About a century ago, a group of atheists decided to show the world what a fine civilization could be built if only the superstitions of Christianity were excluded. They founded the little community of Liberal, Missouri, and boastingly advertised  that it was the only town of its kind in the United States.  It was without a preacher, priests, church, God, Christ, hell or the devil.  Some months later the St. Louis Post Dispatch carried a lengthy story about the town of Liberal, in which it was pictured as the seat of the Devil and a den of iniquity.  Its hotels were brothels, and vice had become a virtue.  Gambling, stealing, drunkenness and brawls were the usual occurrence of the day. The story was so frightening that the men of Liberal had Clark Braken, author of the story, arrested for criminal libel and sued the Post Dispatch for $25,000.  In the trial, the evidence of wickedness was so overwhelming that the jury took but a few seconds to render a verdict in favor of the  defendants.  The suit was dismissed and the town of Liberal paid all the court costs.  The town of Liberal was an absolute failure. It wasn’t long until lifelong atheists, who had moved into the town to enjoy its advantages, left in complete disgust.  They found living in an atheistic town intolerable.  One of their number confessed that “An infidel surrounded by Christians may spout his infidelity and be able to endure it, but a whole town of atheists was too horrible to contemplate.”

No wonder the Psalmist wrote, “The fool has said in his heart, There is no God.”

–by Tom Wacaster