“We believe, however, that traditional dogmatic or authoritarian religions that place revelation, God, ritual, or creed above human needs and experience do a disservice to the human species... We find insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural; it is either meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race. As non-theists, we begin with humans not God, nature not deity.” – page 15,16

John Dumphy in The Humanist: “I am convinced that the battle for humankind’s future must be waged and won in the public school classroom by the teachers who correctly perceive their role as the proselytizers of a new faith... These teachers must embody the same selfless dedication as the most rabid fundamentalist preacher, for they will be ministers of another sort, utilizing a classroom instead of a pulpit to convey humanist values in whatever subject they teach, regardless of the educational level – preschool day care or large state university. The classroom must and will

become an arena of conflict between the old and the new – the rotting corpse of Christianity, together with all its adjacent evils and misery, and the new found faith of humanism, resplendent in its promise of a world in which the never-realized Christian ideal of ‘love thy neighbor’ will finally be achieved... It will undoubtedly be a long, arduous, painful struggle replete with much sorrow and many tears, but humanism will emerge triumphant. It must if the family of humankind is to survive” John Dumphy “A New Religion For A New Age,” The Humanist, Jan/Feb., 1983, p.26

2 Cor.10:5– “5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;” NKJV– “5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” RSV– “5 We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle to the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God ♦ PERSON of God Gen.1:1; Psa.14:1; Heb.11:6; Mk.11:22; 2 Chron.20:20; Jn.14:1 Reasons to Believe in God: ● The Bible affirms such ● There is no other reasonable explanation for the universe ● Otherwise I must become god myself ● Every attempt to disprove the existence of God can be successfully refuted ● It is safer to believe in God than to believe otherwise Reasons to Believe in God: ● The Bible affirms such ● There is no other reasonable explanation for the universe ● Otherwise I must become god myself ● Every attempt to disprove the existence of God can be successfully refuted ● It is safer to believe in God than to believe otherwise

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God There is nothing God cannot do Gen.18:14; Lk.1:37; Matt.19:26; Psa.33:6; Ex.14:13 ♦ POWER of God ♦ POWER of God Our God is powerful Gen.17:1; Ex.6:3 Indeed, our God is Almighty! Heb.7:25; 2 Tim.1:12; 2 Cor.9:6-9; Phil.3:19-21; Eph.3:20

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL Gen.45:7,8; Esther 4:14; Rom.8:28; Lk.6:38; Mk.10:28-30; Matt.6:33; 1 Pet.5:7; Lk.12:7 We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God ♦ POWER of God ♦ PROVIDENCE of God ♦ PROVIDENCE of God

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God ♦ POWER of God ♦ PROVIDENCE of God

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God Reasons to Believe in God: ● The Bible affirms such ● There is no other reasonable explanation for the universe ● Otherwise I must become god myself ● Every attempt to disprove the existence of God can be successfully refuted ● It is safer to believe in God than to believe otherwise Reasons to Believe in God: ● The Bible affirms such ● There is no other reasonable explanation for the universe ● Otherwise I must become god myself ● Every attempt to disprove the existence of God can be successfully refuted ● It is safer to believe in God than to believe otherwise

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God ♦ POWER of God ♦ PROVIDENCE of God 1 Kings 8:27; Jer.23:23,24; Acts 17:24-28; Psa.139:7-12 ♦ PRESENCE of God God is:  ABOVE us  AROUND us  BEFORE us  BEHIND us  BENEATH us  WITH us  IN us God is:  ABOVE us  AROUND us  BEFORE us  BEHIND us  BENEATH us  WITH us  IN us

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God ♦ POWER of God ♦ PROVIDENCE of God 1 Kings 8:27; Jer.23:23,24; Acts 17:24-28; Psa.139:7-12 ♦ PRESENCE of God Faith in the Presence of God will …  Make us live better  Keep us from secret sin  Sustain us in trials  Strengthen us in temptation  Fortify us in persecution  Comfort us in dying  Encourage us in praying  Thrill and motivate us in doing good Faith in the Presence of God will …  Make us live better  Keep us from secret sin  Sustain us in trials  Strengthen us in temptation  Fortify us in persecution  Comfort us in dying  Encourage us in praying  Thrill and motivate us in doing good

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God ♦ POWER of God ♦ PROVIDENCE of God 1 Kings 8:27; Jer.23:23,24; Acts 17:24-28; Psa.139:7-12 ♦ PRESENCE of God Rom.4:20-22; Heb.11:26; Acts 27:24,25; 2 Pet.3:9; 1:4; Matt.6:33; Lk.6:38; 1 Cor.10:13; 1 Pet.5:7; Matt.28:20; Isa.55:10,11 ♦ PROMISES of God

1/8,15/2006 – Alex D. Ogden – Clay, AL We Must Have Faith In The … ♦ PERSON of God ♦ POWER of God ♦ PROVIDENCE of God ♦ PRESENCE of God ♦ PROMISES of God 1 Thess.2:13 ♦ PRECEPTS of God