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"Strategies for Dialoguing with Atheists" (an article from the Witnessing Tips column of the Christian Research Journal, Winter/Spring 1989, page 7) by Ron Rhodes.
The Editor-in-Chief of the
Christian Research Journal is Elliot Miller.
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No one is born an atheist.
People choose to become atheists as much as they choose
to become Christians. And no matter how strenuously some may try
to deny it, atheism is a belief system. It requires faith
that God does not exist.
When dialoguing with atheists,
it is helpful to point out the logical problems inherent in their
belief system. If you succeed in showing an atheist the natural
outcome of some of his (or her) main claims and arguments, you
are in a much better position to share the gospel with him. Let
us consider two prime examples here.
(1) "There is no God."
Some atheists categorically state that there is no God, and all
atheists, by definition, believe it. And yet, this assertion is
logically indefensible. A person would have to be omniscient
and omnipresent to be able to say from his own pool of
knowledge that there is no God. Only someone who is capable of
being in all places at the same time -- with a perfect knowledge
of all that is in the universe -- can make such a statement based
on the facts. To put it another way, a person would have to
be God in order to say there is no God.
This point can be forcefully
emphasized by asking the atheist if he has ever visited the Library
of Congress in Washington D.C. Mention that the library presently
contains over 70 million items (books, magazines, journals, etc.).
Also point out that hundreds of thousands of these were written
by scholars and specialists in the various academic fields. Then
ask the following question: "What percentage of the collective
knowledge recorded in the volumes in this library would you say
are within your own pool of knowledge and experience?" The
atheist will likely respond, "I don't know. I guess a fraction
of one percent." You can then ask: "Do you think it
is logically possible that God may exist in the 99.9 percent that
is outside your pool of knowledge and experience?"
Even if the atheist refuses to admit the possibility, you have
made your point and he knows it.
(2) "I don't believe
in God because there is so much evil in the world." Many
atheists consider the problem of evil an airtight proof that God
does not exist. They often say something like: "I know there
is no God because if He existed, He never would have let Hitler
murder six million Jews."
A good approach to an argument
like this is to say something to this effect: "Since you
brought up this issue, the burden lies on you to prove that evil
actually exists in the world. So let me ask you: by what criteria
do you judge some things to be evil and other things not to be
evil? By what process do you distinguish evil from good?"
The atheist may hedge and say: "I just know that some
things are evil. It's obvious." Don't accept such an evasive
answer. Insist that he tell you how he knows that some
things are evil. He must be forced to face the illogical foundation
of his belief system.
After he struggles with this
a few moments, point out to him that it is impossible to distinguish
evil from good unless one has an infinite reference point which
is absolutely good. Otherwise one is like a boat at sea
on a cloudy night without a compass (i.e., there would be no way
to distinguish north from south without the absolute reference
point of the compass needle).
The infinite reference point
for distinguishing good from evil can only be found in the person
of God, for God alone can exhaust the definition of "absolutely
good." If God does not exist, then there are no moral absolutes
by which one has the right to judge something (or someone) as
being evil. More specifically, if God does not exist, there is
no ultimate basis to judge the crimes of Hitler. Seen in this
light, the reality of evil actually requires the existence
of God, rather than disproving it.
At this point, the atheist
may raise the objection that if God does in fact exist, then why
hasn't He dealt with the problem of evil in the world. You can
disarm this objection by pointing out that God is dealing
with the problem of evil, but in a progressive way. The false
assumption on the part of the atheist is that God's only choice
is to deal with evil all at once in a single act. God, however,
is dealing with the problem of evil throughout all human history.
One day in the future, Christ will return, strip power away from
the wicked, and hold all men and women accountable for the things
they did during their time on earth. Justice will ultimately prevail.
Those who enter eternity without having trusted in Christ for
salvation will understand just how effectively God has
dealt with the problem of evil.
If the atheist responds that
it shouldn't take all of human history for an omnipotent God to
solve the problem of evil, you might respond by saying: "Ok.
Let's do it your way. Hypothetically speaking, let's say that
at this very moment, God declared that all evil in the world will
now simply cease to exist. Every human being on the planet --
present company included -- would simply vanish into oblivion.
Would this solution be preferable to you?"
The atheist may argue that
a better solution must surely be available. He may even suggest
that God could have created man in such a way that man would never
sin, thus avoiding evil altogether. This idea can be countered
by pointing out that such a scenario would mean that man is no
longer man. He would no longer have the capacity to make choices.
This scenario would require that God create robots who
act only in programmed ways.
If the atheist persists and
says there must be a better solution to the problem of evil, suggest
a simple test. Give him about five minutes to formulate a solution
to the problem of evil that (1) does not destroy human freedom,
or (2) cause God to violate His nature (e.g., His attributes of
absolute holiness, justice, and mercy) in some way. After five
minutes, ask him what he came up with. Don't expect much of an
answer.
Your goal, of course, is not
simply to tear down the atheist's belief system. After demonstrating
some of the logical impossibilities of his claims, share with
him some of the logical evidence for redemption in Jesus Christ,
and the infinite benefits that it brings. Perhaps through your
witness and prayers his faith in atheism will be overturned by
a newfound faith in Christ.
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End of document, CRJ0051A.TXT (original CRI file name),
"Strategies for Dialoguing with Atheists"
release A, March 25, 1994
R. Poll, CRI
(A special note of thanks
to Bob and Pat Hunter for their help in the preparation of this
ASCII file for BBS circulation.)
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