An atheist was walking through the woods.
"What majestic trees"!
"What powerful rivers"!
"What beautiful animals"!
He said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river,
he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him.
He turned to look.
He saw a 7-foot grizzly charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path.
He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear
was closing in on him.
He looked over his shoulder again,
& the bear was even closer.
He tripped & fell on the ground.
He rolled over to pick himself up but
saw that the bear was right On top of him,
reaching for him with his left paw &
raising his right paw to strike him.
At that instant the Atheist cried out,
"Oh my God!"
Time Stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man,
a voice came out of the sky.
"You deny my existence for all these years,
teach others I don't exist and even credit creation
to 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 a Christian now,
but perhaps You could make the BEAR a Christian"?
"Very Well," said the voice.
The light went out.
The sounds of the forest resumed.
And the bear dropped his right paw,
brought both paws together,
bowed his head & spoke:
"Lord bless this food,
which I am about to receive
from thy bounty through Christ our Lord,
Amen."