Acts 17:26-27 "and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us."
Introduction:
In the last post, we began exploring four reasons why Christian theism is more reasonable of a position than atheism or secular humanism. We first defined atheism, secular humanism and reasonability. We then observed that one can indeed be a rational person while "knowing God to be true". Other sorts of various arguments for God's existence can function as a second-type of ground for "showing Christianity to be true". In today's post, we will give three other reasons or arguments that "show" the God of Christianity, and belief in Him, as being far more reasonable of a worldview than atheism and secular humanism.
Three more reasons why Christianity is more reasonable than Atheism and Secular Humanism
Reason #2: Biblical Christianity best explains the universe’s cause. Material causes cannot account for why there is something rather than nothing.
Evidences:
Most astronomers conclude the universe began to exist a finite time ago.
It is absurd to rely upon an infinite chain of material causes. Logical reasoning leads us to conclude that the cause of the universe was an immaterial, spaceless, timeless, unimaginably powerful, intelligent being – i.e God. A type of argument which uses observations from the universe to show that God exists is what we call a "cosmological argument". The one below is a simple and very effective type of cosmological argument called "The Kalaam Cosmological Argument" ("kalaam" is from a term meaning "learning").
Kalaam Cosmological Argument:
A. Everything that begins to exist has a cause
B. The universe began to exist
C. Therefore, the universe has a cause
Biblical texts: Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 43:10-11; 1 Corinthians 8:6
Reason #3. Biblical Christianity best explains meaning, value and purpose in life.
We not only live in a physical universe, but a moral one, containing universal moral values and duties. Human well-being is not a sufficient explanation for the reality of morality.
Evidences:
Answer this question: “Is it wrong to purposefully hurt little children?” “Is it right to fight injustice?” “Was the Holocaust wrong, even though the people doing it thought it was right?” You respond like you do because of there being universal right and wrong. Below is a sample of what we call "the moral argument for God's existence".
Moral Argument:
A. If God does not exist, universal moral values and duties don’t exist
B. Universal moral values and duties exist
C. Therefore, God exists
Biblical texts: Ecclesiastes 12:13; Philippians 3:7-10
Reason # 4. The existence of the Biblical God best explains the facts surrounding the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
No other non-Christian explanation has sufficed to explain what took place on that first Easter morning. This particular argument gets us from a "generalized deity" to the specific God of Christianity (the only God there is).
Evidence:
Naturalistic explanations (Jesus fainted in the tomb / Jesus faked His death / Disciples stole the body / His appearances were hallucinations / They got the wrong tomb) have consistently failed. Whenever there are no reasonable grounds for rejecting a superior explanation, that explanation is deemed: “beyond reasonable doubt”. The resurrection explanation alone reaches this gold standard.
Argument:
A. There are four facts concerning Jesus resurrection agreed upon by most historians: His honorable burial / the discovery of the empty tomb / post-resurrection appearances to critics and followers / Disciples’ sudden switch from skepticism to faith
B. The hypothesis that God raised Jesus from the dead best explains these facts
C. This hypothesis entails the Biblical God’s existence
D. Therefore, the Biblical God exists
Example Biblical Text: 1 Cor 15:1-6, 19-20
As can be seen in the above arguments, the case for showing that it is more reasonable to believe in the God of Christianity takes into consideration all the evidence (scientific evidence, moral intuitions and historical considerations). Such arguments are valuable in helping people to come to the point of saying there to be a high probability that Christianity is true. As we saw in the last post, there is an important distinction between "showing Christianity to be true" and "knowing Christianity to be true". Only the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in the explanation of the scriptures can take a person from "probably Christianity is true" to that of "Christianity is most certainly true". May these posts aid the reader in their quest for truth or helping others in their journey.
Romans 1:18-20 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."
Introduction:
Today's post will aim to demonstrate to the reader why Christian theism is more reasonable than atheism and secular humanism. Now before we move forward, its important to define some terms.
Atheism?
The belief that asserts there is no compelling evidence for God’s existence (paraphrase of the late atheist Christopher Hitchens).
Another atheist organization defines atheism as: "It is the lack of belief in such a being as God (omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, all-good, personal, immaterial Creator of the universe) or in any other deity (adopted from the organization "American Atheists").
Secular Humanism?
The secular humanist organization "American Humanist" defines secular humanism as follows: “(A)n ethical and life-affirming philosophy free of belief in any gods and other supernatural forces” (americanhumanist.org). Later on, the same organization notes:
“Therefore, we take very seriously the idea that “No deity will save us; we must save ourselves.” We are living the only life we’ll have, in the only world we know about. The responsibility for the choices we make are ours and ours alone” (americanhumanist.org).
Reasonability?
Whenever one talks to atheists or humanists, there is great concern over being reasonable or rational. What is meant by reasonability? Something is reasonable when we use properly functioning brain to weigh and commit to a specific belief as being more probable than its opposite. Until opposing evidence (i.e defeater) is shown to be more probable than the currently held belief, one is reasonable in holding to that belief (see 1 Peter 3:15)
With those definitions expressed, we can now begin to explore the four reasons for why Christianity is more reasonable than its opposite. For sake of time today, we will mention the first reason, and then follow up with three other reasons in the next post.
First Reason: God can be personally known and experienced
This first point is not so much an argument as it is an observation of the wide-range of human experience. In the philosophical literature, there are a collection of positive statements or "arguments" for Christian theism by what is called "Arguments for Religious Experience" (ARE's for short). Five bullet-points below summarize this type of argument or positive assertion for Christianity in particular. In making the case for Christianity, there is a distinction between "knowing God to be true" and "showing God to be true". In this instance, the assertion of knowing and experiencing God counts as part of "knowing God to be true".
It must be remembered that even if several different people have differing details on their various experiences and knowledge of God, the core of such knowledge will generally match ("sense of God's power"; "conviction of sin"; a strong sense of needing to read the Bible"; "an unusual awareness of God's peace").
Before giving the bullet points with relevant Biblical references, one final observation must be noted: Atheism cannot sufficiently account for the wide-prevalence of genuine experiences of God.
A. The experience of the Holy Spirit is unmistakable or verifiable to the one who has it. Sin can quench such an experience, and continual exercise in prayer and Bible reading serve to heighten this awareness.
B. This authenticating witness of the Spirit occurs apart from arguments & evidence.
C. In certain contexts (like church services), responses to certain truths indicate that the person is genuinely experiencing God by the Holy Spirit.
D. Such an experience of the Spirit's authenticating work provides personal assurance and genuine knowledge that the God of Christianity exists.
E. Arguments and objections that attempt to overthrow the Christian's faith are overwhelmed by this authenticating witness of the Spirit for the Christian who gives themselves regularly to fellowship, prayer and the scriptures.
Biblical texts: John 14:16-17; 16:8-12; Col 2:2; 1 Thess 1:5; 1 Cor 2:10-13; 1 John 2:20,27
This observation of being able to know or experience God is important when making the case for the reasonability and superiority of Christianity over atheism. We have shown that one can indeed be a rational person while "knowing God to be true". As will be noted in the next post, other sorts of various arguments for God's existence can function as a second-type of ground for "showing Christianity to be true".
