I love animals. Nature as a whole has always grabbed my interest. But one thing I don't like about it is all the death and destruction. See, animals have no morals. Nature is, as the saying goes, "red in tooth and claw". Even members of the same species often disrespect each other. Wolves will get into turf wars with other packs. Lions will eat rival male's cubs in the hope the mother will then come back into heat and mate with them. Ducks are aggressive rapists. I could go on. The animal kingdom is not especially known for being a utopia. Indeed, we often compare bad people to animals.
God is what sets man apart from the animals. I'm not here to discuss whether or not animals are inherently aware of their God. My point is, if they are, they don't often act like it. Whereas God expresses some degree of care for even a sparrow in the Bible (Matthew 10:29; Luke 12:6), a cat will gladly raid their nests and shred their young to pieces, feeling no guilt, like a psychopath.
Adding to this, I strongly believe animals do have feelings. They may not feel remorse, but they display all the signs of knowing both joy and grief. Elephants have even been known to die of depression when their fellow elephants die. On top of that, there is a concept known as "Echoes of Eden" wherein natural enemies, up to and including predator and prey, live together almost as they will when the Lord returns. So it's not like they can't be less brutal. It's just that they generally are brutal. When God cursed the world, the animals were not immune to its effects.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is what an atheistic society looks like. In nature, the rule is survival of the fittest, or of the luckiest. There is no right to life, or to liberty, or to the pursuit of happiness. Only a never-ending fight for survival that we all eventually lose. And what if a government does rise up? Well, if you're an atheist, why should you obey it? And what governs the government? You may have heard of this guy called Stalin. He wasn't the kind of atheist you want to play God, yet he did.
The existence of morality absolutely requires the existence of God. Without God, good and evil are just a list of likes and dislikes. What we like, we call good. What we dislike, we call evil. But when disagreement arises, who determines which way is right? In an atheistic society, it's the man with the biggest gun. And nothing but your will to survive says you absolutely have to obey even him.
But obviously, in reality, there is such a thing as right and wrong, and it's not just an opinion. There are certain rights, certain responsibilities, and certain obligations, that cover the entire human race, regardless of where they live in the world. These are not mere opinions. As human beings, we have no excuse for disobeying these moral laws. And we will be judged by the God who not only wrote those laws, but also created us with intent that His glory be our chief end. The penalty for failure? Death.
But we've all failed. Each and every one of us disobeys God on a regular basis. To offend even once results in death, but we offend regularly. It's just our nature. But God has a greater nature. While we are as grasshoppers to Him, we're His grasshoppers, and He loves us very much. Thus, He did not want to punish us. It's still an option on the table, but it's not His preference. In fact, He loves us so much that He paid a heavy price, a price heavy even for Him, just to give us an alternative. 2,000 years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, was born to a virgin to live a completely human life. A perfect life. Free of sin, Jesus did not deserve punishment. Yet, He received it anyway. He died an agonising death. It wasn't His death He was dying. It was yours. Thus, your penalty has been paid. What of Christ's reward? Well, if Christ received the penalty for sin, the reward for His perfection can go to the sinner He paid for. How? Through faith.
See, Jesus didn't stay dead. After His death, He got up, walked out of His tomb, and promised everyone who believes that that they can have eternal life. Confess Jesus as Lord, believe He rose from the dead, and you will be saved. You are of more value than many sparrows. Act like it.