There is no “Plan B” for atheists.
What I’m referring to is the contingency plan just in case
one dies and finds that yes, God does indeed exist, and yes, there is indeed the
day of reckoning as Jesus refers to so many times. Many atheists will bravely say they don’t
need a backup plan, that they can’t possibly be wrong in your belief that God
doesn’t exist. But given all that they
don’t know about the universe, how can they be so certain?
Others take a more reasonable approach, like George, whom I
met at the park, who told me he really doesn’t know for sure that God doesn’t exist,
but simply believes He does not. Fair
enough, I appreciate the honesty.
So just in case they are wrong about God, “Plan B” is the
idea that “I’m still a pretty good person, especially compared to those
hypocritical religious types, so if it turns out that God does exist, I’m
pretty much good to go. At least I was
honest about my doubts. I may not have
been religious but I did a lot of things that show I’m a pretty good person
regardless”
Turns out this self-righteous approach was actually criticized
and rejected by Christ and his followers, this idea that one can earn salvation
by making sure their good deeds outweigh their bad. This was the religion of the Pharisees, those
religious types in Jesus’ day who looked down their nose at all the deplorables
around them.
The Pharisees weren’t alone in their self-made piety. They had
their more secular counterparts, the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection of
the dead, the existence of spirits, and the religious traditions of the
Pharisees, but either way, both parties found a way to set themselves up as
more righteous than the rabble, and surely in a secure position come judgment
day.
Now, this same self-righteous attitude is found just as much
among atheists as it is among the Pharisaical religious types. Atheists take pride in doing good regardless
of reward or punishment, and defining for themselves what standards they might
be judged by. Religious or atheist, the
Bible teaches this quest for righteousness comes from our God-given conscience,
the moral law He has put in our hearts. That
includes all of us, whether we acknowledge God’s existence or not.
The only difference between self-righteous religious people
and atheists is whether that effort at self-righteousness is seen as plan “A”
or plan “B”. But the Bible tells us there
is no way to make ourselves righteous before God by our own efforts, so this
same plan that won’t work as the primary plan for theists won’t work as a backup
plan for atheists. This righteousness before
God, the right relationship with God that leaves no room for self-righteous boasting,
“…is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no
difference between Jew and Gentile, all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that
came by Christ Jesus.” (Romans 3)
Jew or Gentile, atheist or theist, there is no difference, we
all have the same sin problem, the same tendency toward self-righteousness, and
the same need for Christ-righteousness through faith in Jesus. As an atheist, if you deny the existence of
God the Father, you are also denying the existence of God the Son. The Plan B you were counting on doesn’t exist.
Thanks, George and Sandra, for allowing me to record our
conversation. It can be seen on my
YouTube channel at https://youtu.be/EastUgo226Q
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