Sad Atheist Legacy

What kind of legacy does an atheist leave for his children? Well, not a very encouraging one, according to a recent news report from the Christian Post. The report highlighted one atheist’s attempt to share some of man’s supposed wisdom to his grandchildren by sponsoring a billboard:

The article states, “A Wisconsin man who is sponsoring a billboard that denies there is life after death said in a statement that the message is ‘a legacy for my grandchildren.’” What a sad legacy to leave! Now, this is no surprise coming from an atheist. Many others have said similar things. The UK’s Richard Dawkins, for example, has stated, “Don’t imagine for one second you’re going to paradise . . . . You’re going to rot in the ground.” (For more on Dawkins’s view of the afterlife, see this blog post.) For atheists, there is no hope, no purpose in life, and no life after death. (Incidentally the Christian Post article also mentioned the billboards we put up last month, which challenged our atheist friends’ hopeless worldview.)

But what’s scarier is that they want to teach our children this godless worldview. Secularists know that if they can reach the hearts and minds of our children, they’ll have won the war for the culture. Now, our theme at Answers in Genesis for 2013–2014 is “Standing Our Ground, Rescuing Our Kids.” And we want to equip Christian parents for leaving a godly legacy for their children.

Through the apostle Paul in Galatians 1:4, God tells us we live in a “present evil age.” But Jesus Christ “gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us:”

Who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. (Galatians 1:4)

Proclaiming that gospel message in this evil world is the church’s most urgent call. Satan, however, is after the minds of this and future generations, and his key tactic is to deceive our youth (and adults) into believing lies (such as evolution and millions of years) that discredit the Bible’s authority and accuracy. We uphold God’s Word from the beginning for it is from the Bible that we get the totally trustworthy gospel message.

My brother Steve and I coauthored a book a few years ago titled Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World. In this book, we look at what it means to leave a godly legacy for our children and grandchildren. Ultimately, that legacy is found in sharing the gospel and raising our children in the Word of the Lord—just as our mother and father did for us.

Christian parents, I encourage you to read Raising Godly Children in an Ungodly World, and to decide now what kind of legacy you’ll leave your children:

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. (Deuteronomy 6:7)

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:6)

The book can be purchased on our online store, and it is also available online to read for free.

Thanks for stopping by and thanks for praying, Ken

Note: Steve Golden assisted in writing this blog post today.