On Atheism and Christianity

A fascinating book by Richard Wurmbrand, who spent many years in a Soviet prison, and who wrote this book in secret while in prison, is called The Answer to the Atheist's Handbook.    I had no idea that Moscow's Academy of Science had published a summary of atheistic creeds in 1961.  The compilation of renowned Socialist scientists and professors, the book assures its readers that when an atheist dies, "...the dead are dead forever; there is no comfort for the bereaved, those who are separated now will never more be reunited, there is no God and no such thing as eternal life."

Richard Wurmbrand is not the enemy of atheists; in fact, he understands completely how people can be atheists -- and he gives reasons why they do not believe in God.  He says, "...it is only logical that many should be atheists."  I think I paid $1.99 for this book on my Kindle; it is worth much more than that, and I recommend it to all thoughtful readers, atheists and believers alike.

In contrast to Soviet society, which has attempted mightily to eradicate Christianity, he gives the following excerpts from our American Presidents:

Above all, the pure and unbending light of Revelation has had illuminating influence of mankind and increased the blessings of society ---George Washington

 

I have always taken counsel of God and referred to Him my plans and have never adopted a course of proceeding without being assured as far as I could be of His approval.  I should be the most presumptuous blockhead upon this footstone, if I for one day thought that I could discharge the duties which have come upon me since I came into this place, without the aid and enlightenment of One who is wiser and stronger than others. -- Abe Lincoln

 

Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties; write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives.  To the influence of this Book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.  -- Ulysses S. Grant

 

Choose the undying Jesus as your everlasting friend and helper.  Follow him, not simply as a Nazarene, the man of Galilee, but as an ever-living spiritual person, full of love and compassion, who will stand by you in life and death and eternity.  The hopes of the world are false, but as the vine lives in the branches, so Christ lives in the Christian, and he shall never die. --  Garfield

 

We must be doers, not hearers only. To be doers of the word, it is necessary that we must first be hearers of the word; yet attendance at church is not enough.  We must study the Bible, but let it not rest there.  We must apply it in active life. ---McKinley

 

If every man in the United States would read a chapter of the bible every day, most of our national problems would disappear.  -- Woodrow Wilson

 

I reiterate the statement which I have made times before --- that a revival of religion is what this country most needs; that in such a revival we would find a solution of all our problems, whether political, economic, or social.  -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

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More selections from the book:

 



Even the atheist Karl Marx wrote:  Luther, by giving the Bible to the people in the vernacular language, put into their hands a powerful weapon against the nobility, the landlords, and the clergy.

 

A former cannibal once said to an atheist, "What?  This book is not true?  I take it in my house and sit down and read it, and it makes my heart burst with joy.  How can this be a lie?  I was an eater of men, a drunkard, thief, and liar, and the book spoke to me and made of me a new man.  No, this book is not a lie."  [The educated atheists would have been eaten by the natives in many parts of the world if the missionaries had not taught them first the Christian religion.....to spit in the well from which you and the whole civilized world have drunk is terribly wrong.]

 

I am enjoying this book for its clarity of thought, for its subtle humor, and for its depth of insight into the ways people think on both sides of the divide.  In fact, I have not been able to put it down for a couple of days.  Only a man who had spent years in prison could "see" both sides so clearly -- and we are the beneficiaries of his sacrifice.