15 Thought-Provoking Questions Atheists
Often Wish Christians Would Answer, Story by Joy Fadogba
2. Why
did God have to sacrifice Jesus instead of just forgiving humanity directly?
3. How
can you believe in miracles when science explains how the world works?
4.
Doesn’t evolution disprove creationism and
the Bible’s origin story?
5. Why
are there so many contradictions and immoralities in
the Bible?
6. How
can you take the Bible literally when it’s been translated so many times?
7. How
can you believe in something with no scientific evidence?
8.
Why are there so many religions that
contradict each other?
9.
Christians committed atrocities like the
Crusades – how is that moral?
10.
Why would a loving God send people to
hell forever?
11. If
God is all-knowing, how can we have free will?
12.
Why did Jesus have to be crucified in
such a cruel way?
13. Why
are many intelligent people turning away from religion?
14.
How can you pick and choose what parts of
the Bible to follow literally?
15. How
can God be Just, Merciful AND a Jealous God who demands worship?
1.
God created humans giving them the freedom of
choice, he placed them in a paradise surrounded by abundance. God planted one
tree that bore the fruit forbidden to Adam and Eve to eat. There is no record of
any other restriction placed on Adam and Eve; that one rule established their
free will and freedom of choice. There was no suffering, sorrow, pain, or death
in paradise. The garden contained a variety of fruit trees, hundreds,
thousands, tens of thousands? how many we do not know, but we do know that
there was only one tree bearing the forbidden fruit. The odds favoured Adam and
Eve’s success having everything they needed. However, Adam and Eve exercised
their choice and ate the forbidden fruit. Banished from paradise; suffering, pain,
and death became their new reality. God is not to blame for suffering it resulted
from the exercise of human choice. God does not kill babies; he did not create
disease; he did not plan for people to get old; the curse of mortality with all
its constituents came by human choice.
2.
When God cursed the earth and banished Adam and
Eve from paradise, he made a promise to Eve that one of her descendants would
be victorious over Satan. The apostle Paul wrote, “For if by the transgression of the one, death
reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and
of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” The reason Jesus had to die to forgive sin is given by the
author of Hebrews, “…it is
impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” The scripture says, “without shedding of blood there is no
forgiveness.”
3.
Science does not explain everything. Science
cannot explain how ancient megaliths were constructed, nor can they accurately
determine the extent of space. Recent discoveries are challenging older
theories. Sometimes a miracle is the timing of a natural event. For a theory to
be true it must satisfy all standards of scientific proof: Empirical Evidence, Reproducibility,
Peer Review, Statistical Significance, Falsifiability, and Transparency and
Documentation.
4.
“Doesn’t evolution disprove creationism…”
Evolution is not a proven theory. The hypothesis of evolution is based on faith
not fact. There is no proof supporting evolution nor is there proof of the
existence of God; both are faith-based theories. Evolutionist believe the world
came into being suddenly from an explosion of “existing” gases. Or something
happened in the all-ready existing universe to start the ponderously slow
process of change from a microscopic organism into the perfectly designed human
being. Evolution requires order and design to developed out of chaos. A recent
scientific news article postulates that Adam and Eve were real and all humans
come from the same ancestry. Evolution fails to satisfy the components of
scientific proof, especially reproducibility, and falsifiability.
5.
“…many contradictions and immoralities in the
Bible.” There are no contradictions in the Bible even though it is a
library of sixty-six different books written by different people at separate
times through fourteen centuries. As for immorality, why wouldn’t it be in the
Bible as in any other record of human history? The failures of God’s people
were not hidden, the sinful behaviour of those he chose to lead Israel were
exposed and denounced. The scriptures are not novels they are factual accounts
and accurate descriptions of people who lived in ancient times. If you want
fiction and embellishment look at the scriptures of Islam. Compare biblical
religious practices and teaching to the teachings and practices of other
religions. Go to India and see the plethora of idols and creatures worshipped
by Hindus.
6.
Not all translations of scripture should be
trusted. The Catholic scriptures include books that the protestant Bible does
not. The New World Bible was translated by the Watch Tower organization. Religious
bias has influenced translations. Interpretation of scripture must follow the
laws of hermeneutics (1) understanding the historical and cultural context, (2)
understanding the literary context, (3) making observations, and (4) drawing
application. The scriptures are a record of God’s relationship and dealing with
people. The scriptures are the account of God’s plan, process, and fulfilment for
reconciling people to himself.
7.
The scriptures are not scientific documents but
revealed scientific information hundreds or thousands of years before people
knew what they were reading, “He spreads out the northern skies over empty
space; he suspends the earth over nothing.” “He sits enthroned above the circle
of the earth.” “…what is
seen was made from things that are not visible.” Faith and science are not in
conflict. Faith is not knowledge based, “…faith is the assurance of things
hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This definition applies to
believing in Jesus and God as well as believing the theory of evolution.
8.
“Why are there so many religions?” I
expect because there are so many people. People cannot agree on what the
scriptures say, or which scriptures apply to current day religious practices.
The fault is not with scripture or with God, it has everything to do with human
attitudes. People tend to see what they already believe. Our minds interpret
what we see or read by information already stored in our mind. We can counteract
that process by “being open minded” however that is not easy. The smorgasbord
of “Christian” religions is antithetical to the teaching of Jesus. Jesus never
taught an institutionalized religion; he spoke to people about their attitudes
and behavours. Belonging to a particular religion is different from being in
the family of God. If you believe in Jesus God said you have eternal life, that
has nothing to do with belonging to a religion or going to Church.
9.
“Christians committed atrocities like the
Crusades…” Yes, they did and still
do. That is what happens when institutional Christianity becomes politicized. There
is no justification for such activities in the teaching of Jesus; he taught a
vastly different practice, “love
your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of
your Father who is in heaven.”
10.
“Why would a loving God send people to hell
forever?” God does not send people to hell; he provides a way for people to
avoid hell and live with him in eternity. He warns people that hell is the
place where people who do not believe in Jesus will be. People in hell are
there by their own choice. God loved the world so much he sent his son to die
on a pagan cross. The sacrifice of Jesus reconciles believers to God. People
who reject God and to refuse his urging to come to him through Jesus are
putting themselves in jeopardy. People choose their destiny. The apostle Paul
wrote: “I am convinced that
neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in
Christ Jesus our Lord.” Eternity in God’s love is the best option, the choice
is ours.
11.
“If God is all-knowing, how can we have free
will?” What does God’s knowledge have to do with human free will? God knew
that Adam and Eve would exercise their free will and eat the forbidden fruit.
He did not force them to eat it. He provided an over abundance of delightful
fruit to the one forbidden fruit, but he would not force his will on Adam and
Eve. Humans are different from animals which have inherent programing, we can
choose our behaviours. What God knows does not affect human free will. We need
to exercise our free will by choosing to believe in Jesus which secures us a
place in God’s family.
12.
“Why did Jesus have to be crucified in such a
cruel way?” The scripture specified that Jesus came to earth at the
completion of and right time. The end time of Israel and the first covenant
which was during the period of Roman rule. Crucifixion was the Roman method of
execution of criminals and any who challenged Roman authority. The Jewish
scriptures say, “anyone hung
on a tree is under God's curse.” Paul quoted that phrase when writing “Christ
redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is
written, 'Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.'”
13.
I do not know that intelligence is a factor
causing people to turn away from religion. If it is Hinduism or Islam
intelligent people should be leaving religion. Jesus prayed, “I thank you, Father, Lord of
heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and the
intelligent and have revealed them to infants.” Jesus knew that self-important,
intellectual, and rich people would not accept him as Messiah. Common people
accepted him as a prophet, as one who spoke with authority, and one who did the
work of God. If Atheists mean people are turning away from the Christian Church,
they are correct. Thousands of believers have left the institutional Church, some
to associate with small groups, others have no religious affiliations, yet most
retain their faith.
14.
“How can you pick and choose what parts of
the Bible to follow literally?” People do not get to “pick and choose” what
parts of scripture they accept. The context determines which parts are literal
and which parts are symbolic or allegorical. The protestant Bible is a
compilation of sixty-six books, all of which are important providing examples
and principals to live by, they reveal God’s interaction with people. The
scriptures reveal God’s plan of redemption and his desire that all people come
to him. The Bible is not a textbook for Church or religious activity. It is not
an instructional catalogue. It is primarily a history of God’s relationship
with humanity.
15. “How
can God be Just, Merciful AND a Jealous God who demands worship?” The
prophets describe Israel's unfaithfulness and idolatry as spiritual adultery.
God's jealousy underscores his righteousness and the consequences of breaking his
covenant. God eagerly wanted to restore his relationship with Israel despite
their unfaithfulness. Consider God’s words in Hosea:
“When
Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. The
more I called them, the more they went from me; they kept sacrificing to the
Baals, and offering incense to idols. Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to
walk, I took them up in my arms; but they did not know that I healed
them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was
to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks. I bent down to them and
fed them.”
Yes, God
said, “I am jealous for Zion
with great jealousy, and I am jealous for her with great wrath.” God
disciplined Israel as a father would his child. His jealousy and discipline
demonstrated his love for Israel. The scripture records that God is not
pleased when the wicked die, but rather that they change their ways and live. In
his letter James wrote, “God
yearns jealously for the spirit that he has made to dwell in us.” Atheist,
Agnostic, or believer, God wants all to be in his family. The question implies
the attributes of God are contradictory; in the context of God’s relationship
with those he created they exhibit his love and desire for them to avoid
disaster and share in his glory.
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