as he reflected on his life, he acknowledged that at times he had been intrigued by the Christian faith. As he examined his heart, Adler realized that he ultimately did not want to change his lifestyle. He did not want to live the Christian
the famous playwright and actor in an interview in Newsweek magazine said, “I still lie awake at night terrified of the void.” He is speaking of the difficulty he has reconciling his strident atheism with all that he observes in the real world. Allen admits, “I make movies not to make any type of grand statement but simply to take my mind off the existential horror of being alive.” As depressing as this sounds, it is the natural outworking of his godless view of life. Of course, most people are
life; instead, he wanted to be free to live the way that he wanted. He said, “The decision to become a Christian lie in the state of one’s heart (will), not in the state of one’s mind.” It dawned on Adler late in life that his atheism was not intellectually driven; it came down to how he wanted to live his life. When it gets right down to it, so many people are not on a truth and wisdom quest but rather on a search for pleasure and happiness . Almost all atheist scientists, philosophers, and intellectuals have admitted to this same truth. They chose atheism as a worldview, not because they thoroughly investigated the claims and support for Christianity, but because they wanted to live however they wanted and they didn’t want any obstacles to tell them otherwise. Adler was just one of many famous atheists who later in their lives committed their lives to Christ, although this has not been widely publicized. Many who clung to an atheistic existential worldview faced their elderly years and approaching death with a great deal of dread and some with terror. Even the famous Charles Darwin, who originated humanistic evolution, acknowledged his fear of dying. Woody Allen,
not atheists. They hold to some form of religion. I’ve have had over a thousand
conversations with them through the decades. What I find is that
most are not wholly devout, nor do they go to great extremes to practice their faith daily. Their religion is more like a thin layer of ice instead of an iceberg. It hasn’t dramatically changed the way they live. They live the same way unbelievers do. I tell people you can be religious and still be an atheist because you live just like
them—as if God doesn’t really exist—unless you find yourself or a loved one in an emergency in life.
Jesus spoke in detail that He was looking for lovers, not acquaintances, for people who passionately made Him the center of their everyday lives. Religion is like getting an inoculation for a serious disease, where you experience merely mild symptoms, not the real thing. That’s why I hate religion now
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