The Psalmist wrote, "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge." (Psalms 19:1-2). One of the greatest evidences for the existence of God is the marvelous craftsmanship of the universe. To deny the intelligent design of our macrocosm is like finding a fine watch and taking the position that "it just happened."
Ben Franklin, one of the founders of our "one nation under God," is often thought of as a Deist. The story is told that while he was our ambassador to atheistic France, the following occurred: A French infidel visited Ben's office and admired a model of our solar system. Upon demanding the maker's name, Ben smugly replied "no one made it, it just happened."
The Atheistic Community finds themselves fumbling in the dark concerning the founding of the universe. Anything that eliminates the concept of creation by God is far more acceptable, to them, than anything the Creator might have to say about it. On the other hand, the Christian has the statement of the Hebrew writer. "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear" (Hebrews 11:3).
Of course, "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Before we slight the evidence of faith, we need to remind ourselves that all history operates on this sort of evidence! By faith we understand George Washington was the hero of the revolution and first president of this "one nation under God." By this same sort of faith we "know" the Renaissance ushered in modern Western Civilization. It is this same faith in history that gives us the life of Christ as reflected in the New Testament - and this includes his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15).
Paul's admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:20-21 is still valid today. He wrote, "keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called: Which some professing have erred concerning the faith. Grace be with thee."
Dale I. Royal, Elk City, OK
