While researching some information on the internet I accessed a prominent psychology site and was startled to see in large bold words a heading that spoke to government, socialism, the rise of atheism and the decline of religion. There were a series of blog postings by a prominent psychologist and anthropologist who spoke to research data that suggested atheism is becoming the norm in developed countries replacing the need for religion.
With governments taking care of us, the advance of technology and education, people did not need God to take care of them. Only undeveloped countries maintained their need for God.
The subtle inference was that once you did not have to worry about health and safety, you no longer needed God. The rise of anxiety, however, was puzzling to them.
While I have always known we were gradually becoming a nation of nonbelievers it was interesting to see the suggested correlation as to the cause.
Do you believe in God? I do. Do you need God? I do. And I am an educated woman with a master’s degree. I am responsible for my care, my choices and decisions. I know how to get information and use it. I am able to give clients information to work through problems, heal from losses, and challenge negative and self-defeating thinking and beliefs. Do we still need God? Yes we do.
Here is why I believe in God and why I believe we need Him in our lives today as never before in this world of affluence and perceived safety.
1. Values and principles. Principles give us the moral and ethical compass to live our lives. On what do you draw your values and principles? Cultures change with the times. What was non-acceptable in the past is now the norm today. Who has made the decision and based on what? If we blindly accept the norms our culture decides is okay, what truths are they based on?
2. Religion and security. I am a history buff. It seems historically whenever countries feel safe and secure someone comes along, attacks and tries to conquer. Over my lifetime, when everything seems to be going good, some unwanted crisis or unexpected change requires me to change course, evaluate my decision making process and challenge my ability to take the next step. Without the faith, values and principles I live by, this would be an incredibly anxiety creating process.
3. Strength and courage. The science of psychology teaches us we are not the center of the universe. So does God. Recovering alcoholics attest to their need of a God beyond themselves. Have we become so narcissistic and arrogant that we believe we don’t need God?
Can you define for a non-believer why you believe in God? We can speak to salvation and Christ dying for our sins. But can we speak to the larger picture of why we need to be students of the Bible?
In a culture that worships intellectualism and narcissistic self-reliance or reliance on government to take care of us, we need to be able to speak to why we need God in our lives.
And by the way, He is very much alive. I experience Him every day.
Marlene Anderson