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All forms of atheism (e.g., anti-theism, naturalism, humanism, evolutionism, materialism) allege that Christianity is unreasonable and irrational—its adherents all dupes of “blind faith.” Atheists aver that believers in God, the Bible, and Jesus as God’s Son, are such not because of any evidence, but in spite of it. Believers are such merely because they want to believe. Atheists ridicule them as “pie-in-the-sky-by-and-by” simpletons.
Contrariwise, atheism portrays itself as the only path of rationality and reason (evincing the very exclusiveness and intolerance of which they accuse believers). One atheistic group, “The Coalition of Reason,” implies in its name that theists are irrational. Is denial of an eternal supreme Being’s existence reasonable (i.e., is said denial the correct conclusion on the basis of available evidence)?
We derive atheism from the Greek word, theos (god) and a prefixed a (the Greek letter, alpha), which has the force of negation. Atheism is thus the negation of the existence of God. Dr. Anthony G.N. Flew (1923–2010) was for many years the renowned champion of atheism. When he and Dr. Thomas B. Warren engaged in a debate on the existence of God (1976, University of North Texas campus, Denton, TX), Dr. Flew affirmed, “I know that God does not exist.” He obviously believed that he had reason on his side. However, Dr. Warren demonstrated that atheism rather represents a denial of and retreat from logic and reason.
Contrary to atheistic assertions, genuine Christian faith is in no wise “blind.” The Bible addresses itself to the mind and demands the proper use thereof. God urges us to reason about His Word: “Come now and let us reason together…” (Isa. 1:18). Jesus always used flawless logic in His running debates with the religious leaders of His time. The “first and great commandment” includes loving God with “all thy mind,” rather than abandoning reason (Mat. 22:37–38). Instead of ignoring or denying evidence, serious believers rely upon it: “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good” (1 The. 5:21).
Is it reasonable to assert that even such simple things as push pins or paper clips “just happen” without designer or manufacturer? How much less “reasonable” then is it to assert that our bodies, the earth, and the vast universe “just happened” from a cosmic “accident.” Even the words, intelligent design, provoke irrational ire in atheists. Lacking evidence for their negation, theirs, is the “blind faith.” The hubris and condescension of atheism are astonishing.
For the record, Dr. Flew—much to the chagrin of his fellow-atheists—renounced his atheism in 2004—when he came to reason correctly concerning the evidence.
[Note: I wrote this article for and it appeared in the Denton Record-Chronicle, Denton, TX, January 18, 2016.]
Attribution: From TheScripturecache.com, owned and administered by Dub McClish.
