(It's finally here.  Sorry for the wait.  August has been a very busy month.)

It is crucial to realize that the message of The Thinking Atheist in this video is very superficial, often wrong in its perception, and even hypocritical.  That is, for those who have taken the time to study a bit and to think things through fairly, its message is like a stone skipping across a lake surface, treating matters in a very shallow way; and thus, is never able to submerge itself into the deep waters of evidence that solidly affirms Christianity and confirms the essence of its essential doctrines.  Inevitably such an approach is a straw-man argument.  The best that can be done with it is a step-by-step challenge to, and correction of, the mental perspectives of Welcome To This World.

As mentioned in earlier posts to this subject, the message of Welcome To This World, begins with extreme emotionalism.  This has been a great tactic for those who intentionally overlook and suppress facts, yet, want to weave a very persuasive story.  This is why the opening scene is that of a new baby being welcomed by a parent into this world with the caveat, “before you grow up there are a few things I need to tell you ...”

The strange thing about this introduction is the general sense that it gives of this “world,” which seems to be that of a generally happy place of peace and diversity, or of a world that is finally evolving and moving in that direction, and that the important religious message for this little one will contradict that sense.  Yet, as their other media shows, there is a great deal of suffering, evil, and death that characterizes this world.  There has been no such move or evolution toward a better world as violence is at an all time high.  And, as their other media does not show, most of the moral evil in the last few centuries, which greatly outweighs all evil done by all religions in all times combined, has been by the hand of the non-religious.  (Hence, believing that if religion, especially Christianity, were abolished that most moral evil would cease is demonstrably false.)  Not to mention, the challenge of one like William Lane Craig has not been meet by them (from, No Easy Answers, Moody:  1990):  While atheists use the problem of evil as a defeater for theism, they themselves do not show how they process, make sense of, much less deal with evil.

The better perspective on the reality of evil seems to come from that of Christian doctrine, namely, original sin and the consequence of a fallen world, providing an accurate description and interpretation of us and our affairs.

More specifically, there is the supposed Christian point of view about the young toddler’s nature, that he/she is “worthless ... void ... corrupt ... born a sinner” of which “the wages are death” (Psalm 51:5, Romans 5:12 are referenced).  Aside from cherry-picking a few phrases and verses from the Bible, this basic perception is not taught by the Bible.  Rather, the Bible teaches that all are conceived in sin for which, in due time, the wages are death.  Yet, as it is with any descent parent’s concern for a wayward child, the Bible never calls a young child “worthless” and “void.”  Rather, they are loved and the kingdom of heaven is theirs (Matthew 19:13-15).  However, there does come an age of accountability when children grow to sufficient understanding where they will have to make the choice for themselves as to whether or not they will abide with Jesus or take the path of original sin.  By this time of accountability it is also evident - that is, original sin is evident to one degree or another in each individual child - that each person born into this world has a sinful nature.  Again, this well accounts for the time we parents spend trying to coach kids to turn from folly to what is right (all of which is done by Christian parents in the hope and love of the gospel).  Since each child has worth and meaning by virtue of being in the divine image and likeness, no one in their right mind would ever call a young child “worthless” and “void.”  Jesus and his heavenly father would be indignant toward that, calling people who would have the nerve to spout such dangerous nonsense to jump in a lake with a millstone tied around their neck.  Therefore, the biblical doctrine of original sin is a sober reality check, and the only metaphysical way to account for human evil and the dreadful condition of the world (J. I. Packer, Concise Theology).

“Someday when you are old enough to understand you must ask forgiveness, not for anything you have done, but for what others did 1000’s years ago at the beginning of the world.  Also, you must tell God how sorry you are for murdering his son Jesus.  I know it happened generations before you drew you first breath.”  Nowhere in the Bible does it teach that we are personally responsible for what was done at the beginning of human history (i.e., the world altering incident in Eden).  Nor does the Bible teach that we each are personally responsible for murdering Jesus.  Rather, we are rightly commanded to say to our kids, “Someday, when you are old enough to understand, you will have to come to terms with the fact of original sin; not meaning that it is your fault that choice was made by our first parents to eat the forbidden fruit or that you were born into a fallen world, but that you will have to take responsibility for your choice of whether or not you will continue in original sin or keep to the path of salvation provided by Jesus’ sacrifice of love.”  The only word in the Bible on laying the responsibility for shed blood on those who did not physically commit the actual murder(s) is found in Jesus’ statement in Matthew 23.  Here, Jesus is dealing with the heart intentions that led not only to the numerous murders of past prophets but will certainly lead to his own murder and the future mistreatment of those who want to honor God by following Jesus.  The religious leaders who think they are better than the rest and would never do such a bad things are in fact cut from the same cloth.  That is, Jesus is forcing them to see that they are no different from their forefathers, and they will do the same things, which proved true when they unjustly called for Jesus’ execution; and after that, they hunted down his followers.  It is not unfair, then, to say that those of The Thinking Atheist run with the herd, too.  We all have at one time, whether indirectly or directly.

That “[Jesus’ death] was ultimately part of God’s divine plan” is true, in that is was for the loving salvation of lost souls (John 3:14-17), but that the only “responsibility is” is for the guilt that comes from refusing a clear hearing of the gospel of Jesus.  And, the only forgiveness that needs to be asked is for one’s rejection of God and his/her consequent life of sin.

“A portion of everything you produce in your life time must be given to God who will never accept your offerings personally.”  Truly this is a strange objection.  What exactly is wrong with giving to the church?  Nothing at all, and it is meaningful for Christians to invest in the church and its divine mandate to reach a world in need.  Not to mention, it keeps the Christian operation going, along with all the good that it does in the world.  What is the issue with trustworthy stewards collecting the offerings instead of God in person?  Again, absolutely nothing, as God gives his individual people different roles by which they can join in his plan and serve him.  Stewarding finances is one of those roles.  Nor does it undermine God in the least, who we believe richly provides us with all that we have (1 Timothy 6:17-19).

“You will listen for him but his voice will never be heard audibly.  You will thank him for his direction and guidance but his mysterious ways will confuse you.  In fact, although you are more important to God than anything else in the universe he will never show you his face or reveal himself in any provable way.  I know this seems strange.”  Many Christians, myself included, would like to testify differently.  We have clearly sensed the undeniable spiritual presence of God and have in like manner clearly heard his voice, which presence and voice are the work of Holy Spirit, leading directly to the words of the Bible, to Jesus, to salvation, and to lives that make a clear difference.  Again, such a relationship is clearly taught in the Bible (Jeremiah 29:13, John 14:23).  What about those who say they sought and never heard?  Having come to know God, having tasted and seen that the Lord is good, I side with the prophet Jeremiah and the apostle Paul, that the heart is deceitfully wicked and that God is true while every man is a liar.  See the testimony of Kamal Saleem:  A Muslim Cries Out to Jesus.  Not only that, we are convinced that God has shown himself in the best possible ways, thus making his existence apparent to all.  The self-revelation of God in the created order is clearly affirmed in the Bible:  Psalm 19:1-6, Acts 14:14-18, Romans 1:18-32, 2:11-16.  For a beginners exploration of this see a previous post of mine, Seven Ways God to Know that God Is (June 9, 2010).  More in depth material is readily available.  Conclusion:  There is nothing strange or confusing about knowing God and his leading.

“To truly know God you must study a book, an ancient book written thousands of years ago in a language you do not understand.”  Again, there is no reason given, for there are none that can be thought of, to support the notion that an ancient book could never hold the answer to life.  Nor is there a problem translating it into contemporary languages so that it is easily understood by the truly open minded.  What about “atheism” being ancient?  What about the core idea embedded in “Darwinism” being just as ancient?  My studies of ancient philosophies and religions has confirmed the ancient roots of what The Thinking Atheist holds dearest.  In Solomon’s outlook, ‘There is nothing new under the sun’ (Ecclesiastes).  Attaching modern science and philosophy to such basic beliefs as held by The Thinking Atheist does not change their ancient origins any more than that of the ancient origins of theism (even Christian theism), the latter also using modern science and philosophy to underpin natural theology.  Also, did any of the ancient proponents of atheistic and Darwinian like beliefs write in contemporary English?  We think not.  This is truly a silly objection.

“You must fulfill a great commission to make others see the world as you do; to have them believe as you do; to live as you do; and then to go out and convince even more to do the same.  As a reward for this you will be given the privilege of praising God without end for all eternity in a hidden happy place that can only be seen by the dead.”  We could note the obvious great commission on which The Thinking Atheist has embarked.  Do they not also intend to call people to see as they see and to live as they they?  Do they not call people believe that ‘God probably does not exist’ therefore ‘go on an enjoy your life however you want to’?  Of course they do!  The article, The Village Atheist, in the Christian Research Journal, immediately points out this desire, that all people not only read their literature but also to abandon any theistic beliefs they may hold to.  They want religions like Christianity abolished.  As is also conveyed by their website, they have quite a militant spirit.  Moreover, the Christian commission is not done in order to secure a place praising God in heaven.  It is the outworking of those who have already been saved by God and long for others to experience that same salvation and freedom.  But there is no coercion or force to believe.  And, the next life, life after this one, or whatever one may call it, is not some spook show of the dead.  Rather, it is seen by those who are truly living because they belong to the living God who is the God of the living.

“You pledge your entire life on this earth to your invisible father and his great commission or he will send you to a dark pit where the flesh is roasted from your bones and you writhe in unimaginable agony for ever and ever and ever [hell].  But you must not do this because you fear horrible torture and pain you must do it because you love God.”  God is invisible?  He is Spirit.  Even though he is not seen by the physical eye he is clearly known by the spiritual eye.  And the spiritual is just as real as the physical, even primary over the physical for it is who each one of us really is - it is the essence of personhood, the real “you” and the real “me.”  The bottom line:  If you do not give your life to Jesus you will perish in hell.  What exactly is wrong with this statement?  Nothing.  The imagery, of which you will find a more accurate description in the Bible and not in the video, is severe because the situation is severe.  If a perfectly good God exists to whom we are all morally accountable ... if it is true that the human race is in rebellion against God ... if Jesus is God’s Son in human nature, come to lovingly forgive and reconcile us back to God ... if there is a final day of reckoning with God ... all of which “if-s” are rationally and empirically grounded ... then it is the right thing to believe in a final and eternal judgment, and it is also right to partake in Jesus’ commission (Matthew 28:18-20).  Not liking the part of God’s justice and wrath in the biblical Christian story line does not mean it is wrong.    As well, realizing who God is, not loving him is the height of folly and is what sends the fool to hell (Psalm 14:1, Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, Hebrews 9:27, 2 Thessalonians 1:8)!  Yet, we need to see the proper sense in which this doctrine of judgment comes.  It comes after millenniums of patience and long-suffering on God’s part, in love for the world he made, that all people may turn and embrace Jesus, who is the Savior of the world (Exodus 18:32, 1 Timothy 2:3-4, Peter 3:8-9, John 4:42).

‘No matter what happens throughout your life time the more your world seems to defy everything I have taught you here, just continue to say the words out loud “God is real, and God is good,” and one day you will look into the eyes of your own child and you will teach him these very same things so that he can someday teach his own children and their children and their children for generations.  You will hold him in your arms and you will look down at him and say, “Welcome to this world.”’  Nothing in life defies the foundational doctrines of the Bible; instead, our experience in this life affirms their truth, reliability, explanatory power, enlightenment, and practical nature and application.  As Israel was commanded to teach their kids to remember and to live accordingly until the Messiah would come - who came generations and centuries later - then it is incidental and in keeping with God’s pattern - a day being like a thousand years and thousand years like a day - that we as Christians should have to press on for several generations with our children.  Does not The Thinking Atheist do the same for their kids and subsequent generations?  Of course they do, since ancient times.  And, lastly, while thinking atheists spend most of their time saying out loud that ‘God is not real,’ much less good, the Christian simply abides in the presence and grace and hope of God who is good and provides for our needs, waiting on him and his wisdom, while spreading his word to all people (Psalm 130).

We welcome our kids into this world and celebrate their lives, hoping for a godly heritage and lineage (usually against the odds of those who oppose the Spirit and truth of God), but we also point them to a better world to come, based on the resurrection of Jesus, and what it means to be on route to it.

Let me conclude part four with the follow quote and remark.  Mark Ryan and Carole Hausmann Ryan (in, “Killing God:  the Propaganda of His Dark Materials,” in Christian Research Journal (Vol. 26, No. 3, 2003), 39) speak to this version of anti-Christian atheism, when dealing with Philip Pullman, when they rightly quote another atheist who says that Pullman “is so anti-religion and anti-God that even atheists have trouble with his work. One such reviewer wrote, “Now I am actually an atheist but Pullman’s anti-religious tub-thumping irritated even me. It is as reductionist and dogmatic as the most hateful religious creed. The work itself cannot fulfill the standards that it seems to be demanding of others.””  It should seem quite apparent that The Thinking Atheist has set a standard of judgment on Christianity which they themselves could never satisfy.  We remember Jesus’ teaching that whatever measure of judgment we heap on others will be heaped back on us (Matthew 7).

Part five will be an abridged version of a paper I wrote three years ago, dealing specifically with the flawed logic of militant atheist, Philip Pullman.

The youtube video by The Thinking Atheist, Welcome To This World, not only begins on a shaky footing but also relies on erroneous tenets.  Since I addressed their shaky footing in the last post, let’s explore their statement of faith in this one (http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/what_we_believe.html).

1. Man does not require a god to be moral.

Actually, if taken in a certain way, this statement can be correct.  No one needs God to be moral; that is, subjectively moral.

However, if we take certain, baseline moral values to be objective - as universally binding on all people in all cultures and in all times regardless of what anyone thinks, says, or does - then we all need God.  Examples of objective moral values would be things like murder, rape, and torture are evil and that things like dignity and love and freedom are good.  Interestingly, as clearly inferred from the propaganda of The Thinking Atheist, their criticisms are to be taken as objective, i.e., Christian doctrine and missionary activity is considered a great evil and ought to cease and desist ... in fact, religion like Christianity needs to completely disappear from human affairs.

Therefore, as current versions of the moral argument for the existence of God demonstrate, man does need God to be objectively moral.  The argument can be framed in this way:  (1) If objective moral values and duties exist in human experience, then God exists as their grounding, source, and authority.  (2) Objective moral values and duties really do exist.  (3) Therefore, the conclusion follows:  God exists as the grounding, source, and authority of objective moral values and duties for humankind.  This is a simple ironclad argument for God’s existence.  (For a simple look into some of the backing for each premise and the conclusion of this argument see:  http://www.sbcbaptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=25136 and http://www.4truth.net/site/apps/nl/content3.asp?c=hiKXLbPNLrF&b=778665&ct=1264233.)

One more point.  The moral argument is not saying that all must have faith in, or believe in, God in order to act morally, even objectively moral.  What the argument is saying is that God must exist as the source and grounding in order for objective moral values to exist in human experience.  That is, whether or not someone believes in God, whether they distort his moral law or are accurate to it, God remains the underpinning and authority of all objective moral truth.  In the words of J. P. Moreland, many atheists do something like this:  “Look, let’s keep the world totally constant, remove nothing whatsoever, and then just assume God doesn’t exist.  Well, look here, God doesn’t make any difference for morality” (Do The Right Thing - Readings in Applied Ethics and Social Philosophy.  2nd Edition Wadsworth 2002, page 83).

If we take this first tenet as intended, then we have no choice but to say that it is clearly wrong.

2. Religion divides more than it unites.

It is not a new thing that religion can divide rather than unite.  However, this is not unique to religion but is the case in many aspects of human affairs as seen throughout history.  The sad reality is that human beings, regardless of their ideology or philosophy of life, will divide and kill for what matters most to them (Do The Right Thing, page 120).  Secularism, humanism, and atheism are no exceptions.

When the Bible is interpreted properly and its doctrines are followed, Christianity is a religion and worldview that can truly unite different peoples.  It also has the amazing capacity to live at peace with non-Christian neighbors.  Regardless of what anyone says to the contrary, what I have just said here is a fact.  The Christian gospel not only leads genuine believers to love God with their whole being but also to love those around them (Matthew 5:43-48; 22:34-40).  Even though we are constrained by the love of Christ to share the gospel with all people, there is no coercion and the choice is left to them.  Jesus clearly said that those who “desire” to follow him can, and that we are not to execute judgment on those who do not choose him and his ways (Matthew 16:24; 1 Corinthians 5:9-13; and Revelation 22:11, 17).  As God loves the world, so do we as his people.  Those who don’t follow after Jesus are still respected by us.  Now, make no bones about it, we do not apologize for the moral code of the Bible.  Nor do we apologize for seeing everything that violates it as evil.  Nor do we apologize for using whatever appropriate means we can to abolish evils like slavery, abortion, and infanticide.  Sometimes such action is the way to peace, even toward those who are not Christian and support evils like slavery, abortion, and infanticide ... which issues have typically been a secular or pluralistic religious problem and not a Christian one.  NA culture needs to realize how heartrending these evils are to genuine Christians.  Nor do we see ourselves as any better than anyone else.  We are sinners saved by grace on the road to recovery, something we humble and honestly admit that we cannot do for ourselves.

Therefore, when properly understood and followed, Christianity can unite its own in a very deep and lasting way and it can live at peace with those who are not Christian.

Religion itself is not really the problem, as any good thing can be distorted and abused.  Nor is this a reason to ban religion.  We do not ban vehicles due to the accidents caused by misuse or defect.  We seek to deal with misuse and correct defects.

3. It’s untrue that atheists “believe in nothing.”

Atheism seeks on its own terms to wipe the proverbial slate clean.  The key, whether one is a positive atheist or a negative atheist, is an attempt to go without the notion or concept of God.  So, really, atheism is about nothing.  Consider the words of Michael Shermer:  “I never really call myself an atheist.  I mean, I don’t like to identify myself or define myself by what I don’t believe, because atheism doesn’t really stand for anything.  There’s no principles behind it. There’s no platform or set of planks that we live our lives by.  We just simply don’t believe in God” (http://winteryknight.wordpress.com/2010/01/01/transcript-of-debate-between-greg-koukl-and-michael-shermer/).

To begin with, then, atheists are about nothing.  They have to go beyond atheism, they have to add beliefs other than atheism, in order to go from nothing to believing in something.  In part five of this series I talk a bit more about this, and so I will leave it to that.

4. It does not take more faith to be an atheist.

First of all, atheism is a type of faith, it is religion without God, especially when, as usual, it is combined with Darwinism and secularism, and even humanism (See the Gods Fall:  Four Rivals to Christianity, College Press Publishing Company 1997 17-18).

While it takes faith, it doesn’t have to take more faith to be an atheist, especially if one is a serious skeptic.  It is considered the default position for the skeptic, or may I add, the faith-default position.  Atheism and theism are both religious beliefs, and by virtue of that they are no more scientific than the other.  That is both have to approach the same universe with the same science and ascertain whether or not their core belief (Pro-God or No-God) is rational and has a footing in reality.

So, initially speaking, atheism takes at least as much faith as theism.  However, when the evidences are pursued theistic faith comes out ahead of atheistic faith.  Therefore, atheism may take more faith.

5. Religion is incompatible with science.

If you read my response to tenet four, then you have to conclude that atheism, as a type of religion and faith, is incompatible with science.

However, when considering theism, it seems that current forms of the Kalam Cosmological and Teleological Arguments for God’s existence have silenced this issue, which arguments are thoroughly influenced and informed by good science.  Moreover, they have helped the most notorious atheist, Anthony Flew, to move from atheism to a form of theism (to my knowledge he is not a Christian theist - see his book, There Is A God).

While there is a distinction between practicing science and religion the two are not necessarily incompatible.

6. Scripture is man-made and demonstrably false.

What exactly is meant by this?  It’s hard to say.  

The text of the Old and New Testaments are transmitted with 95%+ accuracy, so what we have is essentially what was originally written.  The Bible text has great archaeological and historical collaboration, so we know that its narratives are not invented or inaccurate at any point.  The most basic doctrines of the Bible, like the existence of God and moral accountability and the resurrection of Jesus, are scientifically and rationally and historically sound.

What, then, is the problem?

All that I can think of is the often cited verses, as by The Thinking Atheist, from the Old Testament having to do with violence.  The implication is that the Christian God is bad and so are those who believe in him.  However, several problems arise with trying to make this case.  (1) Very few thinking atheists will disagree that violence, as tragic as it is, is necessary in some cases.  There is such a thing as a just war.  (2) There is usually no distinction made between what is described in the Bible and what is prescribed.  In some cases, but not all, the Bible describes reality as it is without always justifying it, sometimes condemning it.  In other cases, God is bringing justice to bear on a people or peoples who have had hundreds of years to turn from grotesque evil to him.  But having not they faced divine justice.  What about the slaughtering of women and children?  Women can be just evil as men, thus falling under the same judgment.  Kids can, from a very young age, learn to follow wholeheartedly in their parent’s steps.  For example, I’ve read this in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah in the Bible and I’ve seen this in certain Muslim sects ... Christians who distort their tenets of faith are not excluded from this criticism either.  And, it needs to be said that governments make fatal choices for their people and parents make fatal choices for their kids.  Choosing to live in a way that is contrary to divine design, and to raise one’s kids that way, can have serious consequences.  See my earlier post:  The Choice All Parent’s Make for Their Children.  (3) Verses are pulled out of context and it is implied that they say something that they don’t really mean.  (4) There is no normative command in the Bible, as in the Quran, to go on a worldwide military campaign to convert everyone and kill all who refuse.  In fact, since the move from OT theocracy to NT church, violence of any sort for any reasons is not permitted by the faith community itself as a whole ... excluding what individual Christians in law enforcement and military may have to do for the sake of social and national peace.  (See the articles “Is the Old Testament Ethical” pages 116-17 and “What Did Jesus Have to Do With Violence” pages 330-31 in the Apologetic Study Bible.  Holman 2007.)

While far more could be said, there are no serious challenges to biblical inspiration and infallibility that do not have good answers.

7. God did not create man in His image.

The moral argument, as mentioned above in my response to tenet one, makes a good case for affirming that God did create man in his image and likeness.  God is infinite and morally perfect, the source and grounding, and man is finite with a derivative moral nature, receiving moral values from God.

There is also what has been called the transcendental argument for God’s existence.  Even though it is quite a difficult argument to initially grasp, master, and employ, once that is done, it can be quite effect.  This argument successfully shows that in order to make genuine sense of real features like personhood, reason, logic, and the like, they must be ultimately grounded in, be expressive of, and stem from the infinite, divine, and transcendent nature of God (particularly, Christian theism).  Human beings are finite in their expression and use of such features, meaning they are not the ground and source of them, but are best understood as analogical replicas of God.  (See:  http://www.carm.org/transcendental-argument and http://www.realapologetics.org/blog/2010/07/01/a-concise-outline-for-the-transcendental-argument-for-gods-existence/ and http://www.frame-poythress.org/frame_articles/2005Transcendental.htm)

It would seem that “man is in God’s image” is well supported by modern understanding.

8. Man created a god in his.

This is true of many views of the supernatural.  For example, the gods of polytheism are admittedly “super humans,” even humans who have graduated to godhood.  Thus, these gods mirror humans on a super level.  This is clearly reflected in their very human-like-behavior, which is more often than not pretty bad.  This fact is part of the historically traceable process of degrading from original monotheism into polytheism and into animism (New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics, 443-46).

This is not true of every view of God.  For example, biblical Judaism and Christianity are based on a reintroduction of God as he is back into human affairs.  They are about coming to terms with God on God’s terms, recognizing that he made them and not they him, which is the point Paul masterfully made in Acts 17:16-34.  In conjunction with my response to faith tenet seven, man is in the image of God and not the other way around (Genesis 1:26-28).

Part four will address the actual youtube video, Welcome To This World.  Having called the worldview of The Thinking Atheist into question, as well as their statement of faith, will go a long way in better understanding the content of the video for what it really is:  slanderous, degenerate, incoherent nonsense and borderline verbal persecution. 

Hopefully, in all fairness, you have watched the youtube video, Welcome To This World.

Permeating the video is a noticeable sense of audacity by which a line is drawn between what is perceived as Christian Theism and that which is considered rational thinking, Naturalistic Atheism.  This is a worldview collision, and unfortunately, the deck has been stacked from the start.  The video tenaciously moves ahead on the presumption that Atheism is the scientific position, that of truth, and Christianity is not.  The main argument and sentiment, however, that is implied and stated against Christianity is that it is a force for violence toward non-Christian peoples, and for brainwashing following generations of children to engage in the same evil activity.

To begin with, as I have said in earlier posts, the universe is better explained by theism then by atheism.  This is based on the principle of “inference to the best explanation.”  Current philosophy and science are exponentially strengthening and updating traditional arguments for God’s existence, and also, discovering and developing for our times new, very strong reasons to support belief in a God.  I can direct you to people like Alvin Plantinga, William Lane Craig, Paul Copan, J. P. Moreland, and many others, who have done exceptional jobs in this area.  Hence, these particular overly dogmatic atheists need to be called on the shaky footing from which they launch their erroneous attacks against Christian theism.  

Next, it is important to realize that when dealing with this particular type of atheist (and I would not include all atheists in this criticism), we are dealing with “the village atheist,” i.e., “the village idiot” (Christian Research Journal, Volume 30 Number 5 2007, pages 6-7).  This is to say that, all their basic claims are made riding on the coattails of a culture developed from, and heavily influenced by, a Judeo-Christian worldview.  They enjoy its amazing benefits, for which they and their brand of atheism could never take credit or produce, and then proceed to irrationally denounce that which made it great as if it were evil.  This is hypocritical, to say the least.  Aside from some past tragic blights in Christian history, and some more recent and even current bad stuff, for which there is no excuse, the testimony is mainly good.  When its tenets are obeyed, Christianity is naturally a powerful force for good in the world, which goodness is native to Christianity (for great examples see:  Alvin J. Schmidt, How Christianity Changed the World, 2004 edition; and Jonathan Hill, What Has Christianity Ever Done For Us? 2005).  This is in stark contrast to the history of atheistic and non-religious ideologies and philosophies, which is one of prolific, incredibly brutal, and large scale, violence.  Currently speaking, the evil done in the name of such ideologies and philosophies in the last few hundred years outstrips by a long shot all the evil ever done by all religions combined.  In fact, the Guinness Book of World Records rank them number one on this count (no pun intended - see:  http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=5527 and http://www.str.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9255).  With very few exceptions, every time and place we know of where the brand of atheism held by those of The Thinking Atheist has been permitted to flower has been disastrous.  

As can be seen from above, and through pursuit of the sources mentioned, at the worldview level, Christianity is rational and in keeping with good science.  Nor, as seen from its moral code and good historical examples, is Christianity a force for violence but typically for good.  We are on a good, solid footing, and we are presenting nothing harmful but that which is beneficial to our kids and subsequent generations.

From square one, The Thinking Atheist is not a voice for truth, especially regarding Christian theism.  Their persona as those who stand for, and seek after, truth is a sham.  Moreover, their efforts to persuade and proselytize others is as bad as, or even worse than, the bible-thumping they decry.  Not to mention, they have set a standard for criticizing Christianity which they themselves could never dream of meeting.

Part three will briefly evaluate the tenets of The Thinking Atheist, and part four will deal with the actual content of the video, Welcome To This World.

What follows is my attempt at a response to a youtube video produced by The Thinking Atheist (http://www.thethinkingatheist.com/), against Christianity and Christians, showcasing a point of view usually representative of the self-labeled “New Atheists.”  It is titled, Welcome To This World - What are we teaching our children in the name of God?  What can I say?  I don’t hate the people behind it.  Not at all.  I care about them.  It’s just hard to deal with severely bigoted, dogmatic and very negative media.

[Proverbs 26:4-5]  I learned early on in seminary about trying to engage this stripe of atheism ... and up to this point, I have refused to respond to the type of attacks as represented by The Thinking Atheist sect.  The reason is simple.  Most of what comes from them and those like them has either been the recycling of outdated arguments long since put to rest, very superficial misrepresentations, and downright nonsense.  Not matter what sound reason, evidence and facts one shows to the contrary, they keep on parroting the same stuff.  It is insane.  Thus, I have learned to spend my time reading and engaging atheists who truly do think, are respectful, and present reasons and arguments worthy of consideration.  What has changed my mind in this particular case?  It is the people I am responsible for in the Christian faith.  We have many newcomers coming in the front doors of our church who have simply not been given the opportunity to be educated in the basics of the Christian worldview.  So when deceptive rhetoric like this, which virtually has no factual basis but is loaded on extreme emotionalism, constantly bombards them it can be deeply troubling and confusing.  They know better, yet, because it is so in one’s face, they are not sure what to do with it.  Therefore, I will make an exception.

A bit of background and context for understanding the irrational phobia and insecurity will be helpful here.  

Often linked back to Fredrick Nietzsche’s (1900) declaration that “God is dead” and “remains” so, came the process of secularizing academia.  “God” was no longer a “live” option.  Human beings ought to move on without “God.”  Since the 1960’s there has been a dramatic revival and increase of belief in theism among philosophers and scientists, most of whom are conservative Christians.  It has not waned nor abated but strongly continues.  This is not to say that most philosophers and scientists are theists, but that their number is increasing substantially.  For example, one quarter to a third in academia are orthodox Christians (Paul Copan and Paul K. Moser, The Rationality of Theism, Routledge 2003, pages 1-2).  Currently speaking, well educated and intelligent Christians are able to hold their ground with the best atheists at every major point of objection.

While I’m sure no atheist is thrilled to see the rise of theism, its renewal has so alarmed other certain, popular level, vocal sects in atheism they have sadly begun to react with the sort of degenerate nonsense as seen in the video I’m responding to.

Yet, before reading my coming posts on this matter, I recommend that readers watch the video first.  Everyone deserves a fair hearing.  It is also for the purpose of showing that I have not pulled anything out of context nor skewed any underlying presuppositions.  I am persuaded that I understand them well enough to truthfully respond.  Link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Rwioe1SGkQ

In order to provide readers with what I see as a complete response I will have to take some necessary cumulative steps in preparation for actually addressing the content of the video.  Please bear with me.  Part two, then, will address the worldview problem that underpins the video, and most of what comes from The Thinking Atheist.

Most of us are aware of the biblical axiom in Proverbs 22:6.  Parents are to train up their children in the way that they should go, and that down the road of life they will not depart from it.

This general guideline presupposes a solid biblical worldview; that is, a full Christian understanding of life.  Such an understanding revolves around God.  Training up a child in the way he/she should go essentially means bringing them to the God, to his son Jesus, as laid out in the Bible.  Everything else for raising a child comes out of that.

It’s a simple formula.  It’s not mechanical.  It’s great.  Or it may not be so great if one has a problem with God.

One of the prevailing prejudices against the Bible is that it portrays a violent God of a violent people, and is filled with stories recounting horrendous historical events, often with disreputable people having lead roles (Apologetic Study Bible, C. Wright, 116).  What’s often in mind are the seemingly merciless killing of women, and especially, children.

Examples include:  (1) The nuclear type disaster from heaven, resulting in the utter decimation of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:16-33, 19:1-29); (2) the story of the earth opening up at God’s command and swallowing numerous people:  families, men, women, and children (Numbers 16:1-40); (3) the conquest of the land of Canaan, which was a bloody one; and so on and so forth.  Nations and peoples were annihilated, driven out of their lands and homes, and left as refuges or put to death or forced into hard labor.  There are stories of genocide.

It can’t be safe to have this type of material in the Bible, can it?  Won’t such stories incite Christians to acts of bloodshed and/or genocide against others?  Not to mention, why would anyone want to raise children for this kind of a God?

There are a number of responses, but I will only bring two responses in this posting.

To begin with, such accounts of violence, (1) when properly understood, in no way incite believers to violence.  Having this type of material in the Bible is not a risk; rather, it’s honest reality.  As well, it’s critical to know that (2) refusing or failing to raise one’s children for the glory and service of this God is what causes such evil disasters to fall on people.  It’s what happens when one generation decides to let go of God and his ways, which carries on for several generations, and such a mind-set usually grows with each succeeding generation.  Such a downward spiral away from God breeds into the centuries of brutally immoral activities and lifestyles within a people.  Once engaged, few seem to escape the downward spiral.  (There is the recorded exception of Nineveh, and it spared the people from divine wrath).

Response:

1. All too often, skeptics will launch objections from a superficial reading of the pertinent biblical passages.  Yet, when all the necessary data is gathered, and the fuller context of such biblical accounts is included, a proper understanding emerges, showing the justice of God.

For example, when the conquest of Canaan is understood as having had several hundreds of years to turn their ship around and to seek God and his ways, but chose instead to increase in horrific evil, you see the conquest as God pulling the plug on them.  Time was up.  They had crossed the point of no return.  It bears mentioning that God threatened similar things against Israel if they decided to turn from him and behave as the nations did on whom he brought justice.

Their evil was great:  gross sexual immorality (Lev 18:1-30), child sacrifice and superstitious activities that blind to the truth (Deut 18:10-12), etc.  What we see, then, is God bringing long over due justice.  He mercifully waits.  He righteously acts.  (Rahab, a prostitute in Jericho, was another one of the few who understood, and having heard the stories of God’s judgment on Egypt she was able to repent from the heart and find God’s mercy.)

2. Here’s the critical point in this message:  These people in these OT accounts who suffered the terrifying wrath of God all made a deliberate choice.  It was a choice to believe in a certain way and to live a certain way all of which was utterly contrary to God … who made them, gave them every good thing, and who held their life and breath in his hand.  They made a choice to walk out.  How can it be expected that God would continue forever to allow that?

They were people just like you and me.  They were dads and moms raising kids.  They were parents who made choices for their kids, very bad and fatal choices, choices that set them up for a disastrous future.

Canada is no different from Canaan.  Choices are being made at all levels, and the result is increasing so that this country is no longer the country it once was.  To borrow the phrase, ‘We’re slouching toward Canaan.’  People, parents, dads and moms, just like you and me, are intentionally making choices, and are raising the next generations to reap the consequences.  There’s a lot of wishful thinking going on that we’re somehow headed in a better direction, that we’re becoming a morally superior people.  This is certainly a grand delusion.

There came a point when God stepped into Canaan to judge and to remove entire peoples and cultures from getting any worse and from continued influence on other peoples.  What about the kids?  These parents made terrible, deliberate choices that resulted in the destruction of all.  Brutal and tragic!  This is where the blame falls … with the parents, the adults. 

Now, I’m not sure what will become of Canada, that’s up to God.  But I can ask, “What might become of your home/family/lineage based on the choices you’re making for your kids regarding God?  Are you making choices for God, against God, or are you simply indifferent to God?”

The objection against God and Bible on the counts mentioned above, and for other reasons not mentioned is fallacious.  Let me conclude with a word of instruction:

1. Settle your understanding/acceptance of God as totally great/good (Gen 18:25, Josh 24:15)
2. Up your confidence in God amidst the rampant/aggressive evil of our day
3. Take much time to weigh your choices and what they might mean for your kids, and the future you may be setting them up for
4. It’s primarily your job to raise your kids for God’s glory, the church is your supportive community – Prov 22:6, Matt 19:13-15, Deut 6:4-7, Eph 6:4, Col 3:21
5. Practice what you preach
6. Recognize:  you’re not perfect, none of us are, you will mess up and you will have to say sorry many times even to your own kids … therefore the gospel will be central to all that you do … it’s grace by faith all the way (Eph 2:8-10) … the key is to have your heart after God’s own heart
7. Lastly, a word of hope, you can’t believe for your kids nor force them to Christ, just do your part, pray all the way, and in due time your choice for your kids will become their choice for themselves

Success story:  Dr. Lara Wieland, MD, the daughter of the famous creationist, Dr. Carl Wieland, was well grounded by her parents in the Christian worldview.  Even though she drifted from the faith for a time, she clearly says that it was her godly upbringing that brought her back.  She now has a very fruitful ministry for Christ as an MD among the aborigines in Australia.  (For the full story, see Creation, Vol. 31, No. 3, June-August 2009, pages 44-47.)

What if you have blown it?  Whether you’re a parent or grandparent, it is not too late to start over.  Begin now with prayer, seeking God’s wisdom, for his grace is able to do anything.

Remember parents:  The choice is yours …

There is nothing like the love of God in Christ Jesus!  It’s what gets us through all the troubles we can face while in the this world:  loss of spiritual connection with non-Christian friends and family, viewed as foolish, and the nastiness of hostility.

Finally, having come to faith, we can expect that Jesus expects us to be faithful to him through whatever we may have to face from the world in its reaction to our faith.  That’s the fourth thing you can expect.   Matthew 10:24-26 presents this clear expectation of Jesus.  The text also offers a dear promise to believers that few take into account and add to their list of promises to rehearse.  It is the promise that, if the world troubled Jesus it will also trouble his people.  A disciple is not greater then his master, that is, we can’t do a better job than Jesus did and thus avoid persecution.  So, be faithful to Jesus and he will make it worth your while.

Hebrews 12:1-2 specifically calls us who trust in Jesus to run the same course that he has marked out for us.  It is a race.  In fact, what the writer of Hebrews is referring to is a type of “agony” race.  It is not an easy race.  It is grueling at times.  It is like an Ironman race that pushes the participant past his or her limits.  It adamantly requires throwing off everything (sin) that weighs down and causes us to stumble, otherwise we will not finish the race.  Jesus ran it, he endured cross-suffering for the joy of completion.

Last May I competed, not in an Ironman, but in a much smaller, easier Triathlon - 750 meter swim, 20k bike ride, and 5k run.  I began training and preparing for it in January, all of which, in a sense, is part of the race.  I trained for months and that climaxed on race day.  I made it to the end, I was able to finish.  Which is pretty good, seeing that I have been virtually inactive for years.  There was pain in the training and pain in the race, and there was pain in the recovery.  But I reached my goal:  To finish without being carried away in an ambulance.

The Christian life is like this.  It is training and a race with many challenges along the way, as discussed in the parts 1 to 3 of this blog series.  When we enter the race by faith in Jesus he expects us to finish it.  You can expect that Jesus doesn’t accept excuses.  He says that much elsewhere.  He has charted a course, cleared a path, through the jungle of life and will give each one of us just what we need to run successfully to the end.

There were times in my triathlon training, and also moments during race day, that I thought that I would not make it across the finish line.  But I did.  The Christian life, for all it’s unmatched peace and joy, can feel that way, too.  And we will make it.

There are all sorts of pains and troubles and risks but we are to keep running as Jesus ran.  We are to be faithful.  That’s what Jesus expects.  He did not go through all that he did to expect anything less than our success by his coaching.  Finally, you can also expect some, upon seeing such steadfastness and perseverance by you, that they to will beginning running Jesus’ race.  And faithfulness is the only way to finish.

Thus far, in my understanding, we can expect to know the unmatched love of God when we turn and follow Jesus.  However, once “the cat is out of the bag” about our faith in Christ, we can also expect that those still of the world will be somewhat hesitant about connecting with us, and will also likely see us as “off the wall” and somewhat out of step with sound reason and logic.

It gets better.  I see, and have experienced, a third set of troubles, which for me felt more serious than the previous two.  2 Timothy 3:12-15 captures this well.

If we want to consistently live out our faith, which by the way is not really optional, we can expect that there will be ungodly people who will react in ways harmful to us.  This is persecution.  It can certainly be physical, as is currently happening in certain parts of the world, but more often in our culture it comes as unfair attacks on things like character, status, and tenure.

Years ago when I was a new Christian I spent about a year working in a group home for the mentally challenged.  A few months into that job the manager, who was a Christian, became ill and needed to take several months of sick leave.  A new manager came for that interim, who was not a Christian.  I was not concerned about that at the outset as this was not a Christian group home.  It was just a few Christians who were working there.  I was never one to inappropriately verbally spread my faith in the work place, being content to show it in my work ethic which would generate questions and appropriate opportunities.  Yet, the new manager somehow knew, coming to the job, that I was a committed believer.  Day one on the job she said:  “I believe there is a God who will set all things straight one day, and I don’t ever want to hear another word about it.”  To which I replied:  “I believe the same about God and I will honor your wishes.”  I think that surprised her.  Strangely, over the following weeks of working together, she could not help but to talk about the very thing she did not want brought up.  She would ask me questions about various things, some very personal and serious.  Not wanting to inappropriately use work time, I responded first by asking if she had a Bible.  She did.  From that point on, when the topic arose and the questions came I would direct her to read certain portions of the Bible for an answer.  The point?  I said nothing but let the Bible do the talking on her own time.  All was well and good till she hit the sections in the Bible that really drive home our sin issue.  The questions slowed and ceased coming.  Her behavior became odd.  I thought nothing of it.  I just prayed for her every week.  One day she approached me and said that I must utterly leave my Christianity at home when I come to work, and to be ready to do or aid in whatever it was the residents of the group home may want to do.  (It was more about what she wanted, as some time after I found out that, about this same time, she was dropping ideas into the minds of the residents about “anti-Christian” things they could do.  One of the residents, who had decided to become a Christian, told her that people who do those things go to the place of fire.  Doubtless that upset her.)  My response was, “I cannot fulfill your request.  This is who I am, and I live accordingly.”  Her countenance and body language revealed anger.  The next thing I know, a month or so down the road, I was being brought before the board of directors for the group home.  Before me was placed a letter from the interim manager that I was indoctrinating and brainwashing the residents that their parents were evil and going to hell and that the same was true toward her.  There were other charges as well.  Response letters from the parents were also presented.  (As much as I believe in the doctrine of hell I have never beat anyone over the head with it, ever.  Nor was I guilty of the other charges.)  Shockingly, most believed her.  I was on the verge of not only loosing my job, but possibly facing legal charges, and the loss of my reputation.  In the midst of it I was beside myself.  I never saw it coming.  It was out of my control.  But God delivered me from it all.  The interim manager, due to the problems in her personal life, had a bit of a break down and was unable to continue work.  Right after that, she went off the deep end trying to sue the group home for her troubles.  Yet, it was all dismissed.  Mostly everyone saw her true colors and the group home, and myself, were vindicated.  However, this was not without someone like me getting a good look at what people can senselessly do to committed followers of Jesus.  It would have been much easier for this woman to turn to Christ rather than oppose him.

Many know what persecution is like.  I have not come close to shedding my blood but I have come close to loosing my reputation.  This may be one of the big reasons so many Christians are unwilling to live genuinely for Christ and to talk about him with others as the chances arise.  They may not face anything as serious, but simply find mockery by others, looking bad in the eyes of others, as too much to bear.

If you want to be the real thing, you may well expect trouble from those outside Christ who want nothing to do with Christ.  This is precisely what the apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:12 - Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted ... .  One commentator on this verse has said:  ‘The actual “persecution” may be less when there has been more Christian influence on the laws and cultural values of a society, but the unbelieving world will always remain deeply hostile to the gospel.’

What might the reasons for persecution be?  Let me throw out a few of my own thoughts:

(1) People filled with the Spirit of Jesus stir people’s demons, which in turn, fabricate lies in an effort to overcome that Spirit-filled person

(2) Jesus unsettles the wicked in such a way that they react in irrational, harmful ways to those who believe

(3) The types of people and dark forces that nailed Jesus to the cross would like to do similar things to those who love and follow Jesus

This is what you can expect when doing good in Jesus’ name.

Fortunately, you can also expect to get the attention of those who see true love in action in you, those who realize they really don’t know true love.  They will be drawn to what you have when they see you suffer with hope the injustices done to you.

As I said in part 1, we can expect to know the love of God in Christ, and we can also expect a disconnect with a world that does not love God, even with those who had been closest to us (1 John 3:1).  The good news is that Jesus is more than worth the trouble and grief, and that he will use us to bring seekers to himself.

There is a second set of troubles I believe we can expect when we turn and follow Jesus.  They are implied in Colossians 2:1-10.

It is common to hear certain atheists say that the Christian worldview is altogether silly because it is based on the superstition of a man who came from the sky, did magical things, got killed, came back to life, floated back into the sky, etc.  In fact, many in our NA culture feel this way, to one degree or another, about Christianity.  It is certainly no way to build a successful society of people.  It produces at best silly people and at worst dangerous ones.  Hence, they seek to draw people away from Christ, or from considering him (Colossians 2:4, 8).

This is not Christianity.  Rather, Christianity is a rationally defensible view that there is a supreme, intelligent, powerful, and good maker, against whom we have rebelled, as is obvious from the painfully longstanding moral mess the world is normally in, yet who entered the world, as clearly observed in the life of Jesus, to reconcile the world to himself, and guaranteeing the full and exceeding restoration of life as we know it.  It is the only successful way to build a people; not to mention, it is also fundamentally consistent with what we already know to be true:  a world in bad shape presupposes a world once in good shape, and that a return to a world in good shape again is in step with where we’ve been and where we’re at.  

The above contrast - between what people erroneously think of Christianity and what Christianity actually is - is what Colossians 2:8-10 assumes.  Millenniums of human tradition and worldly principles have not come close to fixing our messed up world, because such a mind-set unwittingly embraces that which messes the world up to begin with (rejection of God).  Christ, not the world and its traditions and principles, is the one who can, and will, fix the world.  He has demonstrated this by his resurrection from the dead and his astonishing ability to change human hearts.

However, this is precisely the thing that is not thought well of by many, the very same who are committed to making Christians, those who live according to Christ, appear as morons.

I have had the privilege of being made to feel as a moron, as a fool, for thinking and living according to Christ.  If you love Jesus and want to follow him, you can expect to run into this as well.

Yet, you can also expect that some will humbly realize that the world and its systems are failing and that you are somehow enlightened because of Christ (Colossians 2:3).  You will seem like you have something real and solid to those who have “OD” on the deceitful philosophies of the world.  Because of you and you’re willingness to persevere and see Jesus as worth the trouble will be able to lead those desperate seekers to the same spiritual treasures you have.

Expect to be thought of as silly for Jesus’ namesake ... and keep on loving those who think that way.

The first thing you or I, or anyone, can expect when making the move to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord is that the love God will be poured out in our hearts and lives.  We can expect the great and incomparable gain of knowing God and being known by him.  This is summed up in 1 John 3:1, when the apostle John calls believers to stand in awe of the great love that God has lavished upon us, that we should called his children!

There are other things, however, that if we do not learn to expect them early on can come as quite a surprise to us.  My own experience bears this out.  These surprises shocked me to varying degrees, leaving me wishing someone had given me some sort of warning in advance.  Let me say, though, that I have found Jesus more than worth the surprising troubles!

Over the next few weeks I will share what I believe are four additional experiences you may want to expect as a follower of Jesus, or as one who has been looking in to following Jesus.

The first “other” experience that I would like to share is one of the first I can recall from when I was a new Christian.  1 John 3:1-3 captures it well.

The latter part of verse 1 makes the statement that when we begin following Jesus as Lord and Savior “the world” will no longer “know” us.  What does that mean?

Well, “the world” in the Bible often refers to all people, that is, all the people who live without God.  That’s the way most of the world wants to be.  Then there is being “known,” which, in the Bible can carry the idea of “intimacy,” that of being personally known, of belonging to someone like a spouse, or of close relationships.  

Many of us have had the difficult occasion and experience of thinking that we knew a person well only to find that something significant happened to that person, that seemed to us like it changed everything, leaving us to think or say, “I thought I knew you?” or “I no longer know you.”  My 20 year grad reunion was something like that.  All the people I knew in high school and hung out with were so different that I could not reconnect with them.  It didn’t help that I had missed the 5 and 10 and 15 year reunions.  Everything I knew of them had been on hold for 20 years.  Yet, all of them had moved on, and trying to relate with people I had gone through high school with now 20 years later was a totally different story.  I know longer knew them, and they no longer knew me.  What undoubtedly complicated matters for them was the news someone had sent out some years prior that I had become a follower of Jesus, and a pastor to boot.  Even though I went, making the prayerful effort, there was no desire on their part to reconnect in any way.  Those in Christ become a totally different story to those who know, or rather, knew them.

This was also the experience with a number of my family members, uncles and aunts and cousins I had grown up with from childhood and through my teen years.  A spiritual separation automatically appeared that I did not understand at first.  They were not impressed with my new direction with Jesus, and made that clear to me though I had done nothing to proselytize or preach at them.  They heard the news and somehow I was just irreconcilably different from them.  They no longer knew me.

Jesus tells us that turning to him can mean a noticeable disconnection from those closest to you - like your spouse, your kids, your parents, your extended family, your friends, etc.  This may not always happen in all cases to an extreme measure, as it may be more subtle for some, but one can expect it to happen to some degree and more with some people in one’s life than with others.

This disconnect happens because the believer has undergone a fundamental reorientation to God (John 3:3, 5, 7), which spiritual orientation is at odds with the world’s spiritual orientation under Satan (1 John 5:19-20).

The basic idea is that those who turn to Christ Jesus will no longer be known (nor heard) as one of the “gang.”  Values and priorities, and the like, are just too different.

To my surprise, some 17 years ago, that’s what I found you can expect when you desire to follow Jesus.

Fortunately, there is one more thing I can say on this first point of expectation.  There will be those you will influence without knowing it, those you will brush shoulders and connect with who are open and seeking because of how life really is without Christ, and they are tired of running blindly with the herd.  You will connect with them because they recognize and acknowledge the real change made in you for the good by following Jesus.  

What, therefore, do we do in a world that does not want to know those who are joined to God through Jesus Christ?  Keeping on going to them, keep on being among them, loving them, being a light to them, and sharing the gospel with them as God gives you opportunity to share.  For this is what Jesus has done for us ...

Introduction

Many of us are familiar with the historical figure, Moses, from the early record in the Bible.  Normally he is associated with leading the Israelite people out of slavery in Egypt and the issuing of the ten commandments.  His story can be found in the Old Testament book titled, Exodus.  The reason for bringing up Moses at the outset is to spring from a very interesting bit of interaction he had with “God” into the topic of discussion.  It begins at a certain point in time when “God” calls Moses to go to Egypt and lead his people, Israel, out of slavery to be a nation of their own (under God).  It was doubtless a daunting task, and Moses had some “hang ups” with it.  The one I want to refer to was Moses’ concern over how he would ever get the people to believe that God had sent him to them for that purpose.  Among other things, “God” replied:  ‘Say to them, “I AM who I AM,” (or, “I AM that I AM”), “I AM has sent you.”  ‘The one who simply is, has seen all your troubles and sufferings, and has heard your cries, and he will deliver you.’  Note:  God just is, justice embodied, he is the eternal, self-existing, unchanging one who created and sustains all things.

Now many people believe in the existence of God.  Moreover, different people believe in different kinds of gods.  But can we really know that there really is a “God” of “gods” or “whatever” to believe in?

Well, in my estimation, if God just happens to exist, then we should be able, even from our finite position, to see enough to know that God really does exist.  So let me give seven good reasons to believe in, not just any kind of God or gods but, the Christian God.  There are other reasons but these will do for now.  (Note:  My purpose is to make some statements.  I will not elaborate on each reason for God’s existence, as that has already been done by brilliant minds.  Rather, I will only give the conclusions they arrived at by way of sound reason and logic.)

Cosmological Argument - There Has to be a Day One

One of the main ideas is that there has to be a “day one” for the universe.  Just think about it:  If the past went on forever and ever and ever, then time (and cause and effect) would never be able to progress through an infinite number of yesterdays, and thus, would never arrive at today.  This particular moment that you are reading this blog would never have come.  That would be weird.  But here we are, today.  Therefore, there had to have been a day one for all things; and, there has to be the right someone who is the the first uncaused cause, who decided to get everything going on day one.  That is, God.

Genesis 1:1 - In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

(Use the following link for a more detailed explanation of the cosmological argument, and note the forward (>) and reverse (<) buttons in the bottom right corner of the online video player:  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/apologeticsbible/Argument/Curriculum.htm)

Teleological Argument - Everything We See is Made with Purpose

Everything you look at is made.  Everywhere you look that is what you see.  It’s true.  Just look at you ... brain, spine, arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth, and soul, and much more, so that you can be you and do all sorts of things.  You were made with purpose and meaning.  Then there is the universe ... from the smallest parts of the world to the biggest parts the universe, and everything in between, amazing purposeful design is revealed.  When you consider the science of it, it shouts, “design!”  It would be totally weird to think that it all came about by accident.  We know better.  Therefore, there is a grand designer.  God.

Psalm 19:1 - The heavens declare the glory of God

(Link:  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/apologeticsbible/Design/Curriculum.htm)

Ontological Argument - God Exists and is Maximally Great

It is important to understand that, if it is even possible that a being like God exists - and we already have good reasons to believe that he does - then it’s most likely that he does exist.  Most skeptical philosophers recognize this point.  Not only that, God would be, by definition, maximally great in every good way, beyond whom there is no greater and better.  He has to be since he made everything, including you and me, and there is nothing and no one beyond him.  On the one hand, it is mind boggling, yet on the other, it is a very intuitive and logical conclusion when we honestly think about God.  Therefore God is, and he is maximally great in every good way.

Psalm 135:5 - For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.

(Link:  forthcoming)

Moral Argument - God is Perfectly Good and the One Who Shows Us How to be Good

God, being the the greatest, means he is also morally perfectly, beyond whom there is no one better.  He alone is good in himself (as some one has to be and it’s not us), and having made all things, he is the sole owner with the right to define what is good for all people.  That’s why we have this strong sense of right and wrong in us.  God made us this way.  We know what is right.  We show this when we charge others when they wrong to us.  It also shows in how we all painfully fail at what is right, namely, in our wronging to others with diligent attempts to excuse ourselves from the wrong doing.  Moreover, when we look around at the world it’s apparent that we all ignore God to one degree or another so as to do our own thing.  Sadly, this is why there is so much evil in the world.  Notwithstanding, what is right and good is grounded in, and comes from, God - beyond whom there is no one better (and though we have spiritual access to that we don’t seem to make much use of it).

Psalm 135:3 - Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing to his name, for it is pleasant!

(Link:  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/apologeticsbible/Moral/Curriculum.htm)

The LORD is One - There is Only One God and it is the Christian God

So far so good.  But couldn’t anyone’s view of the divine work with what we’ve already discussed?  No.  As we learned, that if God exists he is by definition the greatest, and when we think about it, we realize there can only be one who is the greatest.  If two Gods existed who were the greatest then they would cancel each other out for neither would be greater than the other.  And, if there was one who was greater than the one we called God, when we discovered the one greater, then we would have to believe in the one who is greater for that one would be the true God.  So it is absurd and totally unnecessary to multiply gods when the buck can stop at one maximally great God.  Even more, when we look at the basic beliefs about the divine in other religions we discover that only the Christian God is really the true God.

Deuteronomy 6:4 - “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

(Link:  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/apologeticsbible/OneTrueGod/Curriculum.htm)

Jesus - God has Come to us in Human Form

Next, and most importantly, if we want to really see God we must look at Jesus.  It doesn’t take long to see that Jesus is somehow, though beyond our understanding, God in human form.  He says and does what only God can do:  he miraculously heals and pronounces forgiveness of sin.  And, in vindication of his radical claims to deity, he was raised from the dead!  Therefore, we can see God - in the greatest way - in Jesus.

John 14:9, Romans 1:4 - Jesus said ... “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” ... was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord

(Link - these focus on the Jesus’ resurrection and the logic of him being the only way to God:  http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/apologeticsbible/OnlyWay/Curriculum.htm and http://www.bhpublishinggroup.com/apologeticsbible/Risen/Curriculum.htm)

Knowing God - The Best Way to See that God Just Is

After all is said and done, the best way to come to terms with the reality of God is to personally know him.  Before that can happen, though, there is a distinction to be grasped:  knowing about God - knowing God personally.  The reasons so far have pointed to many ways that we can readily see that God exists.  Hence, it is not hard to know about God.  Yet, this is like reading about someone, seeing a photo, and hearing from others about that person.  We readily come to know about that person.  But then there is meeting that person for ourselves, and we come to personally know him or her, which is superior to merely knowing about that person.  So it is with God.  We need to meet him for ourselves.  At the end of the day it’s the only way.  Since he’s given ample ways to know about him we should have no problem taking the step of reaching for him that we might come to know God.  This is what Jesus is all about.  When one truly reaches for God that person meets Jesus.  That’s just what Jesus does, and thankfully there is no confusion, as Jesus is the only way.  He is the Son of God, God of very God, who can make God personally known to us.  Through his death and resurrection, he is also the one who takes away all the wrong things we do, in violation of the good that God has made know to us.  Thus, when we receive Jesus we receive God into our lives.

John 1:12, 17:3 - But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ... and ... this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

Conclusion

There you have it!  Seven good ways we can know that God simply is (Exodus 3:14).

1. It is God who began all things.
2. It is God who designed all things.
3. It is God who is the greatest of all.
4. It is God who is our perfect moral authority.
5. God is one, there is no confusion, for only one can be maximally great, and it is the Christian God.
6. God’s best self-revelation is Jesus, Jesus is God in action in human form, healing and forgiving, and raised from the dead in vindication of his deity.
7. Finally, we are intended to go beyond knowing about God to personally knowing him in his Son, Jesus.  This is what it’s all about.

So ... the ball is in your park, and the question stands:  Since God has gone to such amazing lengths to make himself known to you, and to graciously and loving invite you to know him, what are you waiting for?  Receive Jesus and you will find God in a way not otherwise possible!

[ Older Posts ]