by Matt Nord

Created on: April 14, 2009

The truth is that the most dangerous myth is that there is no just judgment after death. The quote goes, "the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that he doesn't exist." The truth is that the greatest trick the devil ever played was convincing the world that God doesn't exist. Atheist American is so sure that there is nothing awaiting them after death that it's no wonder that people live however the heck they want. I believe that this article stream was written as an overreaction to a lot of religious concepts of rewards in the afterlife that we see causing much of the terrorist activity that we see today. Unfortunately, people have been doing horrendous things in the name of "God" for millennia. I'm sure that God shudders in Heaven at the acts of violence committed by those claiming to serve him.

In reality, if there is no reward, or no judgment, after death, what's the point? What's the point of any of it? Why bother caring for your fellow man? Why help the poor? Abortion isn't wrong, it's just another form of birth control. Without a Judge in the afterlife, this life becomes a Darwinian nightmare of survival of the fittest. This determines the basis for what we set the standard of morality. God, and by extension the judgment of God after death, is the reason for morality, why people care for one another. Nothing in atheism can explain that.

I know that atheism and Darwinism don't go hand-in-hand, but it's not a far reach. Not as far as the Muslim concept of the afterlife of paradise for the murder of "infidels" and the Christian idea of the afterlife that comes from faith in and relationship with God the Father through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. If there were no God then the reasoning behind the atheist view of morality, or human rights, or any of it, doesn't make any sense. If we weren't all created with dignity by a force greater then natural selection then what is the point of caring for the elderly or the sick? Wouldn't it make more sense to allow them to die or even move things along more quickly in order to save food and sustenance for those who are more likely to survive for a longer time?

Jesus spoke of the final judgment and the separation of the sheep to His right and the goats to His left in a parable in the Gospel of Matthew. He spoke of those who loved their neighbors and those who didn't. Those of you who haven't read the Bible should check out Matthew chapter 25 starting in verse 31. You can find a copy in a local church building or the next time you spend the night in a hotel thanks to the Gideons. One of my favorite passages is Jesus explaining to those on His right that "I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." (vs. 35,36) When they were confused as to when they did these righteous acts for Him, He replied "Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." (vs. 40) Those on the right were granted entrance to the Kingdom of God and eternal life. Those on the left were condemned to eternal punishment.

I used to see the idea of God and the afterlife as a security blanket. Now I realize that it's the exact opposite. The security blanket is the one that's been pulled over the eyes of the world. It's unfortunate the there are so many distorted and corrupted views of reward of death, but that doesn't change the Truth that there absolutely will be one.

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