But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” (Luke 19:40)
During my journey to Alaska a few years ago, while driving through the Yukon near Watson Lake, I noticed many groupings of stones that spelled out words like “Hunter” in the above photo. The arrangements made me wonder if passersby would think that these stones somehow gathered together by chance through natural forces such as wind, rain, and erosion.
Is such a thought preposterous? Of course it is. While it’s true that natural forces can set stones in odd and mystifying arrangements, they never come together in ways that are encoded to communicate. They don’t spell words. Only a fool would believe that these stones came together by chance. And every scientist in the world would assume the same, that an intelligent designer placed these stones exactly where they are in order to spell the word.
But wait a minute. What do scientists say about life origins? Strangely enough, many claim that the human body (and every other creature) is the result of the coming together of natural, impersonal forces. The “stones” from which we are built have somehow gathered without intentional design to generate the life forms we have today.
Isn’t that preposterous? Our bodies, which are millions of times more complex, filled with far more encoded communication, and interconnected in vastly more intricate ways than is a group of stones that spell “Hunter,” supposedly came about by unintentional, natural forces. No designer was involved. Whether it was wind, rain, sunshine, or some other unnamed force arising from the earth, sea, or air, the human body just happened by a random combination of impersonal chance.
Since only a fool would believe that “Hunter” would come together without help from an intelligent designer, what are we to say about those who believe that a far more complex matrix of “stones” came together that way–without a designer, by pure chance?
I am not one to use the term “fool” casually. It is a word that crosses the line between gracious speech and harsh rebuke. Yet, the Bible is not shy about using the label for someone who doesn’t believe in God, the one who set the stones of creation in such wondrous array that anyone should be able to recognize his presence.
Therefore, we balance truth with grace. While we understand the foolishness in the darkened hearts of atheists, we reach out with love to shine the light so they can see the magnificence of our creator God. That is what love does.
The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
Bryan Davis is the author of Let the Ghosts Speak as well as several bestselling series, including Dragons in our Midst, the Reapers Trilogy, the Time Echoes Trilogy, Dragons of Starlight, and Tales of Starlight. He and his wife, Susie, work together as an author/editor team to create his fantasy/adventure tales.
In 19th century Paris, Justin Trotter, an immigrant from England, is making his way as a book translator while paying for his blind twin sister’s care. One evening, Marc Noël, Justin’s well-to-do friend and fellow thespian, invites him to a masquerade party at an abandoned schoolhouse. Justin hopes this will be an opportunity to get to know Marc’s lovely though sharp-tongued sister, Francine.
At the event, Justin meets four ghostly strangers—two adults and two children—who warn him that the party guests are in danger, and they must leave at once. True to their prediction, a murder takes place, and Justin is the prime suspect. He escapes and becomes a fugitive, hiding in the Paris catacombs.
Mystery and intrigue swirl as the ghost of Joan of Arc and other martyrs guide Justin on a lonely journey to prove his innocence and protect his sister from an abusive caretaker. Who really committed the crime? Marc? Francine? A ghost? And does seeing these ghosts mean he is going insane? Maybe he really is the murderer after all.
There is only one way to find out, to let the ghosts speak as they reveal the mysteries within Justin’s mind.
