The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14

“I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail.  There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.”[1]  These were the words of Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant physicists to ever live.  Hawking was an atheist. Many of the world’s most dazzling minds—Nobel Prize winners like Madame Marie Curie, Albert Camus and Milton Friedman, all refused to believe in God.

How could these exceptional minds come to this conclusion? Jesus told a story about a rich man who didn’t want to give up his great wealth to gain treasure in heaven.  Jesus said, “How hard it is for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God… In fact, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the Kingdom of God” (Mark 10:23,25).

We could easily substitute intellect and pride for riches in Jesus’ statement.  Scripture says that “Satan, who is the god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe.  They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message” (2 Corinthians 4:4). “Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols” (Romans 1:22-23). Today, those idols look a lot like Nobel Prizes, Grammys and Pulitzer Prizes.

In the dark night of the end of life, “We are confident…because of our great trust in God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 3:4).

[1] Ducharme, Jamie. “Stephen Hawking Was an Atheist: His Words on Death and God.” Time, Time, 14 Mar. 2018, https://time.com/5199149/stephen-hawking-death-god-atheist/