"...The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. "
This ancient passage was written centuries ago, before today when honest scientists are amazed at the signs of God that are everywhere. The DNA molecule, for example, appears to have been purposely, consciously engineered. The chemical reactions at the cellular level that builds a human being are so complex that there is next to zero chance that all of this evolved naturally. One simple mistake along the path of evolution, and nothing happens at all. But, what was Paul referring to?
We see beauty in the world and marvel at it, transfixed. So did the ancients. Paul actually heard Jesus' voice, but he also knew in his heart that God shows Himself in the inexplicable beauty of music, of art, and of nature, in the birth of a child, in the abundance of resources on Earth to sustain and enable life to flourish, in the seemingly insatiable desire for something more than earning a living and getting drunk on the weekends, and in the end, in the hearts and souls of all people who know, even if they refuse to admit nor acknowledge it, that God is inside them. As Dr. Jordan Peterson puts it, there's a spark of the divine in everyone, and in all of nature.
Evil people deny this, for as it so happens, it shines light on who they really are. Atheists are atheists because atheism allows them freedom from moral responsibility. They can exchange the truth of God for a lie. Their wishes and feelings become primary, and so the lie becomes believable. God says don't kill; killers say He doesn't exist. God says be sexually pure, perverts say "no God!". God says don't be greedy, be kind and help others as much as you can. Atheists don't feel nor obey this piece of sound advice. God for them is a buzzkill. Ignore Him, and you can do whatever you want. Like aborting an unwanted child. Like diddling children. Like seizing power over an entire country, and then looting it systematically. Like disregarding the impact of what you do on others. The self is the center of the atheists' worldview. Have you ever noticed the peculiar anger and hostility most articulate atheists spew on believers? They say it's because God is a dangerous delusion, a myth invented by people afraid of death. They warn of the consequences of belief, and act with contempt and derision towards those who believe in God. Why such vitriol? Because God and His believers are barriers to what they really want to do. Period.
This is almost unbelievably wicked, but the depths of human evil go all the way down to Hell. And this, precisely this, is what is so grievously wrong about the social trends of today. Most of them are self-centered, emphasizing immediate gratification, but today, a heinous evil is taking place that clearly shows the fathomless depth of human depravity: the sexualization, sterilization, and mutilation of children. This is happening all over the Western world, where bizarre things happen that are truly appalling. Men dressed as women competing against them in sports, reading stories to children in public libraries (often in full drag), children told that they were born in the wrong body, (and encouraged to mutilate themselves to "fix" it), and children dressed in sexually suggestive clothing appearing in ads and movies.
What is "the lie"? No God.
