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They were gracious enough to allow us to post this on "The Christian BBS" so let us honour the conditions set forth. ======================================================================== THE CULT OF UNBELIEF A Christian Response to Atheism by Edgar L. Havaich Many Christians who are eager to witness to members of traditionally recognized cults shudder at the thought of witnessing to atheists. Yet atheists are much like people who belong to cults in that they take positions on many theological and doctrinal subjects such as God, Christ and the Bible. Once it can be shown that atheists, like cultists, argue from certain presuppositions, the idea of witnessing to them can be made less intimidating. Many people conclude that anyone who does not believe in God is an atheist. Yet some such people who do not call themselves atheists. Some call themselves freethinkers, people who base their opinions about religion on reason. Some call themselves rationalists and argue that human reason is a sufficient tool to find truth. Humanists find "insufficient evidence for belief in the existence of a supernatural, it is meaningless or irrelevant to the question of the survival and fulfillment of the human race." (Humanist Manifesto I and II, pg. 16) Whatever title these people choose for themselves, it is safe to call them non-theists. WHAT ATHEISTS SAY ABOUT GOD Some atheists consider the existence of God intellectually impossible but they deal with the subject passively. They prefer to not believe in God. To them theism is like chicken soup: It won't do any good, but it can't hurt. More dogmatic atheists say God does not exist and that belief in God is harmful. They want to bring atheism into the forefront and take issue with any public display of allegiance to God. Not all atheists reject God for the same reason. Some were reared in homes devoid of spiritual or religious training. They have no view or a distorted view of God. Some had a traumatic experience and believe that no God could exist who would have allowed to happen what has happened to them. Some reject belief in God because they do not want to believe in a day of reckoning for their sins. They choose their lifestyle over one of feeling responsibility to anyone else. Some reject belief in God on grounds of insufficient evidence. Among the Christian's biggest fears about witnessing to an atheist is: "What if he asks me a question I can't answer?" Questions such as "Can your God make a rock so big that He can't lift it?" are usually asked to trap the Christian and undermine belief in theism. Of course, Christians must be prepared to answer these questions. Not all atheists ask questions for the same reason. Some are looking for answers, while others are convinced that atheism is their only option. Perhaps the best way to handle questioning atheists is to turn the tables on them and ask them a question. Say, "Why are you an atheist?" One atheist comes to this writer's mind. After declaring herself an atheist, she braced for a tongue-lashing. Instead, she got a simple question: "Tell me about the God you don't believe in." At that point she recounted atrocities from the Crusades of the Middle Ages to Jonestown. Then she spoke of personal experiences. This woman considered herself someone who had risen above childhood superstitions to become a free-thinking rationalist. Actually she answered the question not like someone who didn't believe in God but like someone who was angry at God. ATHEISM DEMANDS FAITH Atheists can be dogmatic and their positions on God's non-existence can require a great deal of faith. One man this writer talked to dared me to prove God's existence. The discussion went along these lines: ATHEIST: There is no way you can prove the existence of a god. It's a myth, a big fairy tale. ME: It seems to me that there are at least two possibilities, either someone made all this or this whole cosmos is the product of chance. Look around you, we see design, order and adaptations. ATHEIST: That doesn't prove that a god exists. And even if it did, it tells us nothing about this so-called god. ME: You are right that it doesn't prove the existence of God but it does give us grounds for belief. I see design, which gives me the basis for a designer. I see order, which gives me the basis for an organizer. The competing view is that of chance. ATHEIST: It [chance] is more reasonable than attributing all this to some god that you can't see. ME: I heard it said once that the probability of the cosmos coming into existence by chance was analogous to a dictionary resulting from an explosion in a print shop. All the elements for a dictionary are present. All you need is the force to put it all together, and an explosion could certainly provide that. However, a dictionary shows that some intelligence was behind it. ATHEIST: Not so fast, I think given enough print shops, enough explosions. You would eventually get a dictionary. ME: I don't have enough faith to believe that. The atheist was not convinced but he was shown how ridiculous a conclusion is reached when the idea that the universe occurred by chance is taken to its logical extreme. It also is a starting point to offer other evidence. There is not exhaustive evidence for the existence of God but there is sufficient evidence. Just because God cannot be empirically verified does not mean He cannot exist. Sensory perception is not the only way to find truth. Beyond seeking evidence for God is the question of what the existence of God means to human existence. Without a creator, man is alone. If life is a cosmic accident and there really is no God, then the human quest for life's meaning, and the concepts of morality, and ethics become difficult to explain and justify. Consider the following comment by Steve D. Schwarz: "Is existence ultimately meaningful, or is it ultimately absurd? If God is, He represents the ultimate meaning of existence, the sufficient reason why it came into existence and the final end toward which it moves as its destiny. If God is not, existence is an accident, a momentary flicker of light between an infinite darkness and void before, and after." (The Intellectuals Speak Out About God, pg. 110) Kenneth Boa and Larry Moody, in I'm Glad You Asked, write: "The human heart cries out for meaning, value, and purpose, but these are precisely the things that are denied in an atheistic cosmos. The universe is expanding, and left to itself, the galaxies will grow farther apart and the stars will eventually burn out. All will be cold, dark, and lifeless. On the scale of cosmic time, the human race (let alone the life of a man) flashes into existence for the briefest moment before passing into oblivion. From an ultimate standpoint, all that we do is meaningless -- no one will be left to remember in the endless cosmic night." ATHEISTS AND BIBLE DIFFICULTIES Many atheist and free-thought groups publish lists of things about the Bible they say are absurd and contradictory. As Christians we need not fear honest examination of Scripture. Many groups publish these lists because they think Christians are unaware of them. The following are a few guide lines that were written by the R.A. Torrey nearly a century ago in the handling Bible difficulties: "Before taking up those specific difficulties and 'contradictions' in the Bible which have caused the most trouble to seekers after truth, let us first consider how difficulties in general should be dealt with. 1. DEAL WITH THEM HONESTLY. Whenever you find a difficulty in the Bible, frankly acknowledge it. Don't try to obscure it; don't try to dodge it. Look it square in the face. Admit it frankly to whomever mentions it. If you cannot give a good, square, honest explanation, do not attempt any at all. Untold harm has been done by those who in their zeal for infallibility of the Bible have attempted explanations of difficulties which do not commend themselves to honest, fair-minded, man. People have concluded that if these are the best explanations, then there are no explanations at all. And the Bible, instead of being helped, has been injured by the unintelligent zeal of foolish friends. If you are really convinced that the Bible is the Word of God, you can far better afford to wait for an honest solution of a difficulty than you can afford to attempt a solution that is evasive and unsatisfactory. 2. LET US DEAL WITH THEM HUMBLY. Recognize the limitations of your own mind and knowledge, and do not for a moment imagine that there is no solution just because you have found none. There is, in all probability, a very simple solution, even when you can find no solution at all. 3. DEAL WITH THE DIFFICULTIES DETERMINEDLY. Make up your mind that you will find the solution if you can by any amount of study and hard thinking. The difficulties of the Bible are our Heavenly Father's challenge to us to set our brains to work. Do not give up searching for a solution because you cannot find one in five minutes or ten minutes. Ponder over it and work over it for days, if necessary. The work will do you more good than the solution does. There is a solution somewhere, and you will find it if you will only search for it long enough and hard enough. 4. DEAL WITH THE DIFFICULTIES FEARLESSLY. Do not be frightened when you find a difficulty, no matter how unanswerable, or how insurmountable, it appears at first sight. Thousands of men have found just such difficulties before you were born. They were seen hundreds of years ago, and still the old Book stands. The Bible that has stood eighteen centuries of rigid examination, and also of incessant and awful assault, is not likely to go down before your discoveries or before the discharges of any modern critical guns. To one who is at all familiar with the history of critical attacks on the Bible, the confidence of those modern destructive critics who think they are going to annihilate the Bible at last, is simply amusing. 5. DEAL WITH THE DIFFICULTY PATIENTLY. Do not be discouraged because you do not solve every problem in a day. If some difficulty persistently defies your very best efforts at a solution, lay it aside for a while. Very likely when you come back to it, it will have disappeared and you will wonder how you were ever perplexed by it. 6. DEAL WITH THE DIFFICULTIES SCRIPTURALLY. If you find a difficulty in one part of the Bible, look for other Scripture to throw light upon it and dissolve it. Nothing explains Scripture like Scripture. Time and again people have come to me with some difficulty in the Bible that had greatly staggered them and asked for a solution, and I have been able to give a solution by simply asking them to read some other chapter and verses, and the simple reading of that verse has thrown such a light upon the passage in question that all the mists have disappeared and the truth has shone out as clear as day. 7. DEAL WITH THE DIFFICULTIES PRAYERFULLY. It is simply wonderful how difficulties dissolve when one looks at them on his knees. Not only does God open our eyes in answer to prayer to behold wonderful things out of His law, but He also opens our eyes to look straight through a difficulty that before we prayed seemed impenetrable. One great reason why many modern Bible scholars have learned to be destructive critics is because they have forgotten how to pray." (Difficulties in the Bible, pp. 26-28) With these thoughts in mind we can face any problem passages we find. When someone introduces us to a certain passage that they claim is contradictory he is arguing for an interpretation the same as any cultist would. We can respond by showing that the passage, even though difficult, can have a variety of ways of harmonizing it. Atheists this writer has know will say that that is rationalizing no matter how clearly they are shown their understanding of the passage is faulty. As Christians who love the Bible we can welcome all the problem passages they can muster. For in the end, the Bible will be vindicated when all the facts are in. The Bible has stood the test of scrutiny by the very best skeptics, the assault on Holy Writ has been ceaseless. Yet the Bible is still loved, read and promoted. If we truly believe that the Bible is the inerrant word of God we have nothing to fear from questions and examinations. JESUS CHRIST AND THE ATHEIST Atheists, like cultists, must explain who Jesus Christ is. To some He is a myth. For others He was a good man whose claims were exaggerated. Others say He was a good man who was deified by gullible followers. Others say Jesus was mistaken about who He was. If the Christian quotes extrabiblical writers, historians, and references to Christ outside the biblical account, his sources are attacked as unreliable. The story of Jesus, we are told, was built from legends about other religious leaders. Sometimes it is implied and sometimes it is outright stated that the biblical record is biased and to quote it is to commit the fallacy of circular reasoning. Yet in spite of atheists' opposition to the Bible, this is exactly where a study of Christ's identity must begin. It is the primary source of information concerning the life and times of Jesus Christ. From Scripture we can get a clear picture of what Jesus and His followers taught and said about Him. Paul warns in II Corinthians 11:4: "For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." The cultist and the atheist both must come to grips with the person and work of Jesus Christ. Both the cultist and the atheist have a distorted and unscriptural view of Christ. Both deny His deity. For example, Jehovah's Witnesses say Jesus is Michael the archangel. Rev. Sun Myung Moon says Jesus failed because he didn't get married and father children. Modern liberals believe Jesus to be a great teacher, a moralist, the flower of humanity who was deified by gullible followers. Mormons say Jesus was one of many gods. Hindus teach Jesus was a guru. Spiritists say Jesus was a medium. Witches say He was a witch. Christian Scientists say Jesus was a man who demonstrated the Christ principle. Moslems say Jesus was a prophet, but not even equal to Mohammed. The atheist calls him everything from a myth to a man with delusions of grandeur. JESUS ASKS THE QUESTION, "WHO DO MEN SAY I AM?" Matthew 16:13-18 "Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He began asking His disciples, saying, 'Who do people say that the Son of Man is?' And they said, 'Some say John the Baptist; some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.' He said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Simon Peter answered and said, 'Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered and said to him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not overpower it.'" The identity of Jesus Christ is of paramount importance. Notice that Jesus doesn't ask them what they think of what He said. The person, nature, and work of Christ is crucial in three specific areas. Worship, Evangelism, Salvation. WHO IS JESUS? One can divide all there is into two categories: Creator and creation. If Jesus isn't the Creator He is a creation. The creation must worship and serve the Creator. A creation cannot worship another creation. According to the Bible, such a practice is idolatry. JESUS IS GOD The Bible clearly identifies Jesus as God in Human flesh. Cultist and atheist deny that. Yet the record is clear Jesus Christ is God. The following Scripture references are some good examples: John 1:1 -- In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 5:18 -- Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God. John 10:30-33 -- I and [my] Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered Him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. John 20:28 -- And Thomas answered and said unto Him, My Lord and my God. Hebrews 1:8 -- But unto the Son [he saith], Thy throne, O God, [is] for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness [is] the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Revelation 1:8 -- I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 22:12,13,20 -- And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward [is] with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. CLAIMS OF DEITY ARE RARE Some atheists say Christ's claims are not extraordinary. "Many people have claimed to be God," they say. "We reject their claims. Why then should we take Jesus seriously?" A.J. Hoover makes this observation: "If Christ had never made a claim about His person, many people would still be asking, 'For goodness sake, whom do you represent -- God or the devil?' As a matter of fact, however, Christ did make claims about His person, very explicit claims. His claims make Him unique among religious leaders of the world. There is a false theory going around that many people in history have made such claims to deity. This is simply not true. Apart from Jesus Christ, such claims are rare, so rare that they usually suffice to prove the person demented. Moses didn't claim to be Yahweh; Socrates didn't claim to be Zeus; Zoroaster didn't claim to be Ahura Mazda; Mohammed didn't claim to be Allah; Buddha didn't claim to be Brahma. Only Christ claimed to be one with the God who sent Him (John 10:30). Familiarity has dulled our ears to the wonder of His claims." (The Case for Christian Theism, An Introduction to Apologetics, by A.J. Hoover, pg. 169) NO MAN SPOKE LIKE THIS MAN Jesus said things that could only be interpreted as claims of deity. Keeping in mind that the only two categories under consideration are Creator and creation. Jesus spoke and laid claim to things that only belonged to God. If Jesus was only a creation, or good man as some allege then He could have never said the things that He did, because a creation is not the object of honor, praise, or worship. The following are just a few examples: John 7:46, John 5:23, John 8:19, John 14:9, John 14:24, John 16:15, Luke 19:40, Matthew 18:20, John 6:48, John 8:12, John 10:7, John 10:11, John 11:25, John 14:6 John 15:1. THE IDENTITY OF JESUS HAS AN IMPACT ON THE FOLLOWING AREAS 1. SALVATION. Jesus uses an Old Testament name for God (I AM, Exodus 3:14) and applies it to Himself. He then adds that unless we believe that He is the I AM we will die in our sins. We must also believe in our hearts that God raised Jesus from the dead Romans 10:9-10. Other examples are: John 8:24, Exodus 3:14, John 8:58-59, Romans 10:9- 10. 2. EVANGELISM. Jesus said many false prophets would come in His name and deceive many. Paul warned that there would be another Jesus, another gospel, and another spirit. We need to know who Jesus is so we can spot the false christs that Jesus said will rise up and deceive. We are to invite the lost to come to Jesus. If their knowledge of Jesus is incorrect, they will not put their trust in Him as He said they should. Other examples: II Corinthians 11:4, Matthew 7:15, Hebrews 7:25, John 3:16, John 3:18, John 3:36, John 5:24, John 6:29, John 6:40, John 6:47, John 6:54, I John 5:10-13, John 20:31. 3. WORSHIP. Scripture clearly teaches that only God is to be worshiped. We are never to worship another creation, or creature. If Jesus is only another creation then we have no business worshiping Him. However on the other hand if He is the creator, and one with the Father as He said He was, then not worshiping Him would dishonor the Father. (John 5:23) The following scriptures which say that only God is to be worshiped, yet we find time after time in the New Testament all kinds of people worshiping Jesus. Now, if Jesus was not God, and someone started to worship Him, He has an obligation to stop them. Peter did, (Acts 10:25-26) but Jesus never once told people not to worship Him. This would indicate that He approved of it, which lends support to the claim that He is God. Examples: Exodus 34:14, Nehemiah 9:6, Isaiah 42:8, Matthew 2:11, Matthew 8:2, Matthew 14:33, Matthew 15:22-25, Matthew 20:20, Matthew 28:9, Matthew 28:17, Mark 5:6, John 9:38, Revelation 19:10, Revelation 22:8-9. JESUS IS THE SAVIOR OF THE WORLD The very reason that Jesus came into the world was to save us from sin, separation from God. All those who will put their trust in Him will have everlasting life. He is the Savior of the world. No man has ever spoken like this. Examples: Matthew 1:21, John 1:29, Romans 5:8, I John 2:2, I John 4:14. Both the atheist and the cultist operate from an unbiblical understanding of who Jesus is. We need to be just as prepared to talk to atheists as we are to any other cultist who denies person, work and nature of Christ. Editor's Note: For additional, in-depth, information concerning the subject of atheism and Christian apologetics, PFO recommends the following publications: The New Atheism and the Erosion of Freedom by Robert A. Morey ($6.95) I'm Glad You Asked by Kenneth Boa and Larry Moody ($9.95) Prepare to Answer -- A Defense of the Christian Faith by Rubel Shelly ($9.95) When Skeptics Ask -- A Handbook on Christian Evidences by Norman Geisler and Ron Brooks ($19.95) These books are available from PFO - Saint Louis. Please add $1.00 postage to each order. (c) 1991 - PFO. All rights reserved by Personal Freedom Outreach. Reproduction is prohibited, including BBS, except for portions intended for personal use and non-commercial purposes. For reproduction permission contact: Personal Freedom Outreach, P.O. Box 26062, Saint Louis, Missouri 63136. =====[ End of File ]=====