Last month, the Prime Minister of Australia Ms Julia Gillard was asked on national television if she believed in God. Her answer: “I don’t believe in God. I am not a religious person.”
I was shocked to learn that a learned person, educated enough to be the prime minister of a wealthy nation, does not believe in God. It was utterly disappointing to know that Ms Gillard is an atheist, a non-believer.
It scares me to think what kind of policies her administration would implement on this predominantly Christian country.
I was born of Catholic parents, educated in a Catholic school and have been a practicing Catholic all my life. I know I will die a Catholic and will continue to profess my faith until the day I leave this planet to be reunited with my Creator.
For the past 15 years, I have always been an active supporter of the Labor Party. I doubt if I will vote for Ms Gillard this coming election. Opposition leader Tony Abbott is a Catholic but I don’t like his policies on the working class – “Work Choices” in particular. Now, that’s a real predicament.
Not too long ago, a former classmate asked me to prove that there is a God. My answer was quite simple. I told him, for a person who believes, no proof is necessary but for a non-believer, no amount of proof will ever suffice.
My former job with an international bank required frequent travel to several countries. It is only in Australia where I have met atheists. A workmate at the university once challenged me to a debate about the existence of God. The debate stole many productive hours from our employer but it was well spent. It ended when she declared that she was ready to go to hell. She did not believe in God but she believed in hell after all.
Thereupon, I drew a cigarette lighter from her table, lifted one of her fingers and held it above the flame. “Ouch!” she pulled her finger away. “What did you do that for,” she asked.
“Didn’t you say you were ready to go to hell? Today, it is only the tip of one of your fingers. In hell, it will be your entire being and it won’t be for a split second. You will be roasted for all eternity,” I told her bluntly.
A few years later, that woman caught cancer and eventually died. I was told by her Catholic husband that she received the Sacrament of Reconciliation before she finally closed her eyes.— ? DMC