Hi Skeptik,
You surely recall this story of our Friends Argue and Debate coming to Forumland to introduce their religion of Nothing. Well, your little dialogue story reminds me of these characters; so, maybe it is time to introduce our Forum Friends to our old Friends, Argue and Debate.
A while back, I wrote the following story and posted it on the Forum. But, we have many new members active on the Forum; so, with our atheist Friend getting a wee bit frisky -- this might be a good time to post it again. I pray that you will enjoy it. Keep in mind that while the story is fictional, and the characters are fictional, there is so much truth in the tale itself. You might call it a prophetic short story.
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NOTHING COMES TO FORUMLAND! Once upon a time, long ago, in a land far away named Oblivion, there lived two atheist friends. These friends were named Argue and Debate. Now, one thing that both Argue and Debate agreed upon was that they believed strongly in Nothing. This was their faith, their religion, the religion of Nothing. They worshipped Nothing; they adored Nothing; their lives were dedicated to Nothing.
One day, as they were wandering around in search of Nothing, they happened to stumble upon a new valley, the valley of Forumland. Oh, they were so excited.
"Maybe," chimed Argue,
"we can find others here who know Nothing!" "Yes," declared Debate,
"if not, we can surely introduce them to Nothing!" They were so excited; possibly there were many people here who either knew Nothing -- or could be lured into knowing Nothing.
"Just imagine the possibilities, if we can convince many others to also believe in Nothing," Debate told Argue.
"Then, maybe we can build a cathedral dedicated to Nothing. That will be a glorious tribute to our god, Nothing." So, in the new valley of Forumland, Argue and Debate set about to plant their seeds and to lay plans for building their cathedral to Nothing. First, they had to develop a relationship with the people of Forumland.
"Come," said Debate,
"we will get into a conversation with them; assure them that we are Friends; and then we can talk about Nothing." Walking along in Forumland, the two friends happened upon a small group of Forumland residents. Right away, Argue and Debate began to talk with these good folks. Discovering that many of these folks believed in someone called God; the two friends were somewhat taken aback. But, that did not deter them. They were determined that these folks were going to become followers of Nothing.
Argue began, in his sly way, to lead the group of Forumland residents into a discussion. He asked,
"Do you really believe in this God? Why do you believe that He really exists?" One local fellow, Bill, replied,
"Truthfully, until twenty years ago, I was very much like the two of you. I wandered in the world, loving the ways of the world, and following Nothing. But, then a Friend told me about God -- and this Friend was so full of love, warmth, and peace, I realized he must have something that I was lacking. I had Nothing; but, he had his God. I was wandering; but, he was grounded in love and peace."
"So, when he told me about his God, I began to investigate this new idea. I went to church, I went to Bible studies -- and one thing I noticed was that these folks in church and Bible study also had this love and peace I was lacking. Because of this, I kept going to church and Bible study. I kept learning more and more about this God. And, the more I learned, the more I realized that the god, Nothing, that I had been following was just that -- he was Nothing."
"After six months of this, I felt this love and peace coming into my heart. I was surprised; but, I said, 'Yes, God, please come into my heart and bring all of Your love and Your peace. I want to follow You and Your Son, Jesus Christ.'
"Since then, I have had God's love and peace in my life. Really, Argue and Debate, you should try it. You should go to a Bible-teaching church and Bible study and see if you can rid yourself of Nothing and find God." Of course, Argue began to argue,
"You say that this love and peace JUST came into your heart?" "No," replied Bill,
"As I learned more about God, I began to realize that He had what was missing in my life. Then, I began to seek Him; I wanted to know more about Him. It took me about six months to realize that I wanted Him to be my Lord and Savior. That is when I prayed and asked Him to come into my heart; that is when I was saved -- and love and peace came into my heart -- for He forgave me all my sins." So, debated Debate,
"If it is that easy, I guess that even Hitler might have been saved?" "Actually," Bill told him,
"Yes, even Hitler could have been saved if he had sincerely turned to the Lord in repentance and asked Jesus to come into his heart. That said, I truly doubt that he did -- for he scoffed at everything of God -- just as you do." "You see," Bill continues,
"the only sin which cannot be forgiven is the sin of rejecting Jesus Christ; for by rejecting Him you condemn yourself. By rejecting Him, you, by default, choose to follow Satan -- and this action of yours condemns you to an eternity with Satan." Then, Bill told them,
"Even Judas Iscariot could have been saved if he had truly repented. Yet, the Bible tells us that Judas was indwelt by Satan at the Last Supper and never repented. We read about this is John 13:26-27 and Mark 14:21. Oh, Judas was sorry about his action of taking thirty pieces of silver as his price to betray Jesus. And, Judas ended much like Hitler, by taking his own life. We read about this in Matthew 27:3-10." By now, Debate is incensed,
"I suppose you even believe in the myth of Creationism?" "Actually," Bill smiled,
"Yes, I do. If you are sincerely interested I can explain. You see, nature, the human body, the universe, the relationship between the earth, the sun, the planets, moon, and stars -- all of these things declare the glory of God and His Creation. Later, if you are interested I can give you much more detail to prove that Creation is indeed true and factual." This really gets under Debate's skin; he responds,
"Evolution is the only thing that is factual and true. I can give you many web sites which prove evolution!" Bill responds to Debate's challenge,
"No, Debate, rather than showing me what other evolutionists who are devoted to Nothing write; why don't you tell me, in detail, why you believe in evolution." Debate sputters and fumes,
"No, you are really stupid. I tell you that evolution is factual; but you will not listen!" "No, Debate," said Bill,
"You tell me to look at web sites written by others; but, you have not given me any knowledge or facts which come from you. Tell me exactly what you know about evolution and why it is factual. Remember, even Charles Darwin said that if scientist cannot show a transitional 'missing link' fossil record -- then, evolution is gasping its last breath. What can you personally tell me, from your own knowledge, that will show me, absolutely, that evolution is alive and well?" Angrily, Debate declares,
"Bill, you are really stupid. Look at this web site, Link and there are others. Go to this web site: Link Are you so thick headed and moronic that you cannot read what these honest, sincere evolutionists, followers of Nothing, have written?" "No," Bill once again replied,
"I want to know what you, Debate, and you, Argue, know; not what a bunch of other Nothing followers tell you. What do you know? Can you, from your own knowledge, tell me why evolution is factual? Don't just huff and puff, calling me names. Show me the meat! Show me the 'missing link' fossils. Lay it on me!" Now, both Debate and Argue are boiling,
"Bill, you are too stupid for us to waste our time. We don't want to talk with you anymore. Just go away and leave us to tell these good people about Nothing." Smiling, Bill tells them,
"I am sorry, my atheist Friends, but I cannot leave Forumland and allow you to build your cathedral to Nothing. I must make sure that these good folks, my home town family, at least have the Word of God to balance against your words of Nothing." And, so, the saga of God versus Nothing continues in Forumland; each with their champions; each continuing to share his truth or His Truth -- until one day Jesus comes and Raptures His followers away -- leaving Forumland totally in the hands of Nothing.
'Splain please. 