Dining With The Atheists

 

Bearing the Arms of the Lord

October 5, 2011, University of Missouri,

     The first hour was chaotic.  Two loud amplifiers were blaring decadent rap racket all over the Circle and beyond.  Two weirdoes with dread locks and strange attire were doing a lewd dance around Cindy. 

Demon Dancers

Drug induced?

 

     The Secularist Society, led by Dave Muscato, appeared in robes carrying signs asking, "W.W.J.D?  Ask him," meaning ask the man with long hair and a beard contemptuously wearing a white robe.  I am sure the atheists thought they were cute.  At one point Dave dressed as a Roman soldier chased "Jesus."  Cindy and Bro handled the brunt of this mockery.  In such tumultuous circumstances about all one can do is to hold one's ground.  I have never seen Bro or Cindy back off of any situation.  After 1 PM Bro turned things over to me and the blast from the amplifiers stopped.  It is a misnomer to call this rap sound "music," for it has no melody or harmony or composition that I can hear; it is utter decadence and mere commotion.  After 1 PM the atheists returned to their table to converse with students.

Atheist pretending to be Jesus.

Bro Cope is not hindered by the antics of the atheists.

Atheists retreat to their table in the shade.

     The rest of the afternoon was surprisingly and unusually calm.  I was even able to teach on the necessity of Atonement, which requires a relatively subdued audience to get one's point across on this deep subject.

Atonement teaching session!

     Cindy reported several profitable conversations.  One freshman, who confessed to coming from a strong Christian home, admitted to Cindy, "I have been slipping since coming to college.  From hearing the preaching this week, I know that I need to get back to where I was with God."  He went  on to say that he had been also touched by Priscilla's song from yesterday, "How Great Is Our God," when she actually had a few students singing along with her. 

     Alex, who was living with a boy from "a strong Baptist family," claimed to Cindy, "We do not need a piece of paper to show that we are committed to one another."

     Cindy later asked her, "Why don't you marry?"

     She answered, "Who knows where each of us will be a year from now?"  Thus she was acknowledging that they were not truly committed.  The girl was also arguing that one could not know if they were sexually compatible without living together.  Cindy conversed with this girl for almost an hour then I also talked with her until another student interrupted.

     Cindy and I left campus at 4:30 to prepare for her home school teen Bible study.  Since the lesson covered 1 Samuel 12-14, she asked me to preach one of my classic messages, "Jonathan and his Armor Bearer."  She warned me that I better not turn over any of our furniture.  She was alluding to some 25 years ago when I preached this sermon in the mother church of the Praise Chapel Fellowship.  I turned over all the choir chairs as if the seats were Philistines.  This was one of my more memorable sermons.  I had great fun delivering that message as I portrayed Jonatho
an, the great warrior for God. 

     Tonight, I reminded the youth of Daniel saying, "The people that know their God shall be strong and do exploits."  Jonathan and his armor bearer were able to defeat an army of 30,000 chariots, 6000 Calvary men and multitudes of infantry.

Be Strong!

 

     Jonathan said to his squire, "Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the LORD will work for us: There is no restraint with the Lord he is able to save by many or by few."

     Jonathan's armor bearer responded, "Do all that is in thine heart: turn thee, behold, I am with thee according to thy heart."

     Cindy said the same thing to me three decades ago; ever since we have been wrecking havoc in the garrisons of the uncircumcised heathens on university campuses all over this land.  Just as we did today, filling all the campus with our doctrine. 

      Jonathan, the man of faith, understood the principle of the two witnesses: "And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him."-Acts 5:32.

     The Lord hath delivered the campuses in the hand of the church if the Christians, who have been hiding out from the world in their dens and caves, will join us.  Even as Jonathon and his armor bearer attacked the enemies of God, despite being vastly and apparently impossibly outnumbered.  "If God be for us, who can be against us?-Romans 8:31 

      "So the Lord saved Israel that day."-1 Samuel 14:23.  And he can yet save America if the church will enter into the battle by taking the offensive.  There are too many Sauls who are unwilling to fight and only a few Jonathon's; which is alright, because God is able to save with just a few.  That is when the few are completely trusting in the Lord and will put on the whole armor of God and will fight!  

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Fall Open House

 

October 7, 2011, University of Missouri

    The students were relatively subdued today.  The crowd mostly ranged from 25-40 throughout the afternoon. 

    Andria approached me on the sidelines, "Brother Jed, I have always had good conversations with you."  She reiterated this point several times during our talk. 

    "Once you rebuked me for my immodest tight jeans; the next day I came out wearing a dress just for you."  Andria did admit that even the dress was somewhat revealing.  She was with a boy who was a professed communist.  I talked to him of the bondage and unproductiveness of communism and the freedom and productivity of capitalism.  He acknowledged that he enjoyed the conversation.  Rarely, around a college campus will one hear a moral defense of capitalism.  

     We left campus shortly after 4 PM in order to get ready for our fall open house and cook out.  I gave William a ride; he is a graduate student in statistics.  William is a Christian and is one of the regulars in Speakers' Circle.  The menu consisted of 30 pounds of grilled hamburger, grilled onions, four pumpkin pies, lots of peanut butter cookies, fruit salad, baked beans, tri-fruit angel food cake, tossed salad, and Bro's famous potato salad and pickled eggs.

Sean Steuber, a homeschool student helped Sis. Cindy prepare the meal for students.

     Over the years the attendance at our open houses has ranged from 25-40 students.  Usually about half of the student guests are Christians.  Some of the personalities like Dave Muscato, my debate opponent, will be familiar to my readers.  John, the well-mannered and polite effeminate, arrived with his roommate Kaitlyn.  John also attended our spring open house.  Yes, Kaitlyn is a female, who has a poised demeanor and professes to be a Christian.  She claimed her parents approved of the arrangement.  I sighed, "Oh, well, I suppose you are safe with John."
 

Most of the Mizzou students who attended were atheists.

 

Dinner, Dialogue and Discussion!

 

     After everyone had eaten, I opened the Bible and announced that we were going to have some "food for thought."  I said, "I want you to teach you the Biblical explanation of why you are not a Christian."  I read from Romans 1:16 to the end of the chapter briefly commentating as I read: "God is revealed unto all men but they resist the truth in unrighteousness.  Men's problem with God is moral, not intellectual; they are unwilling to embrace the life of self-sacrifice and self-denial that Christianity requires; they end up worshipping and serving the Creation instead of the Creator.  Their thoughts become man-centered instead of God-centered and willingly embrace darkness whether than the light.  And they eventually degenerate into committing all sorts of sin, including perversion."

  

Bro. Jed reads from Romans chapter 1 to explain why most students do not believe the Gospel.

 

     Dr. Acuff is a specialist in treating spinal injuries, and preaches every Monday in Speakers' Circle.  He commented on his opportunities to minister faith and hope to paralyzed patients.  He pointed out how that suffering sometimes softens hearts to make men more open to the gospel.  It was good for the students to hear from a professional since most of them are led to believe Christians are bumpkins.  
 

 

  

 

Dr. Acuff testifies about pain and suffering at the open house.

  

     Another atheist, Patrick, who attended last spring wearing as shirt which said, "God Does Not Exist," wore the same shirt again.  He is a pleasant sort and likes to engage in dialogue.  He and his friend Chris got into a heated argument on evolution vs. creation with Priscilla and her home school friends, who also attended the open house.  I was proud of the youth that they were entering into the debate.

 

 

 

     It was witty when Priscilla asked Patrick, "Are you a feminist?"

     "Yes," he replied.

     "Then you can help me clean up the kitchen," Priscilla said.

     Patrick did help.  He confided to Cindy that he prefers our company over the organized atheists.  Cindy gave Patrick and Chris loads of goodies to take home to eat later.

 

     Although student attendance was considerably down this year, we still had a total of 32 guests, which is an average sized crowd for us since we do a lot of entertaining.  Everyone seemed to have a good time and was happy to be in our blessed home.  

 

 

  

 

 

Priscilla talked the atheists into helping with the dishes and an intense discussion ensued between the atheists and the homeschoolers. Two atheists are on the left.

Morgan Steuber, homeschooler, explains why he believes in the Creator.

   

 

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