Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Arguments against Christianity...and some responses

Atheists look determined to disprove the existence of God. They attempt to provide some arguments that suggest there is evidence that God does not exist. A reader, in the comment section of one of my articles, supplied me with several of these arguments. I thought I would address some of them as I find the time. While everyone will not accept all of my reasons, they are offered in the spirit of love with the hope that those who are truly seeking answers will realize that they do exist for these challenges and that believing in God is not unreasonable.

Atheist Argument: The “Conflicted Religions” Argument notes that many religions give differing accounts as to what God is and what God wants; since all the contradictory accounts cannot be correct, many, if not all, religions must be incorrect.
Response: There is no argument here. All of the competing religions can be wrong, but, they cannot all be right. Therefore, one must ask which one is most reasonable. Which one has the most verifiable historicity? Which one answers life’s questions best? Which one most fully explains the world we see around us? The claims of Christianity are the most reasonable and have the best explanatory power of any religion. All other religions claim that you can work your way to heaven; only Christianity tells us that God has done all that is required. We must simply stop rebelling against Him and believe what the Bible tells us. He will change our lives, forgive our sins, and guarantee us an eternity together with Him.

Atheist Argument: The Disappointment Argument claims that if, when asked for, there is no visible help from God; therefore, there is no reason to believe that there is a God.
Response: By this reasoning, when a child asks his or her parents for something, and the parents do not supply it, this means that there is no reason to believe the parents exist. However, in this analogy, the parents decide whether it would be wise or unwise to give the child what he or she has asked for. When we pray to God, asking Him for something, He decides whether or not He will give us what we ask for. The Bible says that, “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (I John 5:14 NASB). This text says He will answer “according to His will” not according to our wants. What chaos would ensue if every prayer we prayed, the selfish as well as the selfless, were answered in the manner we wanted? Is it not much better to leave it up to God, trusting in His omniscient wisdom to give us what He knows we truly need?

Atheistic Argument: The “Historical Induction” Argument concludes that since most theistic religions throughout history (e.g. ancient Egyptian religion, ancient Greek religion) and their gods ultimately come to be regarded as untrue or incorrect, all theistic religions, including contemporary ones, are therefore most likely untrue/incorrect by induction.
Response: So, does this apply to everything? All but the most current scientific theories have been proven false, that is why the ‘current’ theory is the ‘current’ theory; therefore, are we to expect every scientific theory to be proven false? These false religions are exactly what we would expect to find if people groups rejected the true God. When one rejects the truth, a substitute must take its place. Godless humanity excels at creating religions that cater to our selfishness and pride. Our rejection of the truth does not mean it doesn’t exist.

Anyone honestly desiring to know the truth should truly think about the claims of Christianity. The God of the universe is calling out to all people, and He has done everything it takes for us to be reconciled to Him. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17 NASB).

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