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The “God”

who started Atheis

m.

An alternative view, by T W Palm

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Atheism Defined

• Athe-ism - noun– a disbelief in the

existence of a deity – the doctrine that

there is no deity (god)– Archaic definition –

“ungodly wickedness”

• Merriam-Webster Dictionary

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Synonyms for Atheism

• non-belief• disbelief• scepticism• incredulity • ungodliness• mistrust

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Ancient Gods

• Baal (god of thunder & rain)• Ashtoreth (mercy &

destruction)• Dagon (goddess of being)• Isis (fertility goddess)• Zeus (king of gods and men)• Asherah (fertility goddess)• Amon-Ra (king of all gods)• Apophis (god opposed to

light)• Osiris (god of the afterlife)

• Nintu (goddess of childbirth)• Adad (god of storms)• Ereshkigal (ruler of netherworld)• Damkina (earth mother

goddess)• Anu (great god of the sky)• Ishtar/Inanna (great goddess of

love)• Kingu/Qingu (dragon

commander)• Marduk (creator god/ruler god)• Sin (moon god)

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Ancient View of god/s

• Dwells in a place where worshippers cannot reach him.

• Needs to be appeased• Hard to please• Is easily offended• Forgives only after retribution (punishment)• Desires the sacrifice (of innocent: virgins and

children)• Withholds blessings• Arbitrary /Vengeful • Adherents are ignorant of his ways and are afraid

of him.

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Fundamental Christian View of God• Can only be approached through an

intermediary• Needs to be appeased• Impossible to please (looking for perfection)• Is easily offended • Forgives only after retribution (punishment)• Desires sacrifice (of innocent – e.g. Jesus)• Withholds blessings as punishment • Arbitrary /Vengeful (needs to vent his anger by

sometimes making you lose your job or a loved one)

• Adherents are ignorant of his ways and are afraid of him.

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The “Killer God” wipes out sinners with…• Natural disasters e.g. floods, droughts,

tsunamis, hurricanes, landslides, avalanches, volcanic eruptions, plagues (boils) and pestilences (Aids).

• Using a political superpower to defeat sinners and then hold them captive for 100’s of years.

• Punishing sinners through generations by making the children and the children’s children pay for the sins of the great-grandparents, grandparents and the parents.

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The True Character of God Is Revealed On A Hill Outside Jerusalem called “Golgotha”…The Place of a Skull.

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The Fundamental Christian View of The Crucifixion

versusGod’s View of The

Crucifixion

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Fundamental Christian View of the Crucifixion of Christ• God was/is angry at sinners.• God wanted/wants to destroy sinners.• Jesus wanted/wants to save sinners from

the Killer God The Father. • Picture this: Jesus has his back to the

Father and says “beat me up instead of the sinners so that you can deal with your pent up anger.”

• God “killed” Jesus to get rid of his rage…so that He does not have to kill sinners any longer.

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God’s View of the Crucifixion

To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

(2Co 5:19 KJV)

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Christian Fundamentalism Paradox

God is Love (1 John 4:8 and 16)

1. God is Love but Kills Sinners who refuse to listen.

2. God is Love but wipes out those who are imperfect.

3. God is Love but gets angry and needs to vent from time to time.

4. God is Love but is coming to destroy the earth because he is sorry that he made people.

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Christian Fundamentalism Paradox

• The fundamental Christian view of God as presented through the centuries can trace its origins to the original views that people clung to about ancient gods like Ra and Baal.

• Christ stepped into this religious mindset (theological paradigm) and desired to set the record straight on the TRUTH about the character of God that Satan had maligned.

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Fundamental Christian Paradox

• Did Christ condemn anybody?• Did Christ reject anybody? • Did Christ hate anybody?• Did Christ curse anybody?• Did Christ hurt anybody?

• Did Christ turn his back on anybody?• Did Christ kill anybody?

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Fundamental Christian Paradox

• It this “killer God” worldview that is responsible for the creation of Atheism.

• If this is who God really is then I don’t want Him and declare myself an “atheist” with immediate effect.

• But if God is the God as expressed through the son “Jesus” then I embrace Him with immediate effect and call upon all atheists to do the same.

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Who is The God of the Bible?• For I am the LORD, I change not;

therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. (Mal 3:6 KJV)

• Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. (Jas 1:17 KJV)

• Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. (Heb 13:8 KJV)

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Who is the God of the Bible?

• Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: (Rom 5:20 KJV)

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Who is the God of the Bible?

• “It is the darkness of misapprehension of God that is enshrouding the world. Men are losing their knowledge of His character. It has been misunderstood and misinterpreted. At this time a message from God is to be proclaimed, a message illuminating in its influence and saving in its power. His character is to be made known. Into the darkness of the world is to be shed the light of His glory, the light of His goodness, mercy, and truth.”

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Who is the God of the Bible?

• “Those who wait for the Bridegroom's coming are to say to the people, "Behold your God." The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love. The children of God are to manifest His glory. In their own life and character they are to reveal what the grace of God has done for them. The light of the Sun of Righteousness is to shine forth in good works--in words of truth and deeds of holiness.” Christ’s Object Lessons pp.415-416. Ellen White.

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So who/what is doing the killing?• For the wages of sin is death; but the

gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 6:23 KJV)

• God created the universe to function as a circle, Himself at the centre of the circle as the original Source of life, and love and every good thing.

• Sin, on the other hand , is a departure from God’s circle of beneficent love.

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So who/what is doing the killing?• Blessed is the man that heareth me,

watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the LORD. (Pro 8:34-35 KJV)

• But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isa 59:2 KJV)

• Once separated from God, sin operates in the sinner as a lonely line rather than a circle.

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So who/what is doing the killing?• At first ,selfishness imparts an illusionary

sense of fulfillment, deceiving the mind with the idea that looking out for Number One is the only way to survive.

• Because God’s love is the law of the universe, by which He created and sustains all things, the principles of that law are embedded into our very natures. Within our psycho-social-emotional makeup, love is encoded as the law of life.

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So who/what is doing the killing?• When we break God’s law, a malfunction

signal issues a warning in the form of guilt.• Our conscience senses discomfort with sin

and identifies it as a destructive force/ virus in the computer system.

• Guilt is not arbitrarily imposed by God. God made the human faculty of conscience but He is not the source of guilt. He made us with the capacity to feel guilt as a merciful and wise deterrent to sin.

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So who/what is doing the killing?• Take, for example, physical pain.

– If you put your hand on a red-hot stove, you will feel the pain of the destruction that is beginning to occur.

– Without pain, the destruction of your hand is sure. But the pain serves as a helpful warning that something is wrong, which causes you to pull your hand away from the source of heat.

– Pain is a very wise divine invention.

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So who/what is doing the killing?• The same is true for disease.

– Sickness is attended by pain. We hate the pain, but we need it to tell us something is wrong so we can get help.

– If there were no pain involved in disease, we would simply drop dead one day without notice ,with no opportunity to solve the problem. God is not the source of the pain, although He created the physical laws that make pain possible.

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The Solution to the Sin Problem?• Create in me a clean heart, O God; and

renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10 KJV)

• Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28 KJV)

• And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. (John 6:35 KJV)

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Conclusion: God does not…

• dwell in a place where He cannot be reached;

• need to be appeased;• take offence easily;• forgive only after retribution/ punishment;• desire the sacrifice of innocent – e.g. Jesus;• withhold blessings because of our

unfaithfulness;• act in an arbitrary /vengeful manner; and• rejoice in the death of the wicked.

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Conclusion

• The Fundamental Christian View of God as this “Killer God” is Biblically flawed and is responsible for “protest atheism”.

• The “Killer God” concept is causing people to leave the church in numbers and resist the Gospel.

• Fearing God in order to avoid Hell is no way to enter Heaven.

• God is not a man (Number 23:19) and cannot be expected to think, act or behave as a man would.

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Fundamental View of God Leads To:

• non-belief• disbelief• scepticism• incredulity • ungodliness• Mistrust• In a nutshell…

Atheism

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“God Is Love.”

1 John 4: 7 -8

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Sources• “Christ’s Object

Lessons” by E G White• “The Nature of Sin” by

Pastor Paul Leacock• “Death of a Monster

God” by Pastor Brian Zahnd; Word of Life

Church.• International Standard

Bible Encyclopaedia• Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible

Commentary• Holman Bible

Dictionary• Merriam-Webster

Dictionary