Monday, October 16, 2017

Atheism and Intangibles

The atheist in fact talks of the true, the good, and the beautiful, but never asks why we admire or pursue such categories.  These are ideas by which we judge everything….  The same applies for liberty, equality, and justice.  These are ideas by which we seek to live.  Wars are fought over them. Books are written because of them. If such categories exist, which of the worldview is able to explain them or justify them or sustain them?  Atheism simply cannot do it.  To be sure, it has been tried.

Ravi Zacharias, Jesus Among Secular Gods, pg.56

11 comments:

Jesse Albrecht said...

Hello Glenn,

I am quite surprised to see the lack of interaction from atheists to the Christian quotes presented on this blog. Any thoughts on this?

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Only that they know they can have no answer for them.

Anonymous said...

No, its becuse we know that folks like you are not worth our time to justify our time in a debate.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Anonymous,

No, the fact is that your "debates" usually lead to name-calling because you have absolutely no answer other than speculation and assertions. The categories mentioned are intangible, and atheism has no answer for how such things exist.

Anonymous said...

If god was real, then he would not need you to argue for his existence. That's how I see it. Correct me if I am wrong. We cannot just assume 'god of the gaps.'

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Anonymous,

God doesn't need us to argue for His existence. We just try to get you to use your logic, your reasoning, to see that there HAS to be a God. If you want to remain ignorant and stupid in this regard, that's your prerogative. So, you ARE wrong. No one is even hinting about a "god of the gaps" except for evolutionists who have their "hopeful monster" or "transitional fossil," etc.

Anonymous said...

I find it funny how Christians poke fun at atheism. There is no evidence for Christianity. Why can't we hear God? Why can't we see Him? Why would a loving God allow for so many innocent people in this world to suffer and die undeserved deaths? Why can't He just fix everything right now? Why all so much silence? We are naturally atheists.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Anonymous,

It's funny how atheists are cowards posting anonymously on Christian blogs.
It's funny how atheists REFUSE to acknowledge the overwhelming evidence for the existence of God.
You hear from God on a daily basis - the creation screams DESIGN! Pick up a Bible and hear from God.
God is a spirit and you can't see a spirit.
God is not a puppeteer nor did he build robots: he gives everyone free-will choice for their behaviors. Everyone's behaviors have consequences, often harmful consequences.
By what moral standard do you determine that anyone dies and undeserved death?
If God "fixed" everything right now you'd be in Hell. God has patience and has a predetermined time when he will bring about the end, all the while allowing more people to wake up and smell the coffee and acknowledge his existence and call out to him for salvation.
No we are not naturally atheists. Atheism comes from rejecting God. Most atheism comes from rejecting God due to the desire to not be held accountable for immorality.

Anonymous said...

Is there going to be another fall? You may scream the freewill defense at me all you want, but the Bible does not rule out such a possibility. Is God going to take away our freewill in the future? What is going to stop another fall? Why did God allow for the fall in the first place? The problem is evil is lethal to your beliefs, admit it. There are so many religious books out there. How can I trust the Bible to be true?

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Anonymous,

There can be only one Fall, because that is when sin entered the world. Now that sin is here, how can sin be entered agains? And that is why another Fall is ruled out -- an impossibility. After the resurrection and end of time as we know it, the sinful nature is removed. And in heaven there will be no desire to rebel against God because of the full knowledge that we have nothing lacking.
God allowed the fall or else man would not truly have free will. There is no problem at all, except in your mind with your rebellion against God.

All other religious books contradict themselves, they teaching impossible/illogical gods, and even evil gods. They teach that people earn their way to heaven or to become gods themselves.

IF you are really interested, rather than just being a troll, then I recommend you acquire the book, "I Don't Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist," by Norman Geisler and Frank Turek.

Jesse Albrecht said...

Anonymous,

Consider the Book of Job. Job was regarded as the most righteous man on earth in his day (Job 1:1; 8). Despite him being very obedient to God, He allowed very terrible things to happen to that man (Job ended up getting a bunch of sores and later lost everything that he owned to severe weather, including his family. In the end, however, God blessed Him with much more riches and even another family) as part of a test to prove to the devil that Job was indeed faithful. Eventually, his three closest companions gathered around him to offer comfort by giving possible explanations for all of the mishaps such as maybe committing a wrongful action which was worthy of rebuke or even having a sinful lifestyle. But Job disagreed with the reasons provided because he knew in his heart that they were false. Job was in fact a righteous man in the sight of God. So he began to question and ponder why God would allow him to undergo all the pain that he was made to endure. He complained to God about his predicaments and pointed to the fact that he had done nothing worthy of condemnation (Job 31). Job continually placed his trust in the Lord. In response to the his plea, God reminded Job about the fact that He is infinitely superior to mankind in every way because He is the author of all life. In other words, He answered Job by telling him that he was unable to fully understand how He works and instructed him to firmly place his trust in Him. Now, the story of Job is very much relatable to us in the modern world. God's control over nature and His ultimate purposes are to be trusted no matter where they appear to lead. He is sovereign over all creation. We are not fully capable of comprehending every jot of the Lord's divine plan because our minds are finite, whereas His wisdom knows no bounds. God is working things out in a manner that glorifies Him.

Also, this article is useful here:

https://rationalchristiandiscernment.blogspot.com/2019/02/christian-interaction-with-problem-of.html