If God exists but wanted us to be perpetually in the dark, He could have remained silent. If God wanted to only reveal His will and His moral expectations, but not Himself, He could have. That’s what makes the idea of Christian revelation so remarkable. Not only that God exists, He wanted us to know. And He wanted us to know not only what He expected but Himself. Getting God right requires that we rely on what He has revealed. I asked Dr. Thaddeus Williams, professor at Biola University and author of the book Revering God, to describe the significance of God speaking to a truly Christian worldview:

What do you think is the most repeated phrase in the entire Bible? It’s, “Thus says the Lord…” which clocks in at over 400 occurrences. The God of the Bible is not the stone-cold silent god of the ancient Greeks. Nor is He the stone-cold silent god of the ancient Stoics or Epicureans, too busy enjoying the amenities of divine bliss to bother with humanity. No. The God who exists is a God who speaks.

It is all-too easy to take God speaking for granted. In fact, this is something we can learn from one of the most famous atheists of the twentieth century, the French existentialist Albert Camus.

Camus reckoned honestly with the implications for humanity if no speaking God exists. “When it comes to man’s most basic questions of meaning and purpose,” Camus said, “the universe is silent.” We shout, “Why are we here?!” to the night sky, and the answer is crickets.

We can admire Camus’ honesty when he says, “All human attempts to answer the questions of meaning are futile. . .. our very existence is absurd.” That absurdity of life in a silent cosmos was precisely the tough pill Camus offered in his best novels, The Plague, The Stranger, and The Myth of Sisyphus.

But something astounding happened to Albert Camus. In the 1950s, a New York Methodist pastor named Howard Mumma was guest-preaching at a church in Paris. Mumma noticed a mysterious figure in a dark trench coat circled by admirers. It was none other than Camus, an international atheist celebrity, a self-described “disillusioned and exhausted man.” Camus approached Mumma and confessed that he had never read the Bible himself, so they agreed to meet and tour the text together. What followed was a friendship that lasted five years, Mumma visiting Paris and Camus visiting New York City to explore the possibility that God has spoken.

Then came a moment no one saw coming. Camus asked Mumma if he could be baptized. Given his celebrity status, Camus only had one condition. The baptism must be private so no paparazzi or protesting atheists could exploit Camus’ sacred sprinkling. Mumma kindly explained that the very concept of a private baptism was a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron like “jumbo shrimp,” “crash-landing,” or “soft rock.” Baptism is a public sacrament, a visible declaration of one’s new identity in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Camus said he would consider it, and they parted ways. Camus died a couple weeks later in a car crash. His final words to Mumma were, “Pray for me brother, that I keep the faith”—not that I may find the faith, but keep the faith. Evidently, the man who wrestled with the silence of the universe with such bleak honesty came to the conclusion that the God who made the universe is not silent.


Dear friends, do not take those four words, “Thus says the Lord,” cheaply.

Camus was right that “human attempts to answer the ‘meaning’ questions are futile.” But God exists, and God speaks. Therefore, human existence is not absurd. We have purpose because we were created on purpose by a purpose-driven God as spoken in his Word.

In fact, new research shows how taking God’s word seriously adds to life’s meaning. Researchers found that those who read their Bibles once or twice a week experienced no benefit over those who never read their Bibles. At three times a week, minor gains were detected, but with at least four times a week, everything seemed to spike. Sharing their faith skyrocketed 200%. Discipling others jumped a whopping 230%. In contrast, feelings of loneliness dropped 30%. Anger issues dropped 32%. Relationship bitterness dropped 40%. Alcoholism plummeted by 57%. Feelings of spiritual stagnancy fell 60%. And finally, viewing pornography decreased 61%.

God, as Francis Schaeffer loved to say, is there, and He is not silent. Crack open a Bible today and hear your Maker speak.

That was author and professor Thaddeus Williams, author of the new book Revering God and a featured speaker at this year’s Colson Center National Conference, May 30-June 1, 2025, in Louisville, KY.

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