Bible reveals that certain conditions must be met if our prayers are to be heard. (John 14:13,14). YOU AND I HAVE AN APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH "It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). First, consider the dying words and dying experience of Christians: Matthew Henyy - "Sin is bitter. I bless God I have inward supports." John Knox - "Live in Christ, live in Christ, and the flesh need not fear death." John Calvin - "Thou, Lord, bruisest me; but I am abundantly satisfied since it is from thy hand." John Wesley - "The best of all is, God is with us. Farewell! Farewell!" Charles Wesley - "I shall be satisfied with thy likeness - satisfied." Baxter - "I have pain; but I have peace, I have peace." Goodwin - "Ah! is this dying? How have I dreaded as an enemy this smiling friend!" When that great Christian and scientist, Sir Michael Faraday, was dying, sone journalists questioned him as to his speculation for a life after death. "Speculations!" said he, "I know nothing about speculations. I'm resting on certainties. 'I know that my redeemer liveth,' and because He lives, I shall live also." Frances Havergal, the song writer, lived and moved in the Word of God. His Word was her constant companion. On the last day of her life, she asked a friend to read to her the 42nd chapter of Isaiah. When the friend read the sixth verse, "I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee." Miss Havergal stopped her. She whispered, "Called - held - kept. I can go home on that!" And she did go home on that. Dwight L. Moody was a well known evangelist in the nineteenth century. The Moody Bible Institute and the Moody Church in Chicago continue to bear witness to his fruitful ministry. As he lay dying, he said, "Earth, recedes: Heaven opens before me." His son's first impulse was to try to arouse him from what he thought was a dream. "No, this is no dream, Will," he said. "It is beautiful! It is like a trance! If this is death, it is sweet! There is no valley here! God is calling me, and I must go!" A bit later he said, "This is my triumph; this is my coronation day! I have been looking forward to it for years!" Turning to his wife he said, "Mama, you have been a good wife to me." Then later as he regained consciousness he uttered these words: "No pain! No valley! If this is death it is not bad at all! It's sweet!" A little later he exclaimed, "What does all of this mean? What are you doing here? This is a strange thing! I've been beyond the gates of death to the very portals of Heaven, and here I am back again. It is very strange! This is my coronation day! It's glorious!" A few moments later another sinking turn came on, and from it Mr. Moody awoke in the presence of Him whom he loved and served so long and faithfully. It was not like death, for he fell asleep quietly and peacefully. (Taken from "The Shorter Life of D.L. Moody" by A.P. Fitt). FACE TO FACE SHOWDOWN Charles Bradlaugh was the outstanding atheist in England. Down in one of the slums of London was a minister by the name of Hugh Price Hughes. All London was aware of miracles of grace accomplished at his mission. Charles Bradlaugh challenged Mr. Hughes to debate with him the validity of the claims of Christianity. London was greatly interested. What would Mr. Hughes do? He immediately accepted the challenge and in doing so added one of his own. Hughes said, "I propose to you that we each bring some concrete evidences of the validity of our beliefs in the form of men and women who have been redeemed from the lives of sin and shame by the influence of our teaching. I will bring 100 such men and women, and I challenge you to do the same. "If you cannot bring 100, Mr. Bradlaugh, to match my 100, I will be satisfied if you will bring 50 men and women who will stand and testify that they have been lifted up from lives of shame by the influence of your teachings. If you cannot bring 50, then bring 20 people who will say, as my 100 will, that they have great joy in a life of self-respect as a result of your atheistic teachings. If you cannot bring 20, I will be satisfied if you bring 10." "Nay, Mr. Bradlaugh, I challenge you to bring one, just one man or woman who will make such a testimony regarding the uplifting of your atheistic teachings." Again London was stirred. What would Mr. Bradlaugh do? In answer, Charles Bradlaugh, with great discomfiture and chagrin, publicly withdrew his challenge for the debate. (Taken from Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations.) Second, consider the words and experience of atheists: "Thomas Paine, an immigrant to America in 1787, had leaped from obscurity to fame after writing some brilliant pamphlets on freedom. But then he made a fatal mistake. He began to write his "masterpiece," called The Age of Reason, which scoffed at Christianity. "This will destroy the Bible," he predicted. "Within 100 years, Bibles will be found only in museums or in musty corners of second-hand bookstores." His book was published in London in 1794, but it brought him so much misery and loneliness that he once said: "I would give worlds, if I had them, had The Age of Reason never been written." "Paine became a bedridden invalid until his death, friendless and alone in 1809. The Bible remained a best-seller." (Taken from Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations). STALIN'S TERRIBLE DEATH Quoted in Newsweek is Svetlana Stalin's description of her father's death. We quote: "My father died a difficult and terrible death....God grants an easy death only to the just...At what seemed the very last moment, he suddenly opened his eyes and cast a glance over everyone in the room. It was a terrible glance. He raised his left hand as though he were pointing to something above and bringing down a curse on us all. The gesture was full of menace... The next moment....the spirit wrenched itself free of the flesh." Altamont the infidel creid out his last words: "My principles have poisoned my friend; my extravagance has beggared my boy; my unkindness has murdered my wife. And is there another hell? Oh, thou blasphemed, yet most indulgent Lord God! Hell is a refuge if it hides me from thy frown." Voltaire, on his deathbed, addressed his doctor: "I am abandoned by God and man. I will give you half of what I am worth, if you will give me six months'life." The doctor replied, "Sir, you cannot live six weeks." Voltaire replied, "Then I shall go to hell, and you will go with me." Soon after he expired. Gambetta, 1882: "I am lost, and ther is no use to deny it!" Gibbon, 1794: "All is now lost, finally irrecoverably lost. All is dark and doubtful. THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF GOD The Gospel of Christ is the watershed between all men. Very simply stated it is this: Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture; He died as a substitute in our place and stead; He was made to be sin for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He was buried that He by the grace of God might taste of death for every man. He arose from the grave on the third day. When we by faith invite the living Christ to come into our heart, we become a child of God. He knocks on the heart's door of every person. Each has the power to either accept or to reject Him. Each of the above statements is based on the Word of God. A PRAGMATIC TEST I believe that God hears and answers prayer. Evidently you have not believed this. How about putting it to the test? From the sincerity of your heart, pray a prayer something like this: "O God, hear me. If you are real, I promise to surrender my life to you, if you will clearly manifest your presence in my life." If there is no God, you will simply be saying words into the empty air, but if you are sincere, and if you will determine to do the will of God, if He manifests Himself to you, He will answer your prayers, as He has answered the prayers of millions of others who have prayed in this way. I have set before you life and death, blessing, and cursing. Choose life that you may live, that you may find peace and joy in this life, and a home in heaven in the life to come. Homer Duncan 4606 Ave H Lubbock, Texas 79404