BiblicalTheological Seminary

ST777 Seminar:Attacks on Christianity

Dr. RobertC. Newman

 

                                             IFGOD EXISTS, WHY ARE THERE

                                                        SOMANY ATHEISTS?*

 

*a slightly edited form of a presentation given at Cornell University 29Sept 1979

 

Introduction

 

A fair question, deserving a fair answer

Speaker believes biblical Christianity to be true

Thus, we are not going to answer this for god of Islamor of liberal versions of Christianity, but for God as presented in Bible.

 

The Argument Appraised

 

The Structure of the Argument:

            Easily testedby considering an alternative Q:

                        "IfGod doesn't exist, why so many theists?"

                        [thiscan be used as quick comeback for heckler, etc.]

            Thisalternative usually answered by claim that theists are eng­aged in wishfulthinking; atheists, on other hand, are not afraid to look at facts, acceptreality in all its harshness.

 

Not so simple if God we are considering is God of Bible

            More likelyatheists are wishful thinkers:

                        Easyto see how they would not wish to have a God who:

                                    --willjudge actions and thoughts

                                    --restrictstheir behavior, condemns their sins

                        Notso easy to see why theists would invent God who:

                                    --needsnothing from them, so cannot earn his favor

                                    --seeseven most righteous person as wicked, deserving punishment

                                    --holdsthose who know him better as obligated to a higher degree and judged bystricter standard

                                    --willforgive the most dissolute person who truly repents, but condemn the mostrighteous who is depending on his own righteousness

            [seeR.C. Sproul, Psychology of Atheism; C.S. Lewis, Pilgrim's Regress]

 

In fact, in the US there are not so many atheists:

            accto Gallup poll taken in 1982:

                        44%are creationists

                        38%are theistic evolutionists

                        9%are uncertain

                       9%believe evolution was not guided by God

            [source:cited in Wm Provine, The Scientist (5 Sept 88)]

 

Let us return to main argument, however, asking if Biblewould give any reason to believe atheists, few or many, might exist:

 

Reasons for Atheism according to the Bible

 

1. The"Silence" of God

 

            Meaning:  God is relatively hidden, as he doesnot con­tinually intervene in the universe in an obvious way.

 

            Result:  God allows his existence & presenceto be ignored or his nature to be misinterpreted (see, e.g., Ps 50, esp verse21).

 

Ps 50:21 (NIV) These things you have done and I keptsilent; you thought I was altogether {[21] Or thought the `I AM' was}like you.But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

 

                        Thus"there is a way that seems right, but end is death" (Prov 14:12;16:25), so that a person may be relatively sincere but drastically wrong (asimilar thing is true in other everyday matters, e.g., accidentally taking poison)

 

            Whywould God let this happen?

 

            Reasons:

                        --todemonstrate true character of sin (Rom 1:21-32)

 

Romans 1:21-32 (NIV) For although they knew God, theyneither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking becamefutile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to bewise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God forimages made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexualimpurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchangedthe truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather thanthe Creator--who is forever praised. Amen. 26 Because of this, God gave themover to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations forunnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relationswith women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecentacts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for theirperversion. 28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retainthe knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what oughtnot to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil,greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice.They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful;they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they aresenseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God'srighteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not onlycontinue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

 

                        --togive room for genuine moral behavior (Eccl 8:11; Deut 13:1-3)

 

Eccl 8:11 (NIV) When the sentence for a crime is notquickly carried out, the hearts of the people are filled with schemes to dowrong.

 

Deut 13:1-3 (NIV) If a prophet, or one who foretells bydreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, 2and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says,"Let us follow other gods" (gods you have not known) "and let usworship them," 3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet ordreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him withall your heart and with all your soul.

 

                        --tolead men to repentance (Rom 2:4)

 

Romans 2:4 (NIV) Or do you show contempt for the richesof his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindnessleads you toward repentance?

 

            Thus,according to Bible, God has good reasons for not making his existence asobvious as he might.

 

2. The Sinfulness of Mankind

 

            Humansoften suppress the truth to justify unrighteousness (Rom 1:18):

 

Romans 1:18 (NIV) The wrath of God is being revealed fromheaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truthby their wickedness..

 

            Examples:

                        --FredHoyle in Nuclei, Galaxies & Quasars (1965)

                                    shortcut:don't waste time investigating cosmos with special initial conditions

                        --Barrowand Tipler in Anthropic Cosmological Principle (1986)

                                    seekto avoid designer by saying if conditions not just right, we wouldn't exist

                        --AldousHuxley, Ends and Means (1937)

                                    ideaof meaningless universe lets us do what we want

                        --RobertJastrow, God and Astronomers (1978)

                                    givesexamples of Einstein, et al seeking to avoid beginning

 

            Humansare easily deceived by others (2 Tim 3:13)

 

2Tim 3:12-13 (NIV) In fact, everyone who wants to live a godlylife in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil men and impostors willgo from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

 

              Problem of specialization: few knowwhat data looks like outside their field

 

Thus, according to Bible, humans have reasons for makingevidence for God less obvious than it really is.

 

Conclusion:  If the Godof the Bible exists and mankind is as described in Bible, then we should expectmany atheists.

 

Transition:  So far, have not considered questionwhether or not God exists, but only the force of the question, "If Godexists, why are there so many atheists?"  This question actually has no force against biblical Christianity,as such a situation is predicted by it. But, it is important that we not stop here.  Is there any evidence for the existence of the God of theBible?  Yes, have more evidence forexistence of God of Bible than for any other god or for the non-existence ofgod.

 

Evidence for the Existence of the God of the Bible

 

Design in Animate Nature

            Organizationof simplest life and problem of random proces­ses producing such order

            Designin complex organisms and problem of mutation + natural selection producing such

            [gooddiscussion in Michael Denton, Evolution, a Theory in Crisis (1986) and Alan Hayward,Evolution: the Facts & the Fallacies (1985)]

Inanimate Designalso impressive, cannot be explained by natural selection

            [seeP.C.W. Davies, Accidental Universe (1982); Newman, "Designed Universe"]

 

Cosmology

            Universeappears to have had a beginning in finite past

                        [seeRoss, Fingerprint of God (1989)]

            Originof earth: details of best scientific model fit Genesis one

                        [Newman/Eckelmann,Genesis One & the Origin of the Earth (1977, 2007)]

 

Fulfillment of Prophecy

            [seeNewman, Evidence of Prophecy (1988) ; Stoner/Newman, Science Speaks (1976); John Urquhart,Wonders of Prophecy]

 

Conclusions

 

Moral force of evidence

            Notbeyond quibbling

                        remembersilence of God & sinfulness of humans

            Sufficient

                        wewill have no valid excuse at judgment

 

Pascal's Wager

            Infiniteloss if one bets against Christianity and is wrong

            Atleast spend your time in this life investigating religions with no secondchance!

 

The Gospel

            Allare sinners.

            Godmust punish, because he is just and righteous.

            Hehas provided a substitute, because he is merciful.

            Youneed to avail yourself of GodŐs substitute, Jesus the Messiah.