It is important for Christians to understand and note that, when the Bible refers to those who deny the existence of God as ‘fools’ (Psalms 14:1), it is not merely engaging in name calling. This is the proper term for someone who willfully refuses to acknowledge that which has been so plainly and openly revealed. Imagine this:
You have agreed to participate in a live formal debate. After weeks of preparation, the big day arrives and you take your place on stage behind your podium as the auditorium begins to fill with people. You look to your left and see your opponent behind his podium with a confident look upon his face. The moderator gives the introduction and then it’s time to start. Your opponent goes first and begins his opening statement. His position? That air does not exist (an a-airist?).
Now, what would you say in response to such an obviously absurd position? Sure, you could produce graphs, charts, tables, and endless other pieces of evidence to show that air does indeed exist (which your opponent may or may not find compelling and which he may even be able to explain away and rebut via his counter arguments), or you could take a decidedly different approach: You could simply expose the glaring inconsistency of his position by pointing out that, if air did not exist, he could not possibly be doing what he is doing. You could (and should) draw attention to the fact that, without air, he could not possibly be breathing, and, as a consequence, he also could not be talking since there would be no air in his lungs to create the vibrations in his vocal chords and, therefore, no way to produce the sounds used to form his words. Not to mention the fact that, if air does not exist, there wouldn’t even be anything to convey the sound waves from his mouth to the ears of his hearers anyway! In short, his entire ability to breathe and speak (much less to argue) depends completely upon the very thing that he is denying—-air! He is defeating his own position with every breath he takes and with every word he speaks, since any argument he puts forth AGAINST the existence of air actually turns out to be an argument IN FAVOR OF the existence of air!!
Such is the predicament of the professing atheist. The Bible teaches that the existence of God is so obvious, that no one has an excuse for denying him (and are, in fact, behaving foolishly if they do so–Romans 1:18-22). In other words, the evidence is all around us, but there are many who do not wish to accept it, and who will even go to great lengths to deny it. So what do we do? I submit that, just as in the example above, we should gently and lovingly expose the inconsistencies of such positions in hopes that the unbeliever will come to see the folly of what they are doing and repent. For instance, suppose someone puts forth a moral argument against God (e.g. claiming that He is evil, that certain acts in the Bible are immoral, etc.). Now, we could spend a lot of time and energy providing evidence as to why that is not the case (only to likely have our evidence discarded or dismissed due the presuppositional bias of the unbeliever), or we could simply ask them how they arrive at absolute, objective standards of behavior in a universe without God in the first place. After all, if God does not exist, there could be no absolute moral Authority and, therefore, no binding standard of behavior by which anyone (least of all, God) SHOULD conduct themselves. If moral standards are arbitrarily stipulated, then the unbeliever loses any rational foundation for their complaint against God. In fact, the argument itself reveals the internal inconsistency of their position and, as a result, makes this objection AGAINST God’s existence a valid proof FOR His existence!
Now, let’s suppose the argument comes in the form of a ‘logical’ complaint against God (e.g. the Bible is illogical, Christianity is nonsense, etc.). Again, much time and energy could be spent providing ample solid evidence to the contrary, only to likely be told “well that doesn’t prove anything.” Instead of putting God on trial before the unbeliever, the more effective (and Biblical) approach would be to expose the self-defeating nature of such an argument by simply asking how there can exist any objective, universal standard of logic and reasoning in a world without God. Obviously, if there is no Ultimate Authority, then there can be no absolute standard by which we should think and reason. Therefore, no thinking or reasoning could ever be said to be ‘incorrect’ or ‘illogical’—just ‘different‘. This internal inconsistency yet again testifies to the inescapable, self-evident truth of God and that, like the air, one must assume His existence to even begin to argue against it (which makes doing so the very epitome of ‘foolishness’). To paraphrase Acts 17:28, it truly is IN HIM that we LIVE and MOVE and HAVE OUR BEING!
As Keith, the ex-atheist, so accurately pointed out in #10 of his expose’ here:
https://christianammunition.com/2014/06/25/how-to-be-an-atheist/
The ultimate goal of the atheist is not to remain rational or logical in these types of discussions, but to just keep arguing no matter what—due to the emotional nature of their beef with God. Such is the tell-tale sign of someone who simply has an ‘ax to grind’ and, as a result, cannot ultimately maintain any meaningful rational standard or logical integrity with regards to their argumentation. Hence, the folly of the unbeliever is exposed for what it really is–suppression of the Truth. It has been rightly stated that the professing unbeliever cannot find God for the same reason a criminal cannot find a policeman.
I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. ~C.S Lewis
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