THE PEACE OF AN ATHEIST 

(Monthly column for Pandora's Box Gazette)

Faith & Religion

Sunday Inspiration: The Peace of an Atheist

May 13, 2018

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Billy Beasley

The Peace of an Atheist

By Billy Beasley

The year before I was offered a contract to publish The Preacher’s Letter, there was another publisher that was seriously considering publishing my story. During the process they expressed concern over my lack of social media. I have a decent following on my Facebook Author Page so I knew they were speaking of Twitter, which I really did not want to do. But with a possible publishing contract on the line I joined the masses.

On a given day if I tweet anything there are but a few viewers. But one day I made one simple tweet in response to an atheist trend. I believe it was something along the lines of, “me thinks thou does protest too much.” Suddenly my viewership grew dramatically. Of course the replies were not very favorable.

Why does it disturb atheists so much if you and I believe in God? If we believe that Jesus Christ was and is the son of God? I do not get angry with people who do not believe. But they often seem to take great offense if we believe. If they enjoyed a measure of the peace that I have with Jesus Christ, why can’t they just sit back and enjoy the peace that their nonbelief brings to them?

"The resurrection of Christ is either the greatest miracle or the greatest delusion which history records." - Philip Schaff

I copied the above quote last year on social media. The lone comment was, “Agreed.” Knowing the person, I knew the intent of their sarcastic comment.

I wonder why they felt the need to respond. They are smart, accomplished, and highly successful by worldly standards. Why not just enjoy the peace and comfort that brings, leaving me to my delusions?

Because I do not believe they enjoy any peace in their belief of nonbelief. Maybe they were once wounded by religious behavior. That has turned many people off from Christianity. Perhaps if they would have dug a little deeper they might have realized that is not Christianity. Going to church does not make anyone a Christian any more than sitting in a garage makes me a car. Why be angry at God for the actions of people?

A pastor once shared with me.

“Billy, Jesus did not like hanging out with religious people.”

In fact, Jesus was criticized for spending time with people that the religious people thought should be shunned.

When Jesus heard this, he told them, "It is not those who are well who need a doctor, but those who are sick. I didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners." Mark 2:17

We all have heard the saying that there is no atheist in a fox hole. My response has often been. “Don’t tell me when the plane starts to descend rapidly and you are plunging to certain death that you are not going to cry out to God for help.”

Another social media contact used to post of how we are foolish and unwise to believe in God. Why the need to label us as fools for the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Why not just accept a difference of belief and move on with the peace you find in your unbelief?

This same person also posted pictures of grandchildren that he obviously loved dearly. An image came to my mind. Picture the following scenario.

He is walking on a trail, hand in hand with his grandchild. There is a ravine on each side that is a precipitous drop. A slip would lead to almost certain death. He stumbles and in that misstep his grandchild falls over the edge. He manages to hold on with one slipping hand grasping theirs. His grip is loosening and that child is one second away from near death and in his moment of desperation he is not going to cry out, “God help me?”

I hope you are never in that situation but if you say to me I would not cry out for God’s help. Forgive me, but I don’t believe you.

You have every right to your nonbelief just as I have every right to believe that every human being created will speculate, will wonder about God.

My knowledge originated from my Damascus Road moment in my earlier years.

Regardless of how I ran from my calling—of how I tried to escape that night. I knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that God was real and for reasons I still don’t understand. He showed up one evening on a long dark road for the likes of me.

Many people did not believe me back then. Many may not today. That is okay.  I don’t feel the need to convince anyone. I was there. I know what occurred.

One of my social media friends constantly rails about religion and often in a very condescending manner to us that believe this myth of Jesus Christ.

I find it ironic that the passionate atheist acts almost religious in their belief of non-belief.

I would rather live my life believing in the hope of something and Someone waiting for me when my days are ended, than to simply exist, with no real purpose for being here, and no hope of anything beyond, disappearing like a mist that leaves no trace.

About the Author

Billy Beasley resides in Carolina Beach, NC with his wife Julie and their Australian Cattle Dog, Teke.  They are active members of Lifepoint

Church in Wilmington, NC.

Billy is the author of The River Hideaway- a traditionally published work of faith based fiction and the newly published novel, The Preacher's Letter. He shares two simple beliefs with his favorite character in this novel. Faith in God and a conviction that ‘Hearts have no color’. 

Please like his author page on Facebook. Check out his blog. Also, you can follow him on Twitter.

That Is Your Opinion (It is neither right or wrong)

The title of this blog derived from numerous conversations with a very young Micah Beasley. I know this will shock some of you who know him but Micah pretty much arrived into this world with many strong opinions. He was quite animated as he shared just what was what. Many times I would calmly state to him.

"That is your opinion & it is neither right or wrong. It is what you think."


Of course he challenged me on this but I kept on....Wash, rinse...repeat.



Those of you who have followed my journey on this blog site have become pretty accustomed to my honesty about the mistakes I have made. How I have been my own worst critic throughout my life.  So allow me this time to actually pat myself on the back.

I have opinions. We all do. But I don't state my opinion with disdain for those that dare to have a different one. I am pretty respectful of others thoughts & I don't make the assumption that just because I think a certain way that makes me right & the opposing view wrong. We all like different things & I often say, "It would be a boring world if we all liked the same things."

I think it is a habit-a very bad one & many people don't realize how rude they are being by dismissing someone & what they think just because it does not align with their thoughts.



My two cents since this is my blog. Is it possible that when we really love something that we just can't believe someone else can't see how great it is? A food.. a place to live..to visit..an activity. My friend, Ray (my age) shared with me recently that he had people make fun of him because he has really got into Frisbee Golf. I didn't make fun of him & in fact I told him next time we have our quarterly meeting that I would join him in his favorite activity. People criticize so easily something that they are not interested in.

I worked at Wrightsville Beach for over 32 years & I love it & many of the people there but when I moved to Carolina Beach..boy the comments.."the redneck beach..."   "Well it is not Wrightsville Beach.." (Picture that statement said with nose perched in the air) & the list goes on. Honestly, I got kind of weary of it & most the people that offered these statements had not visited Carolina Beach two times in ten years. Now I could never have afforded a home at Wrightsville Beach but if I had 30 million in the bank I still would want to live here...a little closer to the water perhaps but I prefer Carolina Beach, however I would not make a disparaging remark to someone that lives at & loves Wrightsville Beach.

In fairness, I worked at Wrightsville Beach while living at Carolina Beach the last nine years of my career. I heard a lot of unkind comments at Carolina Beach when they saw my Wrightsville Beach P&R staff shirt. I didn't care for those comments either, especially when the assumption was that anyone living at Wrightsville Beach had to be a snob. Nothing could be further from the truth.



While I am on the subject of homes-I was a single man for a very long time & boy regardless of where I lived a woman that was I dating would inevitably walk in my house & say, "This place needs a woman's touch." Why would we decorate the house like women lived there when they didn't? Somewhere I wrote once that a home is to be respected & I don't care if I enter a house for the first time & they have a 8' by 10' mural of NASCAR in the living room. Would I do it? No. I don't even like NASCAR. I know you can't believe a southern boy like me who grew up around it & had a cousin next door that raced NASCAR for a couple of years but I don't care for it. But I don't look down my nose at people who do enjoy NASCAR.

Don't disregard someones home-where they choose to live. I think that is pretty sacred to people. I respect that. There is no better. It is what we prefer & that is not a right or wrong answer.

When you have a strong opinion about something you can tend to make every story play your way to the point of not even verifying the authenticity of the story. No better example than politics. Sometimes you become a zealot with your opinions & it is easy to rule out rationale.

How about a hot topic item? Global Warming. Honestly, is the weather changing? Yes. Do I know if it is related to fossil fuels or just a change over time that will revert back? I really don't. But both sides are so absolute in their beliefs that they want to be right regardless if their data is fudged. I think people are often more concerned with being right than getting at the truth & a possible solution.  

"We can disagree without being disagreeable." I don't know the origin of this statement but the first time it really sunk in for me was hearing it when President Gerald Ford died. It was one of his favorite quotes. Some of his best friends were Democrats & often a beer was shared after debating on the Senate floor all day. I don't think that is happening too often these days. Stay divided seems to be the theme of political parties. Both parties are guilty. Horribly guilty.  


I don't know if anything can be accomplished here. There is another word in play called introspection & some people don't seem to have any of that..

It is far too easy to take what we love..what we enjoy...& just disregard what others like...not even really listen to what their opinion is because they have the audacity to have a different opinion..

Care to see examples of this at its worst? Read comments after any article/story online. The ridicule...the arrogance of people.. Calling people stupid & worse just because they don't agree with them. If this is what your life is about...spending each day calling people names...over a difference of opinion...people you don't even know...well to me that is one sad existence. 

I am certain God does not desire us to behave that way. We can make following God so complex. But how about this one rule for how we treat each other?


Galatians 5:14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Imagine if we lived this scripture each day to the best of our ability. If we love our neighbor as we love our self. We won't lie, cheat, steal, covet, be jealous of, look down upon...ridicule them because they are Republican, Democrat, a different race...live a different lifestyle.......& the list goes on..I will add one more..We would be happy for our neighbors triumphs. If they win the lottery we would not say, "I am more deserving. Why did that not happen for me instead of them?" 

A great example of this would be my best friend, Jack. He is not a reader. Not a writer. His passion is boats, fishing...salt water. But I can't even begin to tell  you how happy he was & is for my getting The River Hideaway, published. Even now as I struggle to find a second publisher for my other stories he told me recently he did not think that it was over. He knows writing is my passion & he could not be more encouraging. We both love the salt water. He loves it from a boat with a fishing rod. I love it sitting on the beach with a good book in hand. 

Recently I watched as a young kid in the mountains met Jack. Jack mentioned fishing & the kid just lit up. He started talking about fly fishing & reel fishing & how the creek needed running water to catch trout. Jack obviously knew more about salt water fishing but the connection made by the two of them. I enjoyed watching the exchange...the passion the two of them hold for fishing. It doesn't matter that it is not something I care to participate in.

The danger is becoming so convinced of our opinions & disdain those daring to think-feel differently we can become quite judgmental about it. We judge others who do not like what we like. Pretty sure the Bible covers not being judgmental on a couple of occasions. 

So try to respect other people & their opinions even though gasp they may differ from yours. Who knows in the process maybe you can learn something & view things in a slightly different way & maybe, just maybe we could even choose to  show grace to people regardless of who wins the election Tuesday. My world will not end one way or the other.




....Of course all of this is just my opinion I guess..Have a great day..

Or what Toby Mac said....

Marriage Should Be Work?

I never cared for the relationship advice about how you had to work at it. Don't get me wrong. I understand the premise, but it always made it sound more like a job to me. Relationships while none are perfect should be fun & enjoyable..If not, I am not sure what the point is.

As Julie was backing out the drive this morning & both of us giggling about my silly antics. I thought about all the laughter we share with each other. How we are grateful for new opportunities that will allow us to spend more time together.

It is no secret that I have been around the block a few times but once I let go of what I thought I needed, God provided me with more than I could ever dream of with Julie. And Julie was & is His child. A child He loves dearly.

I think it is safe to say we have all charged down paths we knew not to be good for us with the thinking that we will invite God in on the back end of our deal. This above tweet from Christine Caine I found to be very succinct & powerful. 

God is not obligated to sustain what He did not orchestrate.

I lived like this most of my life. Charging ahead from one adventure to another & always leaving God on the outside of what I desired. I fully intended to bring Him in on the back end after I got everything I wanted.

Big shocker here. It was an epic fail. 

But I reached a point when everything I had tried failed. It is like all the years I spent coaching kids in the great sport of basketball. One of our favorite things that my assistant coach, Richard Mears & I said to kids so frequently that I am sure they rolled their eyes at us. "Good habits breed good habits & bad habits breed bad habits." For example, you have a kid who has repeated a bad habit so often that it feels natural to him. You try to convince him to change because he lacks proper form. His complaint would be it does not feel right. My response was, "But your way is not working. What do you have to lose?"

That was me. I reached a point where I had to come to grips that my way was not working. I trusted my thinking of what was right for me more than I trusted God. 

"God, I do not wish to be alone forever but if You are not in it I would rather remain alone for the rest of my life because it will fail like all the rest." That was the place I finally reached.

I don't know that anyone that knew Julie & I before we begin to date that would have said, "Now they would make a great match." But yet looking back I have no doubts that God was preparing both of us for our eventual meeting. 

I have been very blessed on occasion to have witnessed the Supernatural works of the Holy Spirit. Times when I knew without question it was as the wonderful Christian Author, Mark Batterson wrote, "Sometimes God shows up. Sometimes God shows off."

Two months before I met Julie I was in the shower. Don't you love how God does not stand on pretense? He wants to come in it & does not matter what you might be doing. 

As clear as someone in the room speaking to me I heard. "Get your house in order." What? What does that mean? I thought about it for several days and then I kind of forgot about it.

Fast forward a few months & Julie & I are on our third date & it is the first time she was in my house. She was seated at the kitchen table and I went in the back for something & I felt that tug & reminder of what I heard in the shower that day. 

I sat down next to her & shared the story. Her eyes glazed over & she made me repeat it again. "Say that again. Just like you said it the first time."

I did. She shook her head. "I heard that same thing recently. In fact, I heard it multiple times. I asked God what it meant and He said, The man I have for you is coming and he is coming quickly." She had been alone for ten years waiting on her Boaz. 

I don't remember anymore of our conversation that day. What we both took away was that God made it clear that if our two paths merged to one-He would be on board. He would bless us. We still had to sort through things because we both had our share of scars. We are not robots. We did not rush right out & get married because God showed us something.  

There was an age difference that I was not comfortable with but you know it was more than that. I knew Julie to be the far better Christian than me. That is still true today. I was not sure I deserved her. I was not certain I was a good enough man for her. There is not a week that goes by that I don't say, "God, I do not deserve my wife but I am not returning the gift that You gave me." 

That is what Julie is to me. A gift from our Father.

Last night as I sat on the porch waiting for Julie to come home I felt a sadness & I drifted to questioning myself, which I am apt to do. I have always been my own worse critic. I found encouragement as I sorted through my thoughts when I came to a simple fact. 

God trusted me with his precious child that He loves dearly. He thought I was the right man for Julie. Me. He thought I was good enough for her. He did not think it. He is God and He knows it.

It encouraged me because if He thought I was good enough for Julie-why should I question that? Question Him?

I still wrestle at times like many of us that say in our mind we know God loves us but it does not always make the journey to our heart. Why is it I can see Julie as someone that God loves dearly & not so much myself? Just because I may view Julie as more deserving of God's love does not mean that is how it is. 

I was given a gift by my Father. Wow! I am closing in on a pretty big number. I will be sixty years old in another year. We have been married now for over two years & we have been together almost three years. Our first date. The seven hour coffee as it is referred to now is just around the corner. Next Monday, October 26.Hopefully, when people see us together they say, "Wow. If that is not God I don't know what it could be."

Gifts are suppose to be fun, right? So are relationships.

My gift, Julie. I love you Baby.
Happy 3 years (almost) 

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