An atheist was walking through the woods. He said to himself, “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!”
Suddenly, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look and saw a seven foot grizzly bear charging towards him. He ran as fast as he could along the path. He looked over his shoulder and saw that the bear was closing on him. He looked over his shoulder again, and the bear was even closer.
Then, he tripped and fell. He rolled over to pick himself up, and found that the bear was right on top of him. The bear’s mouth was wide open in a hungry growl.
At that moment, the atheist cried out, “‘Oh my God!”
Time stopped… The bear froze… The forest was silent… A bright light shone upon the man, and a voice came out of the sky: “You have denied my existence for all these years, you have taught others I don’t exist, and you even credit creation to some sort of cosmic accident. And now you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”
The atheist looked directly into the light and said, “I suppose it would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now; but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian?”
There was a long pause, and then the voice said, “Very well.”
The light went out… The sounds of the forest resumed… The bear started moving again, but stopped his growling, brought both paws together, bowed his head and said, “Lord, bless this food, which I am about to receive. Amen.”
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Psalm 19:1 — The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
Psalm 14:1a — The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
Jeremiah 5:30-31 — (The Lord declares), “A horrible and shocking thing has happened in the land: The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?”
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Father, give us wisdom to perceive you, intellect to understand you, diligence to seek you, patience to wait for you, eyes to behold you, a heart to meditate on you, and a life to proclaim you; through the power of the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
–St. Benedict (480-547)
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