Lessons in Apologetics - Atheism vs. Christianity

Lessons in Apologetics - Atheism vs. Christianity
By Ryan Hampton

This is the third of the three blogs I am posting today (I don't have much time for this!). I will use the classic Professor vs. Student scenario to show the invalidity of atheism and the truth of Christianity. "...Be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you..." 1 Peter 3:15.

An atheist professor came into class and began introducing himself, being the first class period of the semester. He introduced himself and said it would be important to begin by telling why he does not believe that there is a God. He asked his students if they believed in God.

One student quickly raised his hand and then about two-thirds of the rest of the class began slowly raising their hands. The professor said, "Now I respect your opinions but I believe I can disprove you. Who is willing to answer my questions about your religion?"

The student who first raised his hand raised his hand this time again and said, "I will." The professor said, "Well okay. What religion do you officially hold to?" The student responded, "Christianity - the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Who reveals Himself through the Bible, and Who sent His only son to die for our sins."

"Can you explain further about your God please?" asked the professor. "Yes sir," responded the student. "He exists as a Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is good, and the creator of all things. He is all-powerful. He was not created, but existed eternally. Belief in Him is the way in which I perceive everything that ever happens. He reveals Himself in the Bible, and sent His Son, the second person of the Trinity to die for my sins. One day the Son will return with glory to judge the quick and the dead, and His Kingdom will have no end."

"Wow," said the professor. "You sound enthusiastic about your God. Now please allow me to show you logical errors." The following is the dialogue of the professor and the student:

Professor: You believe that God is good, by your own admission in defining Who your God is. But you also made mention to your sin. God also, according to you, created all things. How come we see a good God create sin, which is evil - the opposite of good.

Student: For one, you have no absolute standard of good and evil yourself, so long as you stay consistent within your worldview of atheism. For two, to answer your question more directly, God may allow evil to carry on His eternal plan. God's glory is shown more by defeating an enemy, than by working with all things only on His side. For three, although evil exists, it exists only to the standard of good, and not unto its own self. As darkness is the absent of light, so evil is the absence of God's immediate glory."

Professor: But God is everywhere, right? How can it be the absence of God's glory?

Student: God is everywhere in His infinite realm. This is saying that God is at work everywhere - consistent with me saying that God can use evil. But using this evil may be Him using that which does not contain something attesting to, or attempting to attest to His ultimate glory in the immediate sense. Satan was cut off from God after being jealous of Him - not because evil aside from good destroyed him. Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit after forgetting about God and His covenant. They forgot to thank God, and went their own way - apart from God. Obeying God is good; disobeying God is evil.

Professor: A modest argument from you, but let me ask further questions. I do not see God. Nor feel Him. Nor do I taste Him, smell Him, or hear Him. I can not sense Him. How can I believe in Him?

Student: God is transcendental to this physical universe. But so are many other things which you believe in. You use 'logic' to make your points. But I can not see, feel, touch, smell, or taste logic, or any form of intelligence for that matter, whether math, science, time, or logic. How do we know they exist? Our own interpretation of logic tells us not to prove something by using itself. If I 'prove' God by quoting the Bible, you would call my logic circular reasoning. How can you prove logic by logic? You can't, but yet it exists transcendental to the physical universe.

Professor: I see logic in action. I believe in logic because it is self-evident.

Student: I see God in action. I believe in Him because He is self-evident in the universe, and he revealed Himself to me.

Professor: But why assume another transcendental entity. We know intelligence exists, but we don't know God does exist.

Student: Because the metaphysical, that is, intelligence, seems to indicate something beyond it. It is self-contradicting to assume the physical universe was created out of only the metaphysical universe. But this universe did not always exist either. Science tells us it had a beginning. Anything that begins to exist must have a cause, and the metaphysical universe could not have caused this universe. What caused this universe? Besides, all my original point was, was that you can not deny the existence of God just because He is transcendent.

Professor: But I look at truth from a non-biased position. I see no God, and thus I believe in no God. If you show me God, then I will believe in Him. Why did God have to cause this universe? Why not another universe?

Student: You are self-contradicting yourself. For one you say you are not biased, but you really are. In fact, you come into class to start off "proving" no God. It is your current worldview. When you are put in a position to assume an entity outside of the physical and metaphysical universe, you assume a second universe. You will do whatever to say that there is no God. You are biased. Besides, if this other universe interacted with our universe to cause our universe and its laws, then there is some common logic, unless this other universe is infinite so that it can on its own initiative create this universe and its laws with authority over it. Either there is a God, or some other common intelligence, where we would probably be right back where we started in the first place.

Professor: But I am not biased, and you can not prove that I am biased. You are not me. You are biased by assuming that there is a God.

Student: You are right, I am biased. But it is by my own admission. Now let me show you your bias. Let me ask you first - Are you bias?

Professor: No! I already said that! How many times do I have to tell you?!

Student: But who told you to be bias? Did you research the issue to tell you not to be bias? Who is to say that being bias is wrong? Do you accept every worldview?

Professor: I say that being bias is wrong, and no, I do not accept just any worldview. Besides, you have the burden of proof by believing in God.

Student: I am bias. If you are not bias, then you reject my bias worldview. Your lack of bias becomes your own special kind of bias. It is the myth of neutrality. You 'set out' to be biased. Therefore, you had some presupposition to be bias, defeating your purpose because presuppositions are not bias. And can you prove that I have the burden of proof? Should you have the burden of proof to prove that I have the burden of proof?

Professor: Well what does this prove anyway?

Student: That we all have a worldview. You want to deny God. You will do whatever you can to deny Him. Where does intelligence come from? Where does the physical universe come from? You will assume another universe to deny God.

Professor: I do not deny God. Maybe He does exist. I don't know. Nothing is really absolute.

Student: Is that statement absolute, that there are no absolutes?

Professor: Let us please move on.

Student: Moving on is a good idea. Let us move on to our next universal level. Professor, do you believe in evil?

Professor: Yes. It is inhumane behavior.

Student: So you believe in a standard for this evil. I presume you believe in good. This standard between the two is called morality. Do you agree with me so far? Do you believe these things?

Professor: Yes. I believe in right and wrong, and for lack of better terms, morality.

Student: What is good?

Professor: It is humane action to others. Love your neighbor as yourself.

Student: So you believe in love as well. What about compassion? Character? Virtues? And the ability to decide for ourselves what is wrong and right, and so forth?

Professor: Yes, I pretty much believe in those things.

Student: Where do they come from?

Professor: Our hearts. They are self-evident within us.

Student: They are self-evident. But where do they come from?

Professor: Once again, our hearts.

Student: Maybe so. But our hearts in the material sense are physical. We must go beyond the physical universe. Our hearts physically do not determine morality or love any more than the grass in my back yard does. But the metaphysical does not support these either. Can we prove morality using logic?

Professor: Morality is logical.

Student: Maybe so, but who enforces the logical morality? Who is to say for certain that they are related? What if I disagree? How can you prove me wrong. And what about love? Wherein is it here?

Professor: I do not know. I guess it is in our hearts as well, as I pretty much said above.

Student: But I already showed it is not in our physical hearts. Nor is it in the metaphysical. It is only in our moral conscious hearts. These things are the supermetaphysical, if you will. They go even further. They exist only through the supernatural realm. They are reliant upon it.

Professor: Well, if it is 'written' on our hearts, someone must have wrote it. Therefore, God pretty much predestines our thoughts anyway. How can I go to Heaven unless God personally saves me, apart from my choice. And why should you be here evangelizing to me anyway. Am I not predestined?

Student: Human choice, and any choice, is only consistent in a theistic worldview. It was part of what I listed as the supermetaphysical. Without God, we are predestined to evolve. We can not control ourselves anyway. We are a dillusion, so to speak. You hear of atheists talking about the God dillusion, but in reality, there is an atheist dillusion. With God, all things are possible. He can carry out His sovereign plan through human choice. Human choice is given by God. Otherwise we are just chemical processes, like robots, with no free will.

Professor: I must admit, that you made good points about your faith. But please, tell me how it all fits into your 'worldview' of Christianity.

Student: God is self-existent. He is limited to nothing, but there are things about Him that is eternal. The only way for this to change is for God Himself to change, which He chooses not to. God is logical. God is love. God is good. God is compassionate. God cares about time and the past - although He will not dwell on a past forgiven sin. But this love, time, logic, and moral goodness in God is existent in the infinite realm - a realm we can not fully understand. He expresses Himself in His overall creation, especially in humanity. Morality is logical, but God is the enforcer of morality. It is a Christian worldview that has influenced natural law thought that influenced our nations founding. It is also a Christian worldview from which we get our methods of measuring time. Pagans would either fail to measure time, or would measure time in false, inaccurate, or relatively outdated ways. God's people kept track of time, and it was when the Israelites forgot about the past that they were in the most trouble with God - as is today for humanity in general. The Bible tells us that God is love. The Bible tells us that God is eternal, and that He is unchanging. This is why God told Moses, "I am that I am." What I have said previously has been consistent in a Christian worldview. But you have not shown consistency in your atheistic worldview.

Professor: You made good points and silenced many of my arguments. But just remember, you may silence my arguments, but that does not mean that you convinced me.

Student: Well I am glad that I silenced your arguments, but I did not intent to convert you. That is up to God. I silence arguments, but God converts hearts. I pray that He will do that for you.

Professor: We will have to see. Class dismissed.

"Separate Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense for the hope that is in you. But do so in gentleness and fear." I Peter 3:15