When an Atheist Longs for a “Higher Love”

Atheists reason, and some profess, that God and other deities do not exist.  Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a hunch that many self-proclaimed atheists remember being offended and perhaps deeply hurt by one or more well meaning persons of faith.  Some Christians may act toward unbelievers out of ignorance, others out of arrogance, and yet others out of a sincere but carnal desire to “win” a God-denier to faith in order to claim the atheist as a trophy of a hard-to-win pagan.  By the way, I have probably already unintentionally offended at least some atheistic readers who argue that their belief is based on sound logic, not emotional scars.  No offense intended as you will hopefully see by reading on.

The Bible teaches that those who deny God are on the road to eternal judgment (John 3: 16; Romans 3: 10,23; 6: 23).   God does not “clear the guilty” (Numbers 14: 18) just because they can point to a Christian who offended them sometime in their life.  Yet, it ought to be true that every sinner saved by God’s grace is constrained by Calvary’s love and desirous of sharing the Gospel of God’s love with unbelievers—and, in a way that is not disrespectful (2 Corinthians 5: 14-15; 1 Peter 3: 15).

I cannot deny that there has been selfishness in my motivation to communicate with atheists in recent years.  Therefore, it has been good medicine for me to read The Faith of Christopher Hitchens (Nelson, 2016).  I discovered this title in a book review by Benjamin Wiker, Senior Fellow at the Veritas Center for Ethics and Public Life, Franciscan University.   The book’s author, Larry Taunton, director of Fixed Point Foundation, refers to Hitchens in his subtitle as “the World’s Most Notorious Atheist.”  I was immediately intrigued upon learning that Taunton is an evangelical Christian who writes from his experience as a close friend of Hitchens between 2007 and 2011 when Hitchens died of cancer.

Readers of The Faith of Christopher Hitchens are humbly and respectfully introduced to the man whom reviewer Benjamin Wiker describes as “a real, lovable, cantankerous, flawed, hilarious, foolish, brilliant, sinful, and multi-faceted human being.”  But more fascinating and valuable is the way in which an evangelical Christian, Larry Taunton, respectfully and lovingly earns the right to become a friend of Hitchens.  Though reluctant to publish many aspects of their unusual friendship, Taunton finally agrees with a publisher that he should write the book.  What resulted is a captivating narrative that recounts the tumultuous boyhood of Christopher Hitchens in England during the 1950’s, his rejection of the notion of God as a teen, and his development of a separate public and private “set of books” that governed his thinking, communication, and behavior in his adult life.  As Taunton explains, the growing chasm between the public and the private Christopher Hitchens is a key to understanding how an atheist could drastically change his allegiance from the Left to the Right following the 9/11 attack on America, and eventually gain new respect and friendships with evangelical Christians.

Christopher Hitchens and brother, Peter Hitchens

As further incentive for you to read The Faith of Christopher Hitchens, I will provide a list of questions the book has caused me to ask, each one dealing with a facet of the larger question, What can I as an evangelical Christian learn from Larry Taunton about building a friendship of mutual trust and respect with those who have a different view than I of the natural world and beyond (if they acknowledge such?  Hopefully, this article will motivate you to read The Faith of Christopher Hitchens.  And better yet, maybe some of my questions will promote  a more in-depth reflection and discussion.  If so, I’d love to read comments posted to me from the link below.

1.   Am I cultivating friendships with people who deny the existence of God, or reject His claim on their lives?  If so, how well am I representing the love of Christ to them?

2.   Hitchens’ favorite song was Steve Winwood’s, “Higher Love.”  He admitted to Larry Taunton’s son, Michael, “I do long for a higher love (p. 4).”  With all humility, do I recognize that within the heart of every man and woman is the need to experience God’s redemptive love, and that God might use me in some way as an important channel of His love?

3.   What can I learn from the accounts of the boarding school experience of two English boys—one, Christopher Hitchens who found in its harsh and often unreasonable discipline what became for him “metaphors for rejection of God and church;” the other, C.S. Lewis, who found an equally harsh experience what became for him “a metaphor for how faith, patience, and anticipation is built into life.” (p. 12-13)

4.   How many pre-adolescent and adolescent children today experience a roadblock to conversion to faith in God, often resulting in a hatred of God and Christianity, because of a failure of parents and teachers to help them acquire a truly Christian view of God’s gift of   sexuality?  

Michelangelo's "The Awakening Slave"

5.  Is each human being “self-made” as illustrated in Michelangelo’s The Awakening Slave, pictured 

as a man writhing to get free of the marble block restraining him?  Hitchens denied that his father’s lack of faith had anything to do with his own becoming an atheist; instead, seeing himself as a “self-made man” who came to atheism purely out of rational means.  But, Hitchens’ father had two sons, both “Bible-burning atheists and communists.”  The fact that God works in the affairs of fathers and sons is evidenced by what eventually happened--one of the sons becomes a Christian (p. 48)!

6.   Is it possible that many atheists do not embrace atheism so much because it is logical and intellectually fulfilling as because it allows them the opportunity to legitimize their rejection of moral claims upon the lifestyle they choose?

7.   Hitchens embraced atheism because it allowed him to square the public and private “sets of books” that he kept.  And, he chose words as his weapons to defend his position, “rather than loving words insofar as they lead to truth (p. 22-23).”  Do I fall into the same trap when I give priority to eloquence and scholarship over pursuit of truth, understanding, and respectful discourse with those who do not share my beliefs?

8.   For Hitchens the atheist, the logical political allegiance was to socialism which is antithetical to Christianity.  As Dostoevsky wrote, “Socialism is not merely the labor question, it is before all things the atheistic question….”  Do we realize why socialism today is increasingly popular in spite of its dismal history of economic failure and the deaths of millions of people?  Socialism is increasingly popular because many are deceived into believing that “our generation” will avoid the “Stalinist perversion of an otherwise perfect system” and will “get it right” in the attempt to “set up heaven on earth?” (p. 24)

9.   Do some atheists see Christian attempts to relate to them as trophy-hunting expeditions?  Taunton suggests that Hitchens often found the efforts of Christians who sought to “convert” him as intellectually stimulating and entertaining.  But, he also loathingly considered other professing Christians like Rev. Al Sharpton as “intellectual frauds” when he learned that they held little or no allegiance to the authority of the Bible.  Read how Hitchens exemplifies a God-denier or God-hater who warms to some conservative evangelicals who displayed intellectual competence integrated with warmth and respect.

10.  What happens when an atheist like Christopher Hitchens is confronted with a horrific event like 9/11?  Hitchens could not help but judge the terrorist act as “simply evil” and not, as liberal progressives often claim, the result of some outside injustice--economic, social, political, or cultural?  If instead, murderous acts originate by “human free will” out of an evil heart, it becomes “freely chosen evil.” It follows that our whole “human family” is morally corrupt and in need of an outside Deliverer—the God an atheist claims does not exist!  Read how Hitchens came to see the contradiction.  Psalm 49: 7-9:  No man can by any means redeem his brother, or give to God a ransom for him-- For the redemption of his soul is costly, and he should cease trying forever--that he should live on eternally, that he should not undergo decay.

Christopher Hitchens (1949-2011)

11.  How did the gradual warming of Christopher Hitchens toward Christianity come about by a Gospel witness grounded in the authority of Scripture as the sole arbiter of what defines Christianity, and not (as Hitchens often encountered) personal testimonials and human opinions?   How many times does my witness for Christ become diluted by too much emphasis on “my experience” as opposed to presenting the objective claims of the Gospel message?

12.  How did Larry Taunton, upon first meeting Hitchens, in 2007, avoid getting stuck in a “cart-before-the-horse” misunderstanding over how their lifestyles differed (e.g. smoking, drinking), allowing Taunton to say, from almost the beginning, “I knew I liked him…our rapport was immediate (p. 96).”

13.  How does a Christian friend of an atheist locate the moral limits (if any) beyond which the atheist will not go?  For example, was Hitchens’ atheism consistent enough (as was Peter Singer’s atheism) that he was comfortable with the Godless conclusion that there is no moral basis for treating human babies any differently than piglets or peeps?

14.  How did the adoption of a Russian girl, Sasha, by Larry and Lauri Taunton; and, Sasha’s vibrant Christian testimony to Christopher provide him with a glimpse of the “higher love” which he longed (see #? Above)?  Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, and therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him (Isaiah 30:18 ).

15.  Finally, does an increasingly warm and tender friendship of mutual trust and respect between an evangelical Christian and a professing atheist lead the latter to bow his knees at the altar of repentance and faith in God, and to take hold of that “higher love” he had longed to find?  You’ll have to read The Faith of Christopher Hitchens, but please don’t start with the last chapter.

God Speaks through Nature & His Word: Do We Hear?

Recently, a former student and friend¹ shared a link to a video featuring the work of Bartholomaus Traubeck.  Interestingly, Traubek, an Austrian media artist, has modified a traditional turn-table record player to generate music from thin sections sliced from the trunks of trees.  At first, I wondered how the needle of the record player scraping over a wood surface would make anything but a noisy “GrrrrChikkKrrrKtttKkkkTTtttUUuuu.”  But then, I read that Traubeck has replaced the needle of the record player with a camera which scans the anatomical “landscape” of the sliced wood sections as they rotate.  You may want to listen to Traubeck’s music for yourself before you read on.

Traubeck's modified record player and a slice of wood.

There is no doubt that Traubeck can bring music out of the wood.  But there is no evidence that trees or other parts of “Nature” or “Creation” each have a characteristic voice or song waiting for us to record and broadcast.  Therefore, we must ask, “How much of Traubeck’s music is an objective expression of the anatomical properties of the wood, and how much is merely a subjective result of Traubeck’s method of translating wood anatomy to sound?”  The answer to this question requires that we understand two key elements of Traubeck’s music-making method. 

First, we can agree with Traubeck that each tree species has its own unique wood anatomy—its unique fingerprint.  Each species differs from another according to the width of gaps between annual rings, representing the radial growth (from center outward) for each year.  Some species have large diameter vessels and more slender tracheids (elongated microscopic tubes that carry water and nutrients upward within the trunk of trees).  Gymnosperms, including pines and spruces, have no vessels at all, only tracheids.  Species may also differ in wood color and texture. Traubeck’s scanning camera “views” the rotating wood anatomy of each tree species and creates a dynamic digital profile of the characters he has chosen to include in his algorithm. 

Ttree trunk cross section
with annual growth rings.

The second element we must consider is how Traubeck translates his chosen wood parameters into music.  Although the wood anatomy of each tree species is unique, it is Traubeck who ultimately composes the music that emanates from each species.  His modified record player with camera and a computer algorithm is designed to “see” only a selected number of traits of the “landscape” of the wood sections.  If you or I were to design a similar system with our programming, the music we bring out of the wood slices would be different from Traubeck’s music.  As Matt Weesner writes about Traubeck’s music in Colorado Public Radio, a fir tree grows quickly, therefore has larger gaps between the rings, which means the resulting music is more minimalistic (Traubeck chose the key of C minor for firs). Throw a slice of ash tree (with rings very close together) on the player and the music is more compressed and complex.

Traubeck’s method of producing music from wood sections is a fitting metaphor for the way we view the landscape of the world around us.  Every corner of nature, whether the tree rings of an old oak tree or the landscape of a forest ecosystem, represents an objective reality that invites us to observe and explore with our five senses.  However, as we observe real objects and landscapes of nature, we assign meaning and significance based upon how our particular “spectacles” filter and color our interpretation.  In other words, our worldview determines how we interpret the world around us.  For example, an artist, an ecologist, and a lumberman each view a forest from a different worldview—one sees aesthetic qualities; another sees energy and nutrient relationships; and another sees economic gain.

Let’s look at some examples of how our “worldview spectacles” are at work scanning the world around us, selecting and filtering parameters that we allow us to define our reality.  First, let’s consider how a person’s worldview influences their understanding of the origin of the universe.  Second, we will see how special or divine revelation influences worldview of those who acknowledge the existence of God as Creator and Sustainer of the universe.

How many objects of "intelligent design"
can you see?

Many of us differ in how we account for the complexity in nature or creation.  For example, relatively few people who accidentally find a music CD lying on the ground in the wild would listen to the music it contains and then attribute these complex, highly ordered sounds and the CD itself to random chance events, or undirected natural causes.  We may not understand how the CD was formed and imprinted to produce beautiful music, but we would agree that what we heard is not noise.  Instead, beautiful music is the result of design as expressed through the deliberate, purposeful, action of an intelligent agent responsible for both the original musical score and the technology of the compact disc and CD player.

If we can agree that a music CD and related broadcast technology are the results of intelligent design, then it should follow that the complex wood anatomy of a slice of tree trunk is also the result of intelligent design?  We are only beginning to understand how the specified complexity of the coded sequence of nucleotides of DNA within each living cell can produce the characteristic genetic traits of each organism including the wood properties of each tree species.  But if genetic theory is correct, Traubeck’s music based on wood properties is an expression of the unique DNA sequences of each species. And behind all of this there appears to be an intelligent designer.  I believe God through His Son, Jesus Christ, is the Intelligent Designer of creation (e.g. Genesis 1-2). 

Not all readers will agree that music from a musician, or from a songbird or Traubeck’s wood slices, owes its existence to the God of the Bible.  But all of us must recognize that our opinions are ultimately influenced by our worldview--our way of interpreting the world around us and our place and purpose (if any) in the world.  It also determines the quality of our life on Earth and the destiny of our eternal souls.  Thus, a theistic worldview is based on faith in a “higher power” and divine revelation.  The Bible represents the divine revelation from the Judeo-Christian God (Yehweh) and affirms that “nature” is God’s creation which represents a general revelation of His truth and existence.

The atheist and the agnostic are also persons of faith.   Instead of divine revelation, their faith rests on human reason which either denies the existence of God or simply dismisses the notion of a divine being.  The Greek philosopher Protagoras summarized the atheistic worldview when he proudly stated, Man is the measure of all things.  Much of current thinking in the natural sciences today is based on atheistic, naturalistic philosophy which acknowledges no reality beyond the bounds of the five senses.  In contrast, Martin Luther King Jr. articulated the Christian worldview when he wrote²:

Christianity affirms that at the heart of reality is a Heart, a loving Father who works through history for the salvation of his children. Man cannot save himself, for man is not the measure of all things and humanity is not God.  Bound by the chains of his own sin and finiteness, man needs a Savior.   

Why should we think it odd that a human artist like Bartholomaus Traubeck could produce inspiring music from the “anatomical landscape” of a section of wood?  Even without the aid of camera and computer, the landscapes of creation have from the beginning been inspiring those whose spiritual and aesthetic senses are attuned to our Creator.  The psalmist David wrote, as recorded in Psalm 19: 1-3:

The heavens are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.
Day to day pours forth speech,
And night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.

But God’s Voice also comes to us through the inspired words of Scripture—words that speak of human origin, the fall into sin, and the only Way of reconciliation through the shed blood of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  Consider the following words from 1 Chronicles 16: 30-34 and notice the powerful Voice of God and how creation responds—indeed, how we ought to respond:

Tremble before Him, all the earth;
Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved.
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
And let them say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."
Let the sea roar, and all it contains;
Let the field exult, and all that is in it.
Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before the LORD;
For He is coming to judge the earth.
 O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

The Voice of God in creation and His inspired Word through the Bible are continually streaming toward mankind from every corner of His creation.  So evident is God’s revelation that the Apostle Paul wrote, in Romans 1: 20:  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

Expounding on John 1: 1 (In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”), A.W. Tozer writes, The whole Bible supports the idea.  God is speaking.  Not God spoke, but God is speaking.  He is by His nature continuously articulate.  He fills the world with His speaking Voice. …The Voice of God is the most powerful force in nature, indeed the only force in nature, for all energy is here only because the power-filled Word is being spoken. (The Pursuit of God (Regal, 2013), p. 72).

God is near unto all of us.  Creation itself awaits His coming as the Righteous Judge of all the Earth and mankind (Romans 8: 19).  How then is it that many do not “hear” His Voice in creation and respond when even creation responds as we have just noted:  the sea roars, the field exalts, and the trees sing for joy before the LORD?  Tozer answers,

Scanning electron microscope view
of wood vessels & tracheids

I venture to say that the one vital quality which [men and women of faith in the past] had in common was spiritual sensitivity…they had spiritual awareness and that they went on to cultivate it until it became the biggest thing in their lives (Pursuit…p. 66).

The “landscapes” of creation from the genetic and epigenetic structures inside living cells to the microscopic anatomy of tree wood, to the landscapes of forest and woodland; all proclaim, without the hindrance of language translation, that God is Creator and Designer, and that He is and has been speaking with a powerful Voice since creation. 

What about you?  What do you see and hear as you walk in creation, view the intricacies of God’s creatures, read God’s Word, or hear it proclaimed?  May the God Who gives us physical life and (by faith in Christ) Eternal Life, enable us to become more spiritually aware of His love, plan, and purpose.

----------------
Footnotes:
¹ Thanks to my former student and friend, Dan Delancey, for referring me to the work of Bartholomaus Traubeck.

² From:  M.L. King, Jr. “How Should a Christian View Communism?”

Christmas: Self-Examination Time for Stewards

Christmas affords us a wonderful opportunity for self-examination. An opportunity to take inventory of our spiritual and material resources that, in turn, influence our outlook on life, our priorities as God’s stewards, and our hope for the future.

Temporally speaking, the arrival of Christmas near the end of the calender year causes us to reflect upon how well we have utilized the previous 12 months of the year. And yet, Christmas is close enough to January 1 to begin reflecting on our goals for the coming year. As we participate in our daily spiritual warfare of keeping “self” from Christ’s rightful throne of our hearts, we can find great encouragement in the message of Christmas. The Christmas season bids us to slow down and “take time” to meditate on what God has done on our behalf. When we stop in this way, we can hear God’s Word to us. The God of eternity stepped into the time-space world of Bethlehem to deliver us from the tyranny of ourselves and our pride, from our lust for power and “stuff,” and even from our failed efforts to “keep the law” as a means of producing our own righteousness.

But when the time arrived that was set by God the Father, God sent his Son, born among us of a woman, born under the conditions of the law so that he might redeem those of us who have been kidnapped by the law. -- Galatians 4:4-7 (The Message)

Jim Elliott, one of the young men who was martyred while taking the Gospel to the Waodani (Auca) Indians of Ecuador, suggested that one of Satan’s greatest fears is when believers allow time for quietness that fosters deep mediation and prayer. Dr. Al Mohler, in his 11/12/2010 AlbertMohler.com entry entitled “The Glory of God and the Life of the Mind”, emphasizes the importance of quiet study and meditation in the development of a Christian worldview:

"Christian faithfulness requires the development of the believer’s intellectual capacities in order that we may understand the Christian faith, develop habits of Christian thought, form intuitions that are based upon biblical truth, and live in faithfulness to all that Christ teaches. This is no easy task, to be sure. Just as Christian discipleship requires growth and development, intellectual faithfulness requires a lifetime of devoted study, consecrated thinking, and analytical reflection."

This Christmas season, we should especially value the quietness that was also valued by Mary whom the Scripture states on two different instances treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart (Luke 2:19; and see Luke 2:51).

As we ponder the deep significance of God’s entrance into Earth-time at Christmas, may we also realize that His entry as the Incarnate Christ was an entry into the material-spatial dimension of our personal human existence. In the midst of our enjoyment of Christmas trees and the nighttime dazzle of multicolored lights, may we take time to look high and beyond the nearby glow of man-made sparkles and urban lights and gaze into the vast array of stars and galaxies that pierce the dark sky above us. Amazingly, when the brightness of the nearest star gives way to the tiny points of light from billions of distant stars, we can sense more clearly the penetration of their light into the very depths of our soul. Here in the dim moonlight and starlight our souls are laid bare to the greater questions of life – Who am I? Is there anyone ‘out there?’ Or, ‘in here?’ Does God really exist, and if so, did He come to Earth seeking to save my soul?

Christmas lights and the splendor of the nighttime sky do not ultimately bring us answers to the deep questions of life. Indeed, many people we pass during the busy holidays are fearful of being alone in the quietness of the starry night sky. They have no personal relationship with the One Who created the Earth, other planets, and the stars. Many even resent those who believe in God and His Son Whose birth we celebrate at Christmas.


According to the American Atheists Website “Statistics show that nearly 50 million Americans are atheists. Some use names like freethinker, agnostic or humanist to describe or modify their position, but atheism (the absence of a belief in a deity) is broad, and encompasses all those terms. If you don't have an active belief in a god, you're an atheist. It's a very good thing!”

The website goes on to state, “Millions of atheists are closeted, choosing to go along to get along, and feigning religion to their friends, family, and coworkers. American Atheists understands the pressure to fit in, but we maintain that for people to love you, they must know the real you.”

But atheism fails to provide an objective answer to the questions, “Who am I? Why am I here? What’s wrong? What can be done to ‘fix it’?” Thankfully, the Scriptures answer these questions with resoundingly clarity:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1: 1, 14).

The atheistic and materialistic philosophy of naturalism claims that the natural world and the laws that guide it are the only reality, and science can and will eventually answer all of our questions. But the Bible counters with the clear revelation that

...since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. (Romans 1:20-21).

The only hope for “foolish, darkened hearts” is the truth that the Eternal God pierced the darkness and stepped from eternity into Earth-space-time in the form of the Incarnate Christ, conceived by the Spirit of God and born of a woman. Thus, Deity took on the material substance of a human being and signified to us His love of the groaning, sin-cursed creation. The incarnation and the cross bridge the gulf between Heaven and Earth, between the spiritual and the material world. Through the redemption and reconciliation provided by Christ’s coming and sacrifice for our sins, the original sin that came through Adam’s abuse of God’s creation and rejection of his stewardship role (Genesis 3) is atoned for by the Second Adam, Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 15:22). Through faith in Christ, we remove “self” from the throne of our lives and allow Christ to reign. The reigning Christ redeems and reinstates us as stewards, not only of God’s creation here on Earth, but as stewards of the manifold grace of God (I Peter 4:10).

Christmas is a season to reflect on the incarnation of Christ, the message of God breaking into time and space of Earth, not to take [us] out of the world, but to keep [us] from the evil one (John 17:15). When the splendor of the night sky and the glow of Christmas lights shine on my face, do they reveal an expression that radiates the joy of Christ from deep in my heart? I hope so, for this is the joy that comes from the faith assurance that God does indeed exist. And, He is not only the Creator of the material world and the vast starry sky, but also the One Who gives dignity to my stewardship of His creation. A dignity that allows me to handle the “stuff” of the Earth in such a way that I can enjoy it without becoming soiled by excess; but instead, use it to bring glory to Him and draw others into faith in His saving Grace.

Additional Thoughts and Resources:

1. In what way does the Christian doctrine of the incarnation present a rigorous challenge to the philosophies of naturalism (natural world is the only reality) and major oriental religions (true reality is in the transcendent world)?

2. In what way does the biblical environmental stewardship ethic oppose the extremes of being so earthly minded that one ignores the transcendent reality of heaven; or, being so heavenly minded that one has no reverence or respect for the "natural world?"

3. For an additional reading on the importance of quietness, or silence, in the human experience, see another blog entry by Dr. Al Mohler entitled “‘Where Do All the Colors Go at Night?’ — Children and the Need for Silence”