In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
This post mushroomed into a debate with an atheist. I engaged in it against my better judgment… or so I thought. I am sure God does not want us to curl up and say nothing when an atheist speaks.
So much of what we hear about “Science” etc. is just so much jaw-flapping. Nevertheless, because we don’t know who else may be listening, or reading, we have a duty to stand up for God’s Word and Our Lord Jesus Christ. We do the best we can.
Recently there was a post in another thread where someone posted that it’s not logical/rational/whatever to believe in God, as if none of us had ever considered this and by merely bringing this up we would fall into lockstep and become atheists.
What I’ve seen about such arguments is the the non-believer will make their point, and if the believer counters effectively, they will pivot to some other point, and the discussion becomes a game of tag where the believer chases arguments which are constantly in motion, and nothing is ever resolved. Eventually, such arguments almost invariably end up at some variation of; “if there’s a God, why do bad things happen”? They may cite wars, disease or injustices. Stephen Fry rather famously stated that if there was a God and he was to face God, he would call him out on the subject of childhood cancer.
Such arguments miss a key point, which explains the dilemma of life in a world where bad things happen. We live in a fallen state, in a fallen world. This world is not in the state it was when God created it. Adam made a free-will choice, which brought sin and death to this world, and all of the people born from that point onward are negatively affected. Simply put, God isn’t causing disease, hardship, wars, death, or any of the other truly bad things happening. These are a consequence of our fallen state and choices that individuals have made. For example, wars, which don’t arise spontaneously, but happen because of actions. God didn’t make some tyrant invade another country, but it is a decision made by some human ruler.
Of course, if you bring this up to a non-believer, the discussion will now pivot, questioning the very idea of original sin, and dismissing the biblical account. And around in circles the discussion will go, never coming to any conclusion. It goes nowhere, and is a waste of time.
Years ago, I got into a flat earth discussion with an acquaintance. I was able to refute his arguments easily, using some very basic science. But the arguments just kept coming, circular logic, returning to points which had already been firmly refuted. At the end of the discussion, I was told that my arguments were invalid, because I believe in gravity and my challenger did not accept that gravity existed. Standing with his own two feet firmly planted on the ground, he denied the existence of gravity.
The point of this discussion was not about his “belief” in a flat earth. Instead, it was about wasting my time and energy. I will not discuss flat earth from this point onward, because as soon as I enter into the discussion I am handing them what they really want, which is my time and attention. My time is valuable, as is everyone’s time, and I refuse to give it away, especially for such frivolous arguments.
Likewise, while I am willing to defend my belief in God, I will not waste time on circular arguments with people who are rewarded when I waste my time in endless arguments.
Plenty of food for thought here. You’ve pretty much nailed it.
Satan would love to have direct worship from humans, but if he can divert us from our godly devotion in any way, he’ll settle for that.
All atheists are liars – they have no excuse for not believing in God. Most make themselves out to be God or have faith in people or things they think will save them.