An atheist was taking a
walk through the woods,
admiring all that evolution
had created.
"What majestic trees!
What powerful rivers!
What beautiful animals!",
he said to himself. As he
was walking along the
river, he heard a rustling
in the bushes behind him.
When he turned to see
what the cause was, he
saw a 7-foot grizzly
charging right towards
him. He ran as fast as he
could. He looked over his
shoulder and saw that the
bear was closing, He ran
even faster, crying in fear.
He looked over his
shoulder again, and the
bear was even closer. His
heart was pounding and
he tried to run even faster.
He tripped and fell on the
ground. He rolled over to
pick himself up, but saw
the bear right on top of
him, reaching for him with
his left paw and raising his
right paw to strike him.
At that moment, the
Atheist cried out "Oh my
God!...." Time stopped. The
bear froze. The forest was
silent. Even the river
stopped moving.
As a bright light shone
upon the man, a voice
came out of the sky, "You
deny my existence for all
of these years; teach
others I don''''t exist; and
even credit creation to a
cosmic accident. Do 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 "It would be
hypocritical of me to
suddenly ask You to treat
me as Christian now, but
perhaps could you make
the bear a Christian?"
"Very well," said the voice.
The light went out. The
river ran again. And the
sounds of the forest
resumed.
And then the bear
dropped his right paw .....
brought both paws
together...bowed his head
and spoke: "Lord, for this
food which I am about to
receive, I am truly
thankful."