I’ve learned something this past week. Not something that I didn’t already know. I mean, I knew this intellectually—but I actually experienced it. I saw it firsthand. And it’s that even lost people can recognize when God is being mocked.

And even lost people—to a certain extent—find it offensive.

This past week, I’ve published a series of video clips on my X account exposing some pretty horrific things that “people of the robe” can bring themselves to say. From “priests” calling Jesus “transgender” to “pastors” saying Jesus telling Lazarus to “come out” is a reference to him “coming out” of the closet as a homosexual.

And some of the replies I received on these clips were eye-opening.

So much so that it made me realize that even blasphemers can recognize blasphemy.

Out of the thousands of comments, I’ve seen countless that said something along the lines of “I’m an atheist, but this is just awful…” or “this kind of thing is exactly why I don’t go to church…” And some of the comments were loaded with such indignation and enough swear words condemning the blasphemy that it would make Satan blush.

Clearly, not all of these people are redeemed, born-again believers who are so offended by such blasphemy.

So why is that?

I turn to Romans 1 for that answer. Paul tells us in Romans 1:18-21 that, in a nutshell, God has revealed Himself to all people in Creation. No matter how hard one tries to suppress one’s knowledge of our Creator, it is innate and universal within all human beings.

And just like Adam and Eve tried to hide from God in the garden, we try to do that too, but we can’t. No one can. And while unbelievers can reject the authority of Scripture, they will retain genuine knowledge of God’s existence and His moral order.

Simply stated, one does not need to be a born-again Christian or even profess Christianity in order to recognize dishonesty, logical contradictions, or the abuse of religious authority.

The Apostle Paul goes on to describe how humanity exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and instead of worshiping the Creator, they chose to worship the creation. Just like in one “sermon,” the “priest” reasons that his god is “queer” by pointing to the “diversity” of fallen human beings. Instead of recognizing that God is who He says He is by His revelation to man in Scripture, he defines God by the characteristics and sexual perversions of humanity.

That is some heavy suppression, if you ask me.

Yet, the reactions—the expressions of repulsion—from those who are clearly unbelievers themselves shouldn’t surprise us. Some of these people may “profess” Christianity, but many of them don’t. Again, many of them professed atheism. Yet, whether a false convert, an atheist, or a true believer, we still all bear the Image of God.

And unbelief doesn’t automatically extinguish the conscience or prevent people from rightly understanding biblical assertions. An atheist may still recognize a contradiction in someone making a biblical claim while still rejecting the overarching authority of Scripture.

Richard Dawson is a good example of this.

Similarly, a professing Christian may have considerable knowledge of the Scriptures while still openly mangling or contradicting it.

Paul goes on to ask in Romans 3:3–4 if faithlessness can nullify the faithfulness of God. And his answer is a resounding “no”—”Let God be true though every one were a liar…”

The truth of God does not depend on human beings. God’s truth prevails despite human faithlessness. Despite human beings mangling His word. Despite human beings openly mocking and berating Him. And despite the approval of unbelievers, the sincerity of ministers, or the fashions and preferences of a wicked and adulterous generation.

God’s truth is eternal, innate in all of us. And no one is without excuse.

Yet, some will suppress that truth harder than others. And even though they know they are suppressing the truth of God, they continue to love their own sin more than God, and they do so to their own destruction.

And it should not surprise us when even the unbeliever can recognize blasphemy against their Creator despite openly rejecting His existence.