Strategies for Dialoguing with Atheists
by Ron
Rhodes
from the Witnessing Tips column of the Christian Research
Journal, Winter/Spring 1989, page 7. The Editor-in-Chief
of the Christian Research Journal is Elliot Miller.
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.
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.
Copyright 1994 by the Christian Research Institute.
COPYRIGHT/REPRODUCTION LIMITATIONS:
This data file is the sole property of the Christian Research
Institute. It may not be altered or edited in any way. It
may be reproduced only in its entirety for circulation as "freeware," without
charge. All reproductions of this data file must contain
the copyright notice (i.e., "Copyright 1994
by the Christian Research Institute"). This data file
may not be used without the permission of the Christian
Research Institute for resale or the enhancement of any
other product sold. This includes all of its content with
the exception of a few brief quotations not to exceed more
than 500 words.
If you desire to reproduce less than 500 words of this
data file for resale or the enhancement of any other product
for resale, please give the following source credit: Copyright
1994 by the Christian Research Institute, P.O. Box 7000,
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA 92688-7000.
|
