By Dr. W. Edward Bedore, Berean Bible Institute, Slinger, Wis., E-mail: bbi@bereanbibleinstitute.org
Robert Ingersoll, a lawyer, lecturer, and politician of the nineteenth century was called the Great Agnostic because of his adamant rejection of the reality of a True and Living Personal God. It is said that after one of his speeches that he drew his watch from his pocket and challenged God to strike him dead within five minutes because of his blasphemy. There was an ensuing silence that grew heavier as the seconds rhythmically ticked away. The crowd began to fidget and an air of nervousness settled over the assembly. When his five minute time limit had elapsed, Mr. Ingersoll closed his watch and returned it to his pocket. He then asserted that if there was a God he would have struck him dead and damned his soul.
Later, when the incident was related to Joseph Parker, an English minister and author, he asked, “And did the American gentleman think that he could exhaust the patience of God in five minutes”. How wrong Ingersoll was to believe that when he challenged God, God was then obligated to meet that challenge on Mr. Ingersoll’s terms. God is not dictated to by the whims and challenges of man. He is indeed the Sovereign Creator of the universe and all that is to be found in it. It is man who must answer to God, not God to man.
Pastor Parker’s observation that God’s patience is more enduring than to be worn out in five minutes by the blasphemous ...
