A story for every day...
The sudden death of an atheist in Baltimore.
An atheist, Whitney, was much in the news in America. One day he was in a restaurant in Baltimore with some friends, and he got into a conversation with them about religious matters, and the question of the existence of God was raised. Whitney denied it and added to his denial the following curse: “I defy this so-called Almighty to kill me this instant: He will not do so, for He does not exist.” Immediately he fell to the ground, and all efforts to revive him were useless: he was dead and well dead. This fact was reported by most of the newspapers in America and produced a very deep impression. (New-York Herald 1903)
The ungodly are often punished by God in this life. God accepts the atheist’s challenge especially for eternity: He will show him that indeed, because of his unfortunate choice, there is no longer for him a God of love, nor consequently of eternal happiness.
The unholy innkeeper.
One evening, two travelers entered the home of a free-thinking hotel owner. Sitting on the terrace, they were contemplating the star-studded firmament and were raving about the omnipotence of God. The hotelkeeper, who heard them, smiled and told them that all this came from the evolution of matter and not from God, who did not exist. They went to bed and in the middle of the night a fire broke out in a nearby house. The barking of the dogs and the light woke up the innkeeper who rushed to the road, raising his arms to heaven and crying out: “My God! My God! Don’t let the fire take hold of my house.” The hosts, who had heard his cries and prayer, said to him, “Yesterday you were so proud to proclaim that there is no God and today you implore His help: this is not sincere, so it is doubtful whether He will help you; He is anxious to chastise you for your impiety.” And indeed the hotel began to catch fire.
In the midst of danger, there are no more atheists.
