Most of us humans, at one time or another in life, have had a fear. As I think back on some of the ones I’ve dealt with throughout the years, nothing comes close to the scariest of all – well, in my opinion, which is dying without the assurance of salvation and facing the wrath of God.
Recently one of my favorite actresses passed away. As I listened to some of her colleagues and friends speak about her, not one of them mentioned her faith. My curiosity got me, so I did some research. Here’s the crux of what I learned:
“Keaton identified as agnostic but was raised Free Methodist by her
mother. She said she produced her 1987 documentary “Heaven”
because “I was always pretty religious as a kid. I was primarily
interested in religion because I wanted to go to heaven.” However,
when she grew up, she became agnostic. In one interview,
Keaton said, “Religion is not a big part of my life. My father was
an Irish Catholic, and my mother was a Methodist when I was a
little girl in the 50s, but when the 60s arrived, they had dropped
religion and moved on. It was a different time, and they stopped
going to church. I think they were right.”
Excerpt taken from
https://www.beliefnet.com/celebrity-faith-database/k/diane-keaton.aspx
That excerpt can be found in many different articles written about Diane Keaton, some as recently as 2021. Here’s a great explanation of agnosticism, https://www.gotquestions.org/agnosticism.html. My hope is that Ms. Keaton had a turnaround in her thinking and in her heart before her death because only God knows what’s really in our hearts (Psalm 44:21).
After that, my curiosity took me further into the world of Google®, and I looked up famous people who claim to be agnostic. Try it out, it’s shocking.
Have you ever heard of Madalyn Murray O’Hair? She’s the woman who sued Baltimore Public Schools over prayer and Bible reading in schools, which ultimately, she prevailed. In 1963, she founded American Atheists Organization. You can read about her here, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madalyn_Murray_O%27Hair. There’s also a Netflix movie about her entitled, “The Most Hated Woman in America.”
What I think is godly unique about her story is that her son, Bill, who was named as a plaintiff in her lawsuit against the school district, later in life escaped his mother’s sick world. He became a Christ follower and is now a Baptist Minister.
This topic reminds me of what the Lord said to Cain after He disregarded Cain’s offering:
“… Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
If you do well, will you not be accepted?
And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its
desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:6-7, ESV
An agnostic claims that the existence or nature of God is unknown or unknowable. Scripture tells us:
“For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has
shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power
and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation
of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:19-20, ESV
Atheist claim there is no God. The Bible refutes that from cover to cover and calls an atheist a fool:
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt,
they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good.”
Psalm 1:14, ESV
What do you choose?
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever
does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath
of God remains on him.”
John 3:36, ESV
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