Christopher Hitchens and I are almost the same age (he’s a year younger than me). He is a journalist and author. I am a journalist and author. He is an outspoken atheist and faith bully. I used to be an outspoken atheist and faith bully. That’s where the similarities end.
Every generation has its favorite faith bullies and mine was Bertrand Russell. Russell was a British philosopher and logician. He was also one of the leading social critics of his time. He was born in 1872 and died in 1970 – my last full year as an atheist.
Satan was the first faith bully. He bullied believers in the beginning because all of God’s creatures believed in Him after God Created them. It was obvious to them that God was their Creator and deserved their worship and praise. Satan also wanted worship and praise, so he bullied angels in Heaven and people on earth to get it.
The art of faith defense is as old as the history of the human race. In fact, faith defense was the first art God taught the first human being.
“Then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Genesis 2:15-17
God Created Adam, then placed him in the Garden of Eden and told him to “tend and keep it.” Remember that Moses, the author of Genesis, wrote everything God told him about the beginning of all things in the Hebrew language. What do the words “tend and keep it” mean in ancient Hebrew. “Tend” means to “work, labor” in the Garden. “Keep” means to “guard, protect, keep safe, preserve” the Garden. We understand that a garden needs someone working in it to plant and harvest, but why the need to protect it?
I first met Dr. Henry Morris in early 1971. He was visiting Tampa to share his vision for a trip to Mt. Ararat to search for Noah’s Ark. I invited Dr. Morris to appear on my radio program. I was an atheist working for a religious station – the same station where I had spewed my hatred for Christians on my daily talk show months earlier before the station changed formats from news/talk to religion/country music. I thought it would be easy to dispute the claims of the Bible with Dr. Morris, but I was wrong. He knew the science behind the Bible and was able to explain it clearly and powerfully. God used Dr. Morris to open a crack in my atheist’s armor.
40 years ago today I was an atheist. I was also a “faith bully.” But something happened that changed my life forever. I want to share my story with you and help you deal with the faith bullies in your life. I will be adding more posts and pages in the coming days. Please visit the GraceLife Blog and Grace Martial Arts for more information about Faith and Self Defense.
If you’re in the Tampa/Orlando area and would be interested in my sharing with your church or group about faith defense, please email me at mmcgee4@tampabay.rr.com.
In Christ’s Love and Grace,
Mark McGee
Faith and Self Defense
