Introduction 01

[0:00] Grace Bible Church of Springfield, Ohio, was founded in 1971. It was only fitting to commemorate the 50th anniversary with special recognition and thanksgiving to God for the past five decades.

[0:14] But because it was not feasible to do so on a full-scale basis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a modified celebration was held in November 2021. It also seemed fitting it be followed with a message of recognition and gratitude to God for having brought Grace Bible Church into existence, as well as all other churches acknowledging and honoring God for creation itself.

[0:41] In deciding the subject matter to consider, the answer appeared obvious. What issue could possibly be of greater importance than that of the existence and being of God Himself?

[0:52] None that came to mind. So, it is entitled, The Ultimate Issue, simply because it is.

[1:04] Whether one believes God to exist or not to exist, no subject can claim to be of greater importance followed by greater consequences. Consequences extending unabated throughout time and eternity.

[1:18] So, while acknowledging atheists who do not share our theism, we do hope they will be kind enough to give this a hearing.

[1:29] And, while not sharing in their atheism, yet intellectual integrity and the common brotherhood of our humanity compels us to acknowledge and list six of the more principal reasons atheists set forth to justify their denial of God's existence.

[1:48] But even prior to doing that, additional reasons ought to be noted for undertaking this subject at the present time, two of which were already revealed. That of God's existence being of supreme importance, and that of expressing our gratitude to God for creation and life itself.

[2:06] The third rationale is due to interest in the issue of God's existence now seeming to be greater than at any other time in the past. And that in itself makes it worthy of consideration.

[2:19] God's existence has not always commanded such interest, simply because previously it was more of a given. Today, that is not the case.

[2:31] Advances in science, the space age, and amazing medical breakthroughs have persuaded many that God's existence is really less and less of an issue. Many believe God does not exist, nor do we really need Him to exist.

[2:47] After all, we are told humanity has come of age, and we have achieved a new sense of self-reliance. So, a God not existing, not being there is really no big deal.

[3:01] And then, two, best-selling, clever authors serving as evangelists for atheism are receiving a surprising welcome not possible a generation ago. A fourth reason for an increased interest in atheism, especially for the under-30 crowd, is the influence of academia.

[3:19] Leading institutions of higher learning blatantly promote an in-your-face atheism as the only acceptable position for all who are truly enlightened.

[3:31] Ph.D. professors mesmerize 18- to 20-year-olds who are sitting under them. And, along with that assumed atheism, are the predictable praises of socialism, and sometimes even upfront communism, stemming from that atheism.

[3:50] This has gone on for decades, right under the dose of parents paying big dollars for the education of their kids. The fifth motivation for this content is simply because many people really do want to know.

[4:06] They are open to hearing arguments from both sides because they do keenly sense its enormous significance. The so-what factor is incalculable.

[4:20] And most do want sufficient reasons for confidence about their own conclusions, even though absolute proof seems unavailable. Perhaps this article can somewhat contribute to those sufficient reasons.

[4:35] And motivation number six is because even the very young are seriously impacted by the question of God's existence. There are children suffering from emotional pain, sometimes inflicted by a parent, by their peers, or a disappointing boy-girl relationship, any of which can make the future seem unbearable to them.

[5:02] An alarming number, some barely teenagers, considered their pain so great, they actually ended their young life.

[5:13] They may also have heard a well-known personality they regarded insist, there is nothing after this life anyway. And they saw that so-called nothing preferable to the pain they were experiencing.

[5:28] Most of us in our growing up years did experience emotional bumps and bruises. And they may have hurt so much we can still vividly recall them.

[5:40] Yet, we somehow managed to get through them. And later, as adults, perhaps we shuddered, recalling a time we thought about ending our life, only to be ever so glad we didn't.

[5:55] And speaking of adults, numbers of our elderly have so sadly already opted for the voluntary exit from a life they thought too painful physically or emotionally to continue.

[6:14] And some even obtained an assisting physician, giving an imagined respectability to their exit. So, are there any youth, elderly, or those somewhere in between who might be entertaining a voluntary exit thought right now?

[6:36] If you happen to be one of them, please consider giving this content serious thought in view of what is at stake.

[6:48] And to be reminded of what is at stake, the answer remains, absolutely everything. And that reality is for eternity.