Unbelief (25)
148
atheism results from the perverted moral state of man and from his desire to escape from God. It is deliberately blind to and suppresses the most fundamental instinct of man, the deepest needs of the soul, the highest aspirations of the human spirit, and the longings of a heart that gropes after some higher Being. This practical or intellectual suppression of the operation of the semen religionis often involves prolonged and painful struggles.Systematic Theology, 22
It is not the distance of the earth from the sun, nor the sun's withdrawing itself, that makes a dark and gloomy day; but the interposition of clouds and vaporous exhalations. Neither is thy soul beyond the reach of the promise, nor does God withdraw Himself; but the vapours of thy carnal, unbelieving heart do cloud thee.
Maybe the atheist cannot find God for the same reason a thief cannot find a policeman.
Years are slipping away and time is flying. Graveyards are filling up and families are thinning. Death and judgement are getting nearer to us all. And yet you live like one asleep about your soul! What madness! What folly! What suicide can be worse than this? Awake before it is too late; awake, and arise from the dead, and live to God. Turn to Him who is sitting at the right hand of God, to be your Saviour and Friend. Turn to Christ, and cry mightily to Him about your soul. Holiness (Chapter 6)
Unbelief brings misery, but a childlike trust brings happiness.
The Bible has little charity for those who reject it. It pronounces them to be either derationalized or demoralized, or both.
When a Russian cosmonaut returned from space and reported that he had not found God, C.S. Lewis responded that this was like Hamlet going into the attic of his castle looking for Shakespeare. If there is a God, he wouldn't be another object in the universe that could be put in a lab and analyzed with empirical methods. He would relate to us the way a playwright relates to the characters in his play. We (characters) might be able to know quite a lot about the playwright, but only to the degree the author chooses to put information about himself in the play. The Reason for God (122)
Agnosticism is a philologically objectionable and philosophically unnecessary but very convenient term, invented toward the end of the nineteenth century (1869) as a designation of the skeptical habit of mind then quite prevalent.
The atheist, by his prosperous condition, is wholly unfitted for affliction. He is so used to great fires and soft beds, that when he cometh to sharp air and stormy weather, he sickens and dieth. As Hannibal's soldiers were so much effeminated by the pleasures they enjoyed at Capua, that their bodies being used to fine raiment, could not bear the weight of heavy armour; and their heads being used to silken nightcaps, could not endure iron head-pieces.
The eyes of thousands are so dazzled with the lustre of their own morality, that they see no need of Christ, nor feel any want of his righteousness, and this is the ruin of their souls.
We see the main cause of unbelief and despair. It is ignorance of the Father's interest in redemption; the ignorance of the transaction between the Father and the Son is the cause of this, 'because they know not him who sent me.'
If people were to dig to the root of their fears, they would find unbelief. "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" (Matt. 8:26). The weaker the faith, the greater the fear; unbelief generates fear and fear strengthens unbelief.Triumphing over Sinful Fear, 35
To openly defy Him who is clothed with omnipotence, who can rend us in pieces or cast us into Hell any moment He pleases, is the very height of insanity.
Anti-theism presupposes Theism
In vain do you complain of magistrates and ministers, while you that are householders are unfaithful to your trust. You complain that the world is in a bad state: what do you do to mend it?A Remedy for Decaying Religion
It is customary to distinguish two kinds, namely, practical and theoretical atheists. The former are simply godless persons, who in their practical life do not reckon with God, but live as if there were no God. The latter are, as a rule, of a more intellectual kind, and base their denial on a process of reasoning.Systematic Theology (22)
How foolish are they who know not God! So many good things before their eyes, yet Him Who Is they fail to see.Confessions (Ch. Conversion)
The first effect of not believing in God is to believe in anything.
Blend of quotes found in Father Brown Stories
I was at this time living, like so many Atheists or Antitheists, in a whirl of contradictions. I maintained that God did not exist. I was also very angry with God for not existing. Surprised by Joy (Chapter 7 Paragraph 20)
I doubt that more than two percent of professing Christians in the United States are truly born again.
If our disapproval of God's existence is strong enough, our sensory faculties and our rational faculties will not be able to infer that he is there. Think (63)
The typical criticisms by secular people about the oppressiveness and injustices of the Christian church actually come from Christianity's own resources for critique of itself. The Reason for God (60)
The only explanation for why an ancient writer would mention the cushion, the 153 fish, and the doodling in the dust is because the details had been retained in the eyewitnesses' memory. The Reason for God (107)
How could you empirically prove that no one should believe something without empirical proof? You can't, and that reveals it to be, ultimately, a belief. The Reason for God (118)
Top Authors
1. Charles Spurgeon (107)
2. J.C. Ryle (103)
3. Thomas Watson (87)
4. John Piper (80)
5. John Calvin (76)
6. J.I. Packer (72)
7. Louis Berkhof (62)
8. C.S. Lewis (49)
9. George Swinnock (49)
10. A.W. Pink (47)
11. Francis Schaeffer (47)
12. Gerald Bray (46)
13. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (43)
14. Tim Keller (42)
15. Abraham Kuyper (40)
16. B.B. Warfield (37)
17. Thomas Brooks (36)
18. John Flavel (36)
19. Martin Luther (33)
20. John Owen (33)
2. J.C. Ryle (103)
3. Thomas Watson (87)
4. John Piper (80)
5. John Calvin (76)
6. J.I. Packer (72)
7. Louis Berkhof (62)
8. C.S. Lewis (49)
9. George Swinnock (49)
10. A.W. Pink (47)
11. Francis Schaeffer (47)
12. Gerald Bray (46)
13. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (43)
14. Tim Keller (42)
15. Abraham Kuyper (40)
16. B.B. Warfield (37)
17. Thomas Brooks (36)
18. John Flavel (36)
19. Martin Luther (33)
20. John Owen (33)
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1. Sin (138)2. Prayer (106)
3. Preaching (99)
4. Scripture (94)
5. Faith (90)
6. Gospel (71)
7. Suffering (55)
8. Law (45)
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14. Fear (30)
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16. Love (28)
17. Worship (27)
18. Creation (26)
19. Pride (26)
20. Sanctification (26)
21. Unbelief (25)
22. Evolution (24)
23. Heaven (23)
24. Holiness (23)
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