With this article, we begin a new series entitled, “Dangerous “Isms.”
I must give credit to the Southaven Church of Christ in Southaven, Mississippi, for this title. For many years, they hosted the POWER Lectureship, and in 1997, they had a lectureship under this heading. I had the privilege of attending this lectureship from 2016-2018 while I was a student at the Memphis School of Preaching. I certainly learned a great deal, and now, having the material, I can go back and study them.
There are many topics I would like to discuss with you in this series, and we will begin with the dangerous “ism” known as atheism. Our goal is to define and defeat this poisonous belief system.
The Foolishness of Atheism
Centuries ago, the Psalmist declared:
“The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good” (Psa. 14:1).
We learn from this that to discredit the existence of God is foolish!
“The term “atheist” derives from two Greek components—a negative prefix, a, which signifies “no,” “not,” or “without,” and the noun theos, “God.”
A kindred form of the term is found in Ephesians 2:12, where Paul notes that pagan Gentiles were “without God” (atheos), i.e., without a relationship with the Lord. In considering the meaning of the term, it must be noted that the word has some flexibility. In its broadest sense, atheism repudiates belief in any sort of deity transcendent to man. “Matter” is all there is.
In a more limited aspect, one may contend:
“I believe in my own kind of ‘God,’ but I do not believe in the ‘God’ of the Bible.” The “deist” falls into this category. In reality, however, this is a form of atheism. One may be a theoretical theist, but a practical atheist. That is, he claims to believe in the God of the Scriptures, but he lives as though there is no God” (Jackson).
What Do Atheists Deny?
You may be wondering, what exactly do atheists deny?
* First, they deny the very existence of God.
* Second, they deny the authority of God. After all, if there is no God, there is no ultimate moral authority, thus no accountability.
* Third, atheists deny the design and purpose of life. Atheism essentially removes objective meaning from life.
Consider what the apostle Paul said in his great sermon on Mars Hill:
“God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring” (Acts 17:24-28).
The Dangerous Consequences of Atheism
What are the dangerous consequences of atheism?
The denial of evidence.
First, atheists deny obvious evidence. Paul said,
“For since the creation of the world His (God’s, emp. mine, DS) invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20).
Notice the phrase, “clearly seen.” Creation demands a Creator; intelligent design demands an intelligent Designer.
There is no excuse because the evidence is overwhelming!
Moral chaos.
Second, atheism is dangerous because it leads to moral chaos.
As we noted earlier, if there is no God, there is no absolute right or wrong. This is what made the period of the Judges such a dark time:
“In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes” (Judg. 21:25).
Consider also the moral decline of those who reject God (Rom. 1:28-32).
No hope.
Third, it leaves man hopeless. If there is no God, there is no hope, no life after death, and no purpose.
Christians do not sorrow as others who have no hope when a loved one dies (Rev. 14:13). Hope keeps the Christian going! Life’s true purpose is to “fear God and keep His commandments” (Ecc. 12:13).
If there is no God, what’s the point?
We have noticed that Atheism is very dangerous because it denies the existence of God, the authority of God, the purpose of life, and it leads to moral chaos and hopelessness.
I close with a quote from an unknown source:
“If there is no God, then nothing matters. If there is a God, then nothing matters more.”
References
Clarke, B.J. “Atheism.” POWER Lectureship. Southaven church of Christ, Southaven, MS. 1997. Pgs. 72-94. PDF.
Jackson, Wayne. Atheism: The “No-God” Religion. Christian Courier. https:// christiancourier.com/articles/atheism-the-no-god-religion. Accessed July 25th, 2025.
Drew Suttles is a minister for the Quitman church of Christ in Quitman, Georgia, and one of my best friends in this world. They live-stream all their Bible classes and sermons on their YouTube channel.
Drew also hosts the “Weathering the Storm” podcast on the Scattered Abroad Network. Drew talks about facing life’s challenges as a child of God. His podcast will be a blessing to your life.
