“I spent time ingesting the writings of some of the most renowned atheists of the day. I read Richard Dawkins’ book ‘The God Delusion,’ Christopher Hitchens’ book ‘God is Not Great’ and Sam Harris’ ‘The End of Faith.’ I now see these three atheists as the ‘unholy trinity,’ because they are what I call evangelical atheists. They are trying to silence the voices of faith.”

ATHENS, Ga. (BP) — “When I began to think about the logical conclusion of atheism,” Richard Suplita, a psychology lecturer at the University of Georgia, reflected, “I asked myself, ‘Is it really all about nothing?’ and realized that I could not accept that conclusion.”

The question led to Suplita abandoning his atheistic worldview and embracing the Christian faith.

Suplita was born in Fairmont, W.Va. Known as “the Friendly City,” Fairmont is the seat of Marion County, just about 20 miles south of the Pennsylvania state line.

He grew up in the Church of Christ, where his father was a deacon. The Suplitas were in church three times each week. During those early years Rich Suplita made a commitment to Christ.

The UGA lecturer admitted, “I made a commitment on the basis of my understanding of Christ at that time. I thought it was like a contract with God and I had to maintain my part of the contract. It was rather legalistic and it was my responsibility to maintain my salvation and if I failed to do so, then God could end the contract whenever He chose. I knew nothing about a covenant relationship with Christ.”

At age 22, Suplita enrolled in the University of West Virginia and earned two degrees — one in psychology and one in communication studies. During those years he also met Carla Price, a medical student at the university, and eventually proposed marriage. Richard and Carla moved to Savannah, Ga., where Carla was able to complete her internship and residency requirements in order to become a practicing physician.

The Suplitas then moved to Winder, Ga., where Carla began her medical practice in the fall of 2000 and Richard enrolled at the University of Georgia to pursue a Ph.D. in psychology and philosophy. On the way to his doctorate, he earned a master’s degree and actually began teaching during his last year of graduate school. He is now a full-time lecturer in the school of psychology.

Although the Suplitas’ marriage has not survived the stresses of separate educational pursuits and busy professional careers, they have three children: Annabel, 9, Lydia, 6 and Lola, 4.

Richard’s journey into atheism began when he was a young adult. “I didn’t want to be tied to a god who viewed me as a failure. I concluded that since I was not going to measure up anyway, it would be a relief to abandon the idea of God.

“I also became enamored with the whole concept of academia. Delving into science and evolution was intriguing. Of course, psychology departments are notorious for being secular and humanistic. It became easy for me to attach myself to that.

“I started to explore the atheistic/free thinking mindset from time to time while I was in Savannah, but from 2006 until last year I was devoted to that worldview. I had some fond recollections of Christianity. I thought the story of Jesus being born in a manger was sweet and sentimental, but I was certainly not using Christianity as the guide for my life. In fact, I spoke harshly against it.”

Suplita continued, “I spent time ingesting the writings of some of the most renowned atheists of the day. I read Richard Dawkins’ book ‘The God Delusion,’ Christopher Hitchens’ book ‘God is Not Great’ and Sam Harris’ ‘The End of Faith.’

“I now see these three atheists as the ‘unholy trinity,’ because they are what I call evangelical atheists. They are trying to silence the voices of faith.

“Last year at this time,” Suplita added, “I was convinced atheism was true.” The free-thinking psychology professor became the faculty adviser for the UGA campus atheist organization, whose motto is “Being Good Dawgs Without God.”

However, through the years “I couldn’t deny or explain away the transformed lives of some of the people I knew” who had embraced faith in Christ.

“My sister’s marriage was filled with resentment and hostility, but 10 years ago she became a follower of Jesus Christ. Three or four years after that her husband became a Christian. I couldn’t help but notice remarkable evidences of the power of God in their lives and how deeply in love they were with each other.

“Then I began to observe the childlike faith of my children. Annabel was baptized at First Baptist Church of Winder two years ago. I know that in my heart I never wanted her not to believe in Jesus — never!

“I never wanted to discourage the faith of my children. I began to wonder why I wouldn’t want my children to follow the ideology I had chosen. I started to listen for God to speak to me.”

During this year’s Easter season, First Baptist Church in nearby Watkinsville, decided to take advantage of the Free Speech Zone near UGA’s Tate Student Center to share the Gospel. Almost any group can reserve the area to promote their cause or advocate their philosophy of life.

Those who want to raise funds for breast cancer research can reserve the platform and microphone for a day to advocate their cause. Secularists can use the venue to promote their agenda. Political activists can herald their propaganda in this concourse where UGA students cross paths daily and often congregate. Fiery evangelists have been known to commandeer the platform in this area to preach the wrath of God’s judgment.

With the help of layman Jon Dean and some of the staff at FBC Watkinsville, the decision was made to reserve the Free Speech Zone once in the fall semester and once in the spring semester, akin to the Apostle Paul’s experience on Mars Hill in Athens, Greece, in Acts 17. First Baptist calls this campus outreach “The Great Exchange.”

The Watkinsville church has as many as 600 UGA students in Sunday worship, with many of those students ministering to their peers on campus. Some read Scripture or give their testimonies for The Great Exchange. Others sing praise songs. Some may share biblical truths. First Baptist passes out thousands of pieces of literature including Gospel tracts, New Testaments, copies of “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel’s book “The Case for Christ” and Josh McDowell’s “More than a Carpenter.”

[Editor’s note: This article is incomplete. The source for this document was originally published on bpnews.net—however, the original URL is no longer available.]