The Barber's Fault?

A preacher and an atheistic barber were once walking through the city slums.

Said the barber to the preacher: "This is why I cannot believe in a God of love. If God was as kind and loving as you say, He would not permit all this poverty, disease, and squalor. He would not allow these poor bums to be addicted to dope and other character-destroying habits. No, I cannot believe in a God who permits these things."

The minister was silent until they met a man who was especially unkept and filthy. His hair was hanging down his neck and he had a half-inch of stubble on his face.

Said the minister: "You can't be a very good barber or you wouldn't permit a man like that to continue living in this neighborhood without a haircut and a shave."

Indignantly the barber answered: "Why blame me for that man's condition? I can't help it that he is like that. He has never come in my shop. I could fix him up and make him look like a gentleman!"

Giving the barber a penetrating look, the minister said: "Then don't blame God for allowing the people to continue in their evil ways, when He is constantly inviting them to come and be saved."

Truth be told, God can't change you unless you step forward and ask God to help you change for the better.

Atheist In The Woods

An Atheist was walking through the woods.

'What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!' He said to himself.

As he was walking alongside the river,he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him.

He turned to look. He saw a seven-foot grizzly bear charged towards him.

He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing in on him..

He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer.

He tripped and fell on the ground.

He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & raising his right paw to strike him.

At that instant the Atheist cried out, 'Oh my God!'

Time Stopped. The bear froze. The forest was silent.

As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky.

'You deny my existence for all these years, teach others that I do not exist and even credit creation to be a cosmic accident. Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?'

The Atheist looked directly into the light, 'It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?'

'Very well,' said the voice.

The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head and spoke:

'Lord bless this food to my body, and me unto your service. Amen.'

Squirting At Niagara Falls

One of my favorite cartoons shows a boy standing in the very front of the boat called “The Maid of the Mist.” 

This boat carries sightseers so close to Niagara Falls that they must wear raingear to keep from being drenched by the spray. Wearing his raincoat and hat, the boy stood at the front of the boat, squirting a water pistol at the falls. 

People can be like that; they aim criticisms at the Bible. Nevertheless, in the light of the Bible's continuing witness to the righteousness and love of God, any attempt to discredit its message is like squirting a water pistol at Niagara Falls.

The Widow of Leonid Brezhnev

Leonid Brezhnev and his wife in May 1972

As Vice President, George Bush represented the U.S. at the funeral of former Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev. Bush was deeply moved by a silent protest carried out by Brezhnev’s widow. She stood motionless by the coffin until seconds before it was closed. Then, just as the soldiers touched the lid, Brezhnev’s wife performed an act of great courage and hope, a gesture that must surely rank as one of the most profound acts of civil disobedience ever committed: She reached down and made the sign of the cross on her husband’s chest. 

Leonid Brezhnev died on 10 November 1982

There in the citadel of secular, atheistic power, the wife of the man who had run it all hoped that her husband was wrong. She hoped that there was another life, and that that life was best represented by Jesus who died on the cross, and that the same Jesus might yet have mercy on her husband. 

Gary Thomas, in C.T., October 3, 1994, p. 26