Atheism: Assumptions, Answers & Questions

Several months ago I watched a YouTube video entitled ‘The Four Horsemen.’ In a nutshell, it was two hours of conversation between four atheists. Science, history, politics… they discussed it all. But above all, they expressed their objections to religion and faith.

During the discussion I noticed several major (and false), assumptions about the Christian faith. For those of you who don’t have two hours to spare, I’ve addressed them from the Bible below and added a few questions you might find helpful to ask next time you’re faced with similar objections.

 

Assumption 1:

Faith is unreasonable, it is not based on evidence.

Comments:

• The created universe is clear and observable evidence that there is an eternal, all-powerful creator – God.
• When Jesus rose from the dead he appeared in the flesh to more than 500 people. These witnesses could see; touch; eat with; even talk to the evidence! The resurrection proves Jesus was who he claimed to be, the Son of God.

The Bible’s Answer:

• Romans 1: 18 “Since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

• 1 Corinthians 15: 3-6 “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time.”

Questions to consider:

1. Is it not even slightly unreasonable and unscientific to suggest that the entire universe and everything in it originated from nothing?

2. Have you seriously investigated the historical and Biblical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead?

 

Assumption 2:

Even though the concept of a supernatural creator cannot be disproved, when Christians claim the Bible is God’s word and that it’s possible to know God, they can be dismissed because those claims cannot be proved.

Comments:

• The God of the universe has made himself known to us through his Son, Jesus, whom we meet in His Word, the Bible.

The Bible’s Answer:

• 2 Timothy 3: 16 “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness…”

• Hebrews 1: 3 “The Son [Jesus Christ] is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” 

Questions to Consider:

1. Is it so inconceivable that the God who created us would want to make Himself known to His creation?

 

Assumption 3:

There is nothing in the Bible that proves an all-knowing creator. It was written by men who thought a wheelbarrow was emergent technology.

 Comments:

• If creating and sustaining everything in the universe doesn’t prove an all-powerful, all-knowing creator, it’s hard to see what would.

• The Bible is not an encyclopaedia or a scientific textbook. Everything within it is true. But it is first and foremost a story about the God who created everything; the human race who rebelled against him; and Jesus, God’s Son, who came to save His people.

• We see God most clearly through Jesus Christ – God made flesh – and all He did and taught. 

The Bible’s Answer:

• Colossians 1: 15-17 “ The Son (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Questions to Consider:

1. Science never creates, it just discovers and re-orders what has already been made. Are actual scientific discoveries really inconsistent with the Bible?

2. Lots of people formulate their own opinions on the Bible without ever seriously reading it. Have you ever sat down and read through a book of the Bible for yourself?

 

Assumption 4:

The contradictions within the Bible prove that Christianity is false.

Comments:

• When read and understood correctly there are no contradictions in the Bible. 

The Bible’s Answer:

• Numbers 23: 19 “God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?”

Questions to Consider:

1. Can you find a single, honest contradiction in the Bible?

 

By the Cornerstone Team