Atheism presents itself as intellectually superior, but once we get past the façade we soon find that it is little more than clouds of wind with no rain[i]. What the apostles of atheism lack in substance they more than make up for with bold assertions and great swelling words. It is interesting how much easier it is to deceive people with a lie than to persuade them of the truth. I believe it is because deception draws from human nature where truth challenges both sin and human nature. Truth calls for us to put away what is false including pride, immaturity and our ego. People desire to be puffed up by knowledge and this leads to the desire of searching for secret revelations rather than the plainly stated truth. The truth does not appear as something exciting on the surface for it is plainly laid out whereas deception pretends to offer secret insights into something hidden and feeds the human ego by claiming to accomplish something through enlightenment. The promise of secret knowledge has always appealed to men more than plainly stated truth.
An example of this can be seen through the account of Naaman
the Syrian who came to Elisha to be healed of leprosy[ii].
Elisha sent word to him stating to just go to wash in the
Generally
speaking, I have found that apologetics do little to persuade those who are
opposed to the gospel to turn to the truth. It is not possible to argue someone
into the kingdom; therefore, the purpose of this section is to be a tool for
believers whose faith is constantly challenged by those who are attempting to
overthrow the confidence of the Christian. Christians are frequently being
challenged by questions raised by atheists and critics of the Bible, but in the
last few years the attacks have become almost overwhelming. As the culture has
shifted, the critics of the Bible have become emboldened and it is now stylish
to criticize God and mock the scriptures. It is important for Christians to
know how to deal with objections so they can have confidence in the face of
opposition. Do not look at evidence as cannon fodder to blast at the
opposition, but view evidence in light of 1 Peter 3:
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be
ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason
of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
The answer comes from a heart that has first been sanctified (or dedicated) to God. There are many, many apologists that can defend denominational doctrines and argue against critics, yet they often know little about what it means to walk in fellowship with our God. In this passage the word ‘answer’ is the word ‘apologia’ which is where we get the word apologetics. Be cautious with this topic for it is easy to get loaded with information and get into a debate mode, but I have yet to find anyone who came to Christ through losing a debate. Several years back, apologetics was the most important thing in my life and it was the focus of my studies; however, my focus changed once I realized that I saw no fruit from ‘proving’ my position. What I found is that both sides remain firmly entrenched and all the information in the world does not seem to change the mind of the debater. The scripture tells us that it is the foolishness of the preached gospel that saves those who believe; therefore, we must look to the gospel as the heart of our mission.
When
someone raises a question that they believe challenges the scripture, we must
be ready to give an answer so that someone who is honestly questioning may see
that we have a reason for our hope and we use the information that answers the
objection as an open door to share the gospel. We also must share the truth
with other Christians so that they can be assured that they indeed stand upon
truth. If someone is in rejection of the truth, debating will not force-feed
the gospel. Consider Titus 3:10-11
10 A man that is an heretic after
the first and second admonition reject;
11 Knowing that he that is such is
subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
The word ‘heretic’ means someone who follows false teachings. Simply put, this passage is instructing us not to argue endlessly to try to force someone to acknowledge the truth. If someone remains divisive and refuses to look at the evidence or acknowledge what is being said, discontinue the discussion knowing that that person will never acknowledge the truth. Romans 1 tells us that those who refuse the truth are willfully ignorant. There are those who do not understand because they do not know the truth and there are those who do not understand because they refuse to acknowledge the truth. If an atheist acknowledges that God exists, then they also must acknowledge that He has a right to establish a moral law for man. At its heart, atheism is a battle for who will dictate moral ethics in our individual lives. If God exists, then we are subject to Him and are accountable to Him.
One thing I have discovered over the years is that many Christians fear the evidence because they are afraid that their faith will be disproven. Our faith is a shield, given by God, that defends us, but many try to defend their shield of faith. Rather than faith protecting us, we are trying to protect our faith. Many atheists quote Mark Twain who said, “Faith is believing what you know isn’t true”. This may apply to superstition, but it is not accurate for faith. Unfortunately many do in fact stand upon superstition rather than faith. These are the ones who will never find true victory and are in danger of falling. I have met Christians that clearly have doubts and rather than trying to answer those doubts, they suppress them and pretend that they don’t exist. They are afraid that the answers may lead them away from faith; however, I believe that all answers (if allowed to be fully explored) lead to the truth. There are many ex-evangelical preachers and former so-called Christians that grew tired of pretending and when they finally gave in to their doubts, they sought answers only from atheism. This is unfortunate for when that same evidence is examined fully, we find that atheism is shored up by assumptions and the exclusion of evidence.
Partial information can be very misleading. In a recent
exoneration project,
It is interesting how many people who claim to be Christians respond so negatively when creation is discussed. Since evolution is one of the primary focuses of atheism, this topic will be addressed in this section of study. If you are one of those who think that creation is an embarrassment to Christianity, you will likely be offended by the discussions that follow. Knowing that so many are offended at the doctrine of creation, it is necessary to explain the purpose of addressing this topic up front. Many Christians argue that they believe all but the first chapter of Genesis. Some hold to all but the first three chapters of Genesis. Some have argued various portions of the Bible that they discredit but hold to others. The question we must ask is, “Why is chapter two inspired, or chapter three, or any other starting point?” Once we begin applying selective faith, we lose confidence in all. It is unfortunate that atheism seems to understand the battle for truth better than the church. Consider the following quote:
“Christianity has fought, still fights, and will continue to fight science to the desperate end over evolution, because evolution destroys utterly and finally the very reason Jesus' earthly life was supposedly made necessary. Destroy Adam and Eve and the original sin, and in the rubble you will find the sorry remains of the Son of God. If Jesus was not the redeemer who died for our sins, and this is what evolution means, then Christianity is nothing.” G. Richard Bozarth, 'The Meaning of Evolution', American Atheist 20 September, 1979, p. 30.
This
is an accurate statement for the scripture states that death came by sin and
sin by the man Adam. If we do not believe that we inherit sin through human
nature originating from Adam, we have completely undermined the gospel. Look at
1 Corinthians 15:21-22
21 For since by man came death,
by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die, even so
in Christ shall all be made alive.
The Bible teaches that just as all mankind passed through Adam and entered the curse of sin, all man must pass through Jesus Christ to be made alive and freed from the curse of sin. When Jesus answered the Pharisees question about divorce, Jesus pointed back to Adam and Eve to show that God established marriage from the beginning and once a man and a woman become one flesh, God does not make a provision for divorcing and remarrying to fulfill our own desires. Jesus pointed back to Adam to validate the laws of God; the epistles point back to Adam to validate the message of the cross and our redemption; therefore, if we remove that truth from Christianity, we have collapsed the foundation of our faith and denied the works of Christ.
People craft many arguments in an attempt to get around this issue, but the fact remains that the entire New Testament points back to Genesis as the foundation of how we understand redemption in Christ. The heart of the matter is that there is a desire to please men by putting one foot into the world while attempting to keep the other foot in the gospel. Jesus said that you cannot serve two masters. He also warned that the world will hate those who hold to the truth[iv] and warned that if the world praises us, we are in the same class as the false prophets who gain the praise of men[v]. The truth is that people are intimidated by mockery and ‘Theistic Evolution’ was born out of a desire to marry the world to the scriptures. Just as we are commanded not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers, the scripture cannot be yoked to atheistic doctrines.
Do not be offended because I place evolution in the same class as atheism, for evolution is a doctrine of atheism. In fact, evolution is the foundation built by atheists and is the foundation atheism is built upon. Church people who hold to evolution get angry when a connection is made to atheism because they are not atheists. While it may be true that many who believe in evolution are not atheists, it is undeniable that evolution is the doctrine of atheism. Atheists of the past have made no secret of the fact that evolution is the avenue by which they seek to find an explanation to our origins without a need for God. By design, evolution theory was constructed for the purpose of excluding God from view and the fruit of this doctrine speaks for itself. I have yet to meet a Christian who was persuaded to turn to Christ because of the teachings of evolution. Compare this to the testimonies of thousands who turned from Christianity once they bought into the teachings of evolution. Jesus stated that you will know teaching and teachers by their fruits.
Let’s
ask a simple question, “Why would God choose to reveal the truth of origins
through atheism rather than raising up teachers from within the church?” Do you
as a Christian believe that God chose to reveal truth through Charles Darwin
who turned from the faith he was brought up in and openly declared his
disbelief in God? The fact is that most Christians who hold to evolution have a
desire to be called intellectual by the world while claiming to be believers in
the Bible in their churches. Truth plus error equals error. The atheist
understands the battle ground of this world view and it is time that the church
understand it as well. As this doctrine is taught to successive generations,
each generation abandons the faith in greater numbers. If you allow the youth
to be taught evolution on any level without being challenged, you are turning
their hearts away from God. Truly there is nothing new under the sun and the
events of the Old Testament are being played out in the church of today. Look
at 1 Kings 18:
21 And Elijah came unto all the
people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God,
follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him
not a word.
Baal was a false god that the people had turned to. They tried to marry false teachings with the word of God but the Lord declared that the nation was given to idolatry. Once truth was mixed with error, it was all error. You face the same challenge from the word of God in this generation. Why do you hold between two opinions? If you believe the word of the Lord, follow Him wholly, if not, you are following Baal whether you realize it or not. I cannot tell you the number of times I have been called an embarrassment to Christianity by church people who hold to evolution. If you are persuaded to stand upon the word, you can expect this reaction as well.
Richard Dawkins is considered one of the foremost advocates of atheism and is often called the world’s leading atheist and evolutionist. In this section I will quote heavily from Dawkins. Many years ago when I struggled with doubt I approached an atheist group and asked the question, “If you could identify something that absolutely refuted Christianity, what would it be?” As you can imagine, there was no shortage of answers. Most were easily answered for they were misunderstandings of scripture, but there were a handful of questions that appeared to challenge the Bible. I spent several weeks researching the difficult questions and I found that each one was proven in favor of the scripture. This gave me great confidence for if the greatest objections fell short, I could give the scriptures the benefit of the doubt on the rest. It is impossible to answer every question for atheists love to use what I call ‘machinegun style argumentation’. Rather than exploring one topic to its conclusion, an atheist will ignore the answer and fire off a new question as the Christian attempts to answer. Either that or they will provide an exhaustive list of questions that would take an infinite amount of time to answer. The fact is that if the hardest objections can be answered, the rest has little impact. Don’t get caught up on every petty objection.
It is for this reason that I am using Dawkins as the focus of this study. Since he is the leading apologist for evolution and is the spokesman for this movement, it stands to reason that if his evidence can be answered, the plethora of voices competing for the limelight can be assumed to be echoing similar objections. Most atheists echo what they read from other atheists so most are redundant arguments or the rewording of similar objections. Richard Dawkins’ book, ‘The God Delusion’ was written with the intention of converting Christians to atheism. This book is introduced with the challenge to Christians to have the courage to read this book and write any rebuttal to its claims. Dawkins plainly states that his goal is for Christians to pick this book up and put it down as an atheist.
At the beginning of ‘The God Delusion’, Dawkins interjects some of the showers of praise that proclaim him as the leading atheist / evolutionist of our time and goes on to claim, “If you want an understanding of evolution or an argument for atheism, there are few better guides than Richard Dawkins”. For this reason I have read this book and plan to compile the main arguments into a study that the Christian can read to see through the smoke and mirrors that are used to disguise the lack of evidence from view. I found this book to be very inspirational, but not in the way Dawkins intended. If the world’s greatest atheist presents such poorly reasoned arguments against the God of the Bible and the atheist community claims that this is the best articulated argument for atheism, the Christian should be filled with confidence that truth remains firm in spite of the onslaught of attacks.
Rather than cowering in fear while atheist boast at themselves and mock the scriptures, the Christian should be equipped to stand firm knowing that if this is the best atheism has to offer, we have little to fear. Once these objections are answered, we need not concern ourselves with chasing the endless supply of rabbits that atheism casts out in an effort to distract from the truth. Atheism attempts to overthrow our confidence by repeating an endless mantra that serves no other purpose than to indoctrinate through repetitiously preaching assumptions rather than presenting true evidence.
Intimidation is a powerful strategy to bring others into submission. False teachers in religious circles use strategies of intimidation but this applies equally for false teaching in what is labeled as non-religious. Bluffing is an attempt to intimidate an opponent into backing down by pretending to have abilities or tools that someone does not possess. Christians are very easily bluffed partly because of apathy. A Christian who is not a good student of the scriptures will back away when supposed contradictions are tossed about. Many atheist arguments fall quickly onto shaky ground when a bluff is called. Most atheist know little about their position other than the canned responses they pick up from books and atheist websites. When the information is challenged, they will attempt to bluff, but if challenged with facts their argument quickly begins to totter. Don’t be surprised when an atheist quickly falls back to their last defensive stand which is mockery and name calling.
Atheism sets arbitrary rules for the engagement of ideas that have no reason other than an attempt to disqualify relevant information that cannot be refuted. In ‘The God Delusion’, Dawkins makes the claim that if evidence were to be discovered that contradicted evolution, he would change his position. This is a smokescreen for he also makes it clear that creation evidence doesn’t qualify for debate because it is religious in nature and he is only concerned with science. Consider this quote from Dawkins:
Even accepting the most pessimistic estimate of the probability that life might spontaneously originate, this statistical argument completely demolishes any suggestion that we should postulate design to fill the gap.
By design he is referring to the design of a Creator. Dawkins praises a speech where Nicholas Humphrey declared that freedom of speech must be protected in every circumstance but one – teaching religious ideas to the next generation. Dawkins then goes on to argue that parents should not have the right to teach faith to their children or teach them the ‘straight and narrow path’. In ‘The God Delusion’ Dawkins then goes on to argue the following:
[C]hildren have a right not to have their minds addled by nonsense, and we as a society have a duty to protect them from it. So we should no more allow parents to teach their children to believe, for example, in the literal truth of the Bible or that the planets rule their lives, than we should allow parents to knock their children’s teeth out or lock them in a dungeon[vi].
This is why creation will never be allowed to enter into the equation. Atheists are so opposed to the idea of design because they consider allowing children to be taught the truth of the Bible to be just as repulsive as physical abuse and torture. In their war on God, atheism has declared as its mission and duty to influence society to not allow the Christian faith to be taught to the next generation.
The goal of the atheistic argument is to persuade you not to even suggest that the gaps in evolution could be from a designer or Creator. We will discuss the statistical argument in detail later for it is one of the tottering foundations that evolution is built upon. Like a jury missing the key evidence needed to make a correct verdict, the atheist has placed himself as judge to strike down any evidence that will lead the jury of free thought to any other verdict than what has already been determined to be appropriate according to atheistic doctrine. Any evidence that points to a Creator is struck down as religious and not admissible to be examined in the trial of science.
Not
only is vital evidence disallowed from examination, but fabricated evidence is
introduced as the key evidence that drives the jury to the planned conclusion.
Assumptions are the key evidence that backs up evolution and atheism as we
shall see from Dawkins’ own testimony. What is lacking in the world of evidence
is made up for in bold assertions and blatant assumptions. The assumptions are
veiled through well crafted arguments that are easily exposed if the Christian
asks one question, “Why is that so?” The answer to this question will be met
with a bluff, mockery or other intimidations, but you must insist on this to be
answer truthfully and not accept an answer based on assumption and not fact.
The scripture instructs us to first be grounded in the word so that we are not
deceived. Look at Ephesians 4:
14 That we henceforth be no
more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of
doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they
lie in wait to deceive;
The trap of deception is laid, but through solid doctrine we stand firm on a sure foundation. The beliefs of atheism are indeed doctrines for they teach specific principles although these principles are erroneous. The doctrines of atheism are established through cunning craftiness which give the appearance of wisdom but in reality it uses assumptions to force a conclusion that is actually contrary to the evidence. Set your heart to ask why. When the well crafted argument demands you conclude what is being forced, analyze the argument and learn how to identify the difference between assumptions and evidence.
Several years ago our family took a vacation and during our drive we stopped by a travel information office to pick up some brochures. While there we were told that a new resort had opened in the area we were travelling to and that we could stay there for a discounted rate. The price was less than half of the cost of the hotel we were planning to stay at and it was a five star resort. All we had to do is take a tour of the property and help them spread the word about the resort. What a deal! It was not until we arrived and went into the conference room that I realized that this was bait for a timeshare presentation.
For the next ninety minutes a high pressure salesman did everything he could do to manipulate me into buying a timeshare. They misrepresented the facts, attempted to intimidate, mock, and try to make me feel stupid for passing up on such a ‘bargain’. Compared to how much we spent on vacation, the cost of making this purchase was astronomical; however, they kept presenting the numbers to make it look like it was so cheap that a fool would buy it. He took actual facts but presented them in such a way that they appeared to be saying something that was completely false. According to the way the salesman presented the numbers I was saving so much money that my cost appeared to be zero. It was a no-brainer. He kept demanding to know why I wouldn’t buy.
Soon the salesman brought in other sales reps to show me how I was missing the point and the pressure was turned up. Eventually they started mocking the idea that this deal was to be questioned. Soon they took the strategy of trying to pressure my wife into criticizing my resistance, and doing everything they could to show that only an idiot would not accept the deal. Afterward I was curious to see what the real cost would be for someone who caved in and not surprisingly I discovered that when I looked at the facts without someone to misrepresent it, the cost was absurd.
The doctrines of atheism use this exact same tactic. Atheism uses intimidation, scare tactics, mockery, and even turns colleagues against each other in order to force conformity. Every argument is crafted into such a way as to convince you that only the ignorant will not conform to the accepted outcome and mockery is to those who dare to question the assumptions of atheisms doctrines. Like the high pressure salesman who does not allow the potential buyer to examine the evidence without being guided, atheism rages against anyone who looks at evidence without applying their assumptions that guide us to their conclusion. The irony of ‘The God Delusion’ is that the whole book forces a set way of thinking and then concludes by saying that atheist who follow the prescribed conclusions are freethinkers and those who will not conform are not. These tactics are effective for few openly question atheistic doctrine and many Christians have been persuaded to turn on their brethren.
This
is written for the Christian but I hope it will serve in evangelism as well.
Keep in mind that the Lord must open our eyes and He also must draw those who
are contrary to His will. Pride is the root of atheism and those whose goal is
to puff up their egos with selfworth cannot see the truth of God. James 4:6 states the following:
…He giveth more grace.
Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Those whose lives are built upon pride cannot find grace. God may humble the proud and then reveal Himself to them, but do not be surprised by the blindness of those whose foundation is pride. In his book, Richard Dawkins favorably quotes one of his followers which explains the heart of the problem:
‘You and I, of course, are much too intelligent and well educated to need religion. But ordinary people, hoi polloi, the Orwellian proles, the Huxleian Deltas and Epsilon semi-morons, need religion.’
Atheism is a religion of self-worship. It is faith in pride. For this reason it is very difficult for atheists to see the truth and the scripture warns that the pride of man is the greatest hindrance to man’s ability to hear God’s call. Grace is not revealed to those worshipping their pride for pride is a rebellion against the work of God. Even so, it is God’s responsibility to deal with man’s pride; it is our responsibility to proclaim the word of God.
Eddie Snipes
Exchanged Life Outreach
<<Click Here to Sign up for Weekly Messages>>
Return to the Bible Studies Page