MBC Tysons Campus Blog

Of the hundreds of thousands of people who died worldwide on Thursday, Dec. 15, only one could be described as one of the most renowned, caustic atheists on the planet: Christopher Hitchens. If you don’t know very much about him, you owe it to yourself—and to others who ask you about him—to review the BBC News summary of his life at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-16212418. (Click on the back button to read more articles.)

I sent out a tweet that said, “Is Christopher Hitchens in heaven or hell? The brain dies in about 2 minutes after the heart stops. Did he talk with Jesus? I hope so.” An atheist replied, “If he talked to Jesus, his brain had definitely stopped.” I sent back the message, “You’re probably right. Therein lays the tragedy.”

If the brain does in fact die two minutes after the heart stops, is that person still able to talk to the Lord? The Bible says that each person is destined once to die, and after that the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). As the thief on the cross had his “last chance” to talk to Jesus and repent, so, I hope that before the brain dies there is also that opportunity. Only the Lord knows what happens during those brief moments of time before a person slips away with finality from this life to the next.

Why not find an atheist and talk to him or her about Christ? A person who says there is no God is declared a fool (Proverbs 14:1). Why? Only an arrogant person could make such a subjective statement, which is clearly based on the assumption that he or she is all-knowing. They are saying that they have thoroughly investigated and inspected every space in the universe and beyond to conclude that there is, in fact, no God.

The core of atheism is deliberate, intentional unbelief. Many, if not most, atheists don’t want there to be a God because they don’t want God interfering with their personal morality. It is of little wonder then that the rest of the verse says, “They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; not one of them does good!” Of course, there is a continuum between good and evil on which all people fall at some point, whether atheists or not.

While taking a class on logic in college, I soon discovered that the professor (an ex-Southern Baptist preacher who denied the faith) was in cahoots with his protégée, one of the students, to attack Christians in the class. Of course, I was a primary target. While in the parking lot after class, I approached my fellow student and asked him, “Was there ever a time in your life when you believed in Christ, when you claimed to be born again?” He looked surprised and answered, “Yes.” I continued, “Are you doing things in your life now morally that you would have never allowed when you claimed to be a Christian?” I have to admit to being surprised at his honesty when he said, “Well, yes.” My response was, “I thought so. You can’t believe in Christ because you know that by doing so you condemn yourself. You have no choice but to not believe.”

It turns out that atheists do believe in God, after all. Why do I say that? Because they all believe in the kind of life that can only result from people being created by God. Exact atheism would believe in moral relativism, namely, that there is no such thing as right and wrong. Therefore, anything goes by anyone. But, no atheist would admit to murder being a good thing. Their morality is selective, however, in that personal choices such as adultery and lying are off-limits to the judgment of God or others.

In the BBC summary, the prominent atheist Richard Dawkins described Hitchens as, ”a valiant fighter against all tyrants, including God.” I wondered how God could be a tyrant if he didn’t exist. But, evidently Dawkins does believe God exists. Otherwise, his fight against God wouldn’t be so vehemently hateful and life-long.

I wish that Christopher Hitchens had lived a life worthy of his name. Christopher means “one who bears Christ.” It may be coincidence, but it is significant that his death was overshadowed by the season which focuses on the Christ that he rejected, but of whom he is now very much aware.