A World Without Faith

Have you ever wondered or even considered what the world might look like, what the world would be like without any connection to God?

How about a world that knows nothing of who Jesus was and what He did for all mankind?

Well, you probably haven’t because, for most rational people of faith, even if you’re faith is only the size of a mustard seed, the probability of that happening is very remote. At least that’s what we’d like to think.

But today I want to suggest that its actually quite possible we are closer to that scenario than we realize or want to admit. I know that’s a profound and provocative statement but it’s coming from the perspective of someone (me) who’s firmly planted on the back nine of life. I can look back 60 years and see how things have changed over that time.

If you haven’t happened to notice that God and Christianity are slowly being cancelled in our culture, you haven’t been paying attention. But don’t beat yourself up too much because it hasn’t happened overnight. It’s been a slow yet relentless erosion over an extended period of time. And it’s been just subtle enough that most of us simply didn’t see it or just didn’t think there was anything to it.

But let’s be honest, many of us in our culture have become very good at just looking the other way and pretending things like this are not happening.

But here’s the deeper question. Why is it happening?

I certainly don’t need to remind you there’s a lot going on in our country right now. There’s a battle raging for the soul of our nation. Don’t believe me? All you have to do is turn on the news or spend time on social media. You can’t miss it.

And so I have to wonder what the heck is going on? I think the answer is pretty evident and I want to share that with you, but it may not be what you’re thinking. That’s because the truth is clouded daily by incessant noise and chatter from a multitude of sources. That noise is what distracts us from keeping our eye on the ball, not seeing what’s really going on in the world. The answer, the truth has been with us since the beginning of time.

The truth is this:

we are smack dab in the middle of an epic battle of good versus evil; it’s a battle that’s been fought since the beginning of time but right now, evil is winning the battle.

Do you want to know what a world without faith looks like? Let me share this with you.

When I was a boy, my grandmother would pick me up from school several Tuesday afternoons every month and take me to the matinee feature at the Beach Theater. I share this because that’s when I fell in love with movies. And, that’s when I fell in love with great, epic stories.

Recently, I watched for like the 10th time one of my all-time favorite movies; it’s got a great story. This movie was released back in 2010 and stars one of favorite actors, Denzel Washington. British actor Gary Oldham plays the bad guy, and he’s such a good bad guy. He’s probably a great guy in real life but man, he can really play the villain. And Mila Kounis is the young apprentice like figure.

The name of the movie is the Book of Eli.

I’m not sure if it got a lot of huge press back when it came out. In fact, I saw it on TV for the first time, but it is a remarkable film.

You want to know what a world without faith looks like? Watch this movie.

If you haven’t seen it, or don’t remember what it’s about, here’s the official trailer:

“Thirty years after war turned the world into a wasteland, (we’re talking post-apocalyptic) a lone warrior named Eli (Denzel Washington) marches across the ruined landscape, carrying hope for humanity’s redemption. Only one other man, Carnegie (Gary Oldman) understands the power of what Eli carries, and he is determined to take it for himself. Though Eli prefers peace, he will risk death to protect his precious cargo, for he must fulfill his destiny to help restore mankind.”

Are you getting the picture here?

Now those of you that have seen this movie, you know the answer to this, but those of you that haven’t:

What do you think it is? What’s the precious cargo that Eli is carrying? What is it that he’s got that is the hope for humanity’s redemption?

Remember we’re in a post-apocalyptic world here. There is no law, survival is a brutal struggle. It’s beyond anything any of us would imagine could ever come to pass…or is it?

Well, you can probably guess that Eli has the last or the only known copy of the Holy Bible in existence; the only one.

All the others were lost in the apocalypse but for some reason God chooses Eli to guard the last remaining copy of the Bible.

This is a big deal because almost no one, especially those younger than 30 have any knowledge or understanding of God, or Jesus or faith. It’s truly a world without faith. They don’t know what they don’t know.

Which is why it’s so important to Carnegie that he get this Bible from Eli. He knows.

Carnegie is a small-time hood who is the self-proclaimed and recognized leader of a town or what’s left of a town that Eli passes through on his journey.

He’s an older guy so he is old enough to remember life before the apocalypse. Carnegie knows about faith; but he rules with a combination of smarts from having been educated and by intimidation.

He fully understands and knows what’s in the Bible. You see where this is headed?

This movie is a classic, epic battle between good and evil. It should by now be obvious why Carnegie is hell bent on getting that Bible:

He knows that if people saw or heard of the sheer depth of hope, redemption and love that come from the pages of the Bible he would quickly be rendered powerless. His control, his power depends entirely on the people having to rely on him alone for their welfare. Hope, redemption, and love are the enemies of the tyrannical, the evil in this world.

I’m not going to tell you what happens, but I do want to give you a spoiler alert if you haven’t seen the movie, I want to read you a prayer that Eli prays at the end of the movie.

You need to understand the friend that he refers to in this prayer is Mila Kounis, who is his apprentice.

So, read this prayer and as you read, I hope you will agree that each of us should strive to live a life where we can pray this exact same thing at the end of our lives:

“Dear Lord thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through many obstacles in my path. And for keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost. Thank you for your protection and your many signs along the way. Thank you for any good that I may have done, I’m so sorry for the bad. Thank you for the friend I made. Please watch over her, as you watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest. I’m so very tired, but I go now to my rest at peace. Knowing that I have done right with my time on this earth. I fought the good fight. I finished the race.”

That last part, you might recognize, is from 2 Timothy 4/7.

The Takeaway

Is it really a stretch to think this is the kind of world we could have in the future? I don’t think it is frankly, especially when you see what’s happening in the world today. On the other hand, it doesn’t have to be that way, either. If you’re a person of faith, you know that the future is firmly in the hands of God, exactly where it should be.

Nevertheless, we all have a part, a role to play in what that future will be. So it all starts with the face in the mirror. We each have a choice to make every day of our lives. Will we “do right with our time on this earth?”

And if so, will we fight the good fight especially when the battle gets dirty and nasty?

Finally, will we fight until the end, until will we finish the race?

What will you do?

It all comes down to this: you’re either going to be a Carnegie or an Eli. I pray you make the right choice.

Until next time: Stay strong, Keep the faith!

“And may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”