Tell me Again Why You’re an Atheist

While browsing some atheist sites to find yet another instance of atheist absurdity, I came across this from the American Atheists site:

We Are Atheists Because...

There is no proof of the existence of god.

First of all, what kind of proof are you looking for? What kind of proof will convince you? As we have already pointed out, logic alone makes it impossible to agree on a standard of proof. As my colleague, Mr. Lytle, said, “We must assume a touchstone, else we would get nowhere.” That touchstone, of course, is God. But atheists deny God. So when they say, “There is no proof of the existence of god,” they are saying nothing; there is no standard to judge any proof. Using logic tricks such as this, they attempt to force the theist into an impossible mission. Not only is atheism arrogant, but also fraudulent.

But, so what? So what if the theist cannot prove his claim? That does not make the negative claim true. Besides, if one claims that something does not exist, or even merely doubts its existence the doubter must give a reason for his doubt. So far, the atheists have not given a reason why God might not exist. Let’s see if they can give us a reason.

There is no need of, or use for, a god.

I could say this is a matter of personal opinion. But as I have explained above, and here, there is a need for God.

A good god would be useless if it were not powerful.

Is there any other kind of god but a powerful God? St. Anselm said,

What are you, then, Lord God, you than whom nothing greater can be thought? What are you but that which exists alone over all things, and has made everything else out of nothing? For whatever is not that, is something less than can be thought; but this cannot be thought about you. Then what good can be lacking to the highest good, through whom all other good exists? So you are just, true, blessed, and whatever it is better to be than not to be. For it is better to be just than unjust, blessed than not blessed.

The Proslogion, Chapter 5

A powerful god would not deserve worship if he were not good.

There is no all-powerful good god; otherwise there would be no imperfection.

If this is the best world god can make, the stories of Heaven must be lies.

I’m going to group these together, because they all attempt to make the same point: if God is good and all-powerful, why is there evil? Wouldn’t God simply destroy evil? The problem with the Problem of Evil is that it assumes God isn’t doing anything about evil. The growth of the Church (which atheists oppose) and the expansion of ideas such as “love your neighbor” since the founding of the Christian movement show that God is fighting against evil. As Christians, we believe evil, brought about by human corruption, will soon be destroyed:

“Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” (Rev. 21:3&4 - NASB)

History shows that godism is accompanied by ignorance and superstition.

Actually, since atheist logic is useless in discovering Truth (which I have already shown), atheists should be careful about calling theists “ignorant.” As for superstition, I haven’t found a verse in the Bible that says “if you don’t walk under ladders, you’ll get to Heaven.” Maybe I missed it...

There has never been such intolerance and persecution as godists have practiced.

Really? (See also here, here, and here) Look, we can go on all day, each side pointing the finger at the other, but the fact is, evil and intolerance are human problems, not religious problems.

Godism had to be fought when humankind made its successive steps toward science, liberty, and reform.

So, when Thomas Jefferson penned the words, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” that was Liberty fighting against godism? Notice how Jefferson says “We hold these truths to be self-evident.” In other words, there is no need to prove these truths. Jefferson was thinking about the touchstone that my colleague Mr. Lytle talked about earlier.

And once again, considering the failures of atheist logic, one must question whether we can use it to make any “steps toward science, liberty, and reform.”

Godism was invented in the earliest days of mankind's ignorance. It is incredible that primitive humans guessed wrongly about everything else, but discovered the truth about the origin of life.

The first problem with this statement should be glaring. It assumes that the generations who came before us “guessed wrongly about everything else.” This is a case of what C.S. Lewis called “chronological snobbery.” It is the belief that those of us living today are better and more enlightened than those who came before us. This near techno-topia that atheists love to praise is only possible because of the works of the generations that have come before us. As Newton ( one of those old, ignorant theists) said, “If I have seen further it is by standing on ye shoulders of Giants.”

Everything about which science has discovered the origin was claimed previously to have been the work of a god. Godism recedes when a new fact is discovered. No new discovery ever supports a theistic explanation of anything.

Well, let’s talk about the origin of all origins: the creation of the universe. Science once denied that the universe had a beginning. Like the Epicureans of the Classical age, science said the universe was eternal. We now know this to be false. Ever since Edwin Hubble noticed the redshift, we have known that the universe has a beginning, confirming the Bible’s words (“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth). So now, science must struggle to find a way to explain how all this matter was created from nothing, without bringing God into the equation. It will be fun to watch them try to wriggle around this one. Score a big one for theism.

All revelation proves, on investigation, to be human, and generally fraudulent.

That’s a rather sweeping claim. The atheists just posted this as a statement of positions, I’m sure, so I don’t expect them to provide proof of this claim on this page, if any proof can be found, that is (see above). However, I would challenge any atheist out there to prove (again, if proof even exists) that “all revelation proves (there’s that word again), on investigation, to be human, and generally fraudulent.”

Godism is consistent with crime, cruelty, envy, hatred, malice, and uncharitableness

It’s really sad when they start repeating claims that have already been shown to be false.

I can’t speak for all religions and theists, but I will quote Christ, “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39), and “treat people the same way you want them to treat you.” (Matt. 7:12) These are rules for Christian living. Any man who claims to be a Christian, but does not follow these commandments, is only a liar.

So, tell me again why you’re an atheist.

–J.E. Heath
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