Evidence for God to Answer Challenges Archives - Page 5 of 31

February 2, 2024January 30, 2024

Why Do People Choose Atheism?

For the past few days, we have looked at facts about atheists compiled by the Pew Research Center. We saw that people who identify as atheists in the United States are primarily male and younger than the general population. We also saw that they scored higher than the general population in a religious knowledge survey that included Christianity-related questions. We also pointed out that they often grew up in a church but left their faith in college. Why do people choose atheism over faith in God?

I think it is safe to say that some choose atheism because they don’t want to follow the moral standards of Christianity. By rejecting God, they can reject His moral standards without pangs of conscience. Living immorally becomes easier when we can pretend that there is no higher authority who sets standards of moral conduct. According to Pew Research, less than half (42%) of Americans believe that it is necessary to believe in God to have good moral values. But that is much higher than in France, where only 15% think that belief in God is essential for good morals. Interestingly, in some Muslim-dominated countries such as Pakistan and Indonesia, 98% to 99% say that a person must believe in God to be moral.

Atheists not only refuse to believe in God, but they also think that faith is a negative factor in society. In the U.S., 71% of atheists say that the decline in religious influence in public life is a good thing. About the same amount (70%) say that churches and other religious institutions do more harm than good. They overlook how many hospitals, orphanages, and charitable organizations have been founded and are supported by Christians. Many Western European countries, such as Belgium, France, Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands, have high rates of atheism (14-16%). That contrasts with the percentage of atheists in many Eastern European countries, including Romania, Ukraine, Bosnia, Poland, and Lithuania (1-2%). Even in Russia, only 4% of the population claims atheism. Could that be because the people of those countries lived for years under atheism, and they understand its consequences?

Reading the atheism data on the Pew Research Center website brings many questions to my mind. Why do people choose atheism over faith in God? The answer is as complex and diverse as human beings. At Does God Exist? our mission is to share evidence for God’s existence, the truth of the Bible, and Jesus Christ as the one who can restore us to a relationship with our Creator.

Reference: Pew Research Center

February 1, 2024January 30, 2024

What Makes an Atheist?

Yesterday, we pondered statistics about atheism from the Pew Research Center. We considered what an atheist is. We saw that atheists are more highly educated, with 43% having college degrees compared to 27% of the American general public. They also are politically more affiliated with the Democrat party and lean more toward political liberalism. They do have spiritual thoughts and find meaning in family. However, atheists also find much more meaning in money, hobbies, and travel than do Christians or the general population. What makes an atheist? Why do people turn to atheism?

We often blame the fact that young people turn to atheism in college on the influence of American higher education. Educational institutions have become more liberal and atheistic, but perhaps the churches are partially to blame. We learn about God from two sources. In addition to the Bible, the world around us is filled with the life and wonder of God’s creation. “For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature. So, they have no excuse for not knowing God. (Romans 1:20 NLT).

Many young people who grow up in the church are taught Bible stories along with a distorted scientific perspective of creation. When they get to college, they face new freedoms and challenges to the scientific “facts” they learned in church. The earth and sky seem to be showing something that can’t fit into the human-made interpretations of Bible chronology they have learned. They face a conflict that they must resolve. Too often, they resolve it by throwing out the truth of the Bible along with the scientific errors that have been falsely attached to it.

The bottom line is that the Bible does not tell us the age of the universe or planet Earth. Everything the Bible does tell us agrees with scientific facts. As we have said many times before, science and faith are friends. If there are apparent conflicts, it is because we have bad science or bad theology. The fact that there has been too much of both often turns our college students into atheists.

One more fact from the Pew Research Center is that in a religious knowledge survey, atheists ranked ahead of U.S. adults overall in answering fact-based questions about religion. That indicates that what makes an atheist involves more than a lack of religious knowledge. We will continue with that thought tomorrow.

Reference: Pew Research Center

January 31, 2024April 12, 2024

What Is an Atheist?

What is an atheist? We may think we know what an atheist is, but do we? According to Merriam-Webster, an atheist is “a person who does not believe in the existence of a god or any gods.” Historically, Christians were called “atheists” for believing in only one God instead of the pantheon of pagan gods. Today, data from the Pew Research Center (which we talked about yesterday) indicates that it is not easy to define what an atheist is.

Reading through the Pew Research Center report, I found some interesting facts. In 2009, 2% of Americans described themselves as atheists. In 2018 and 2019, that increased to 4%. However, 18% of those who self-described as atheists said that they “believe in some kind of higher power.” Even more surprising is that 54% of atheists say they “often feel a sense of wonder about the universe.” Apparently, even atheists have an innate spiritual sense. Could that be because humans are created in God’s image? When we ask, “What is an atheist?” perhaps we also should ask what keeps them from believing. Could it sometimes be the actions of believers?

Surprisingly, about a third of American atheists say they think about meaning and purpose in life at least once a week, and they “often feel a deep sense of spiritual peace and well-being.” Two-thirds (63%) listed family as a source of meaning. That compares to 73% of Christians finding meaning in the family. However, Atheists placed much greater meaning on money, hobbies, and travel than did Christians or Americans in general. Is that an attempt to fill the empty spiritual void?

When we ask, “What is an atheist?” we should keep in mind that most U.S. atheists are men (68%). They are also relatively young, with a median age of 34, compared to 46 for the general public. Of the American general public, only 27% have a college degree. Among those who identify as atheists, 43% have graduated from college. Can we blame the high percentage of college-educated atheists on atheistic professors in American higher education? Maybe some blame lies in the many churches that teach anti-scientific doctrines, which college students quickly learn cannot be accurate. Hold that thought until we continue this discussion tomorrow.

Reference: Pew Research Center

January 30, 2024January 29, 2024

American Religious Beliefs in 2023

On January 24, 2024, the Pew Research Center released 2023 data on American religious beliefs. It suggests that the rise of religious “nones” may be slowing. The “nones” are people who claim no religious affiliation, and they have been the fastest-growing religious belief group in America. In the past 50 years, “nones” went from less than 5% to 30% of all Americans. However, this latest report put the “nones” at 28%. Some of the other numbers reported are:

Nones are 17% atheist, 20% agnostic, and 63% nothing in particular.
Thirty years ago, 90% of Americans were “Christian,” and now that number is 60%.
69% of nones are younger than 50.
97% of nones attend religious services a few times a year or not at all.
56% say they believe in “some higher power” aside from the God of the Bible.

The Pew Research Center has a good reputation for gathering data, but still, there is no such thing as an infallible academic survey. Sampling is complex and affected by many variables, but Pew Research has worked hard to avoid pitfalls as much as possible.

The “Does God Exist Ministry” began in 1968 when we were concerned about American religious beliefs. We saw massive ignorance about the evidence for the existence of God, the validity of Jesus Christ as God’s Son, and the inspiration of the Bible. There is a tendency for churches to pretend that everyone believes in God. Believers have suggested that teaching about the evidence for believing in God, Jesus, and the Bible is a waste of time. There have even been attempts by religionists to shut down this ministry, and the refusal to look at science-based evidence has grown.

Our concern about American religious beliefs is why we offer free correspondence courses and a variety of video lessons on our website doesgodexist.tv. We want anyone with an open mind to see evidence from science and to share that with others. We encourage everyone to know why they believe what they believe. Understand that science is simply knowledge, and it strongly supports faith. If someone thinks there is a conflict between science and faith, they either have bad science, bad theology, or both.

Reference: “Has the rise of religious ‘nones’ come to an end in the U.S.?” Pew Research Center, January 24, 2024.

January 15, 2024January 14, 2024

You Are Hopeless

Has anyone ever told you that you are hopeless? I remember the feeling when I was told that my ability to communicate with others in a classroom setting was hopeless. This happened when I was a junior in college and was planning to become a science teacher as a career.

Part of my preparation for teaching was an analysis by the university’s speech department. They evaluated my ability to speak in a way that others could understand. The person testing me pulled up in his chair and said, “The speech problem you have cannot be corrected. You are hopeless and need to change your major because you could never speak in a classroom setting.”

As I held the hand of a loved one with cancer, medical personnel said, “It is hopeless. There is nothing that can be done to stop the cancer.” That diagnosis was unexpected, and my loved one turned and looked at me with frightened eyes and repeated the diagnosis – “I am hopeless.”

In both of these cases, the pronouncement of hopelessness was premature. My loved one lived for more than five years – a time filled with great joy and thanksgiving. When the woman I was eventually to marry heard that I had been told I was “hopeless,” she had something to say. She said, “You may be hopeless in the speech department, but you want to teach science in high school, and those kids will be able to understand what you say.” She was right. I taught in South Bend, Indiana’s public schools for 41 years and was selected as “teacher of the year” on one occasion.

These are trivial cases compared to the challenges facing teenagers today. Atheist and agnostic teaching tells them, “You are hopeless.” If you don’t see a purpose in being alive, when life gets hard and dreams crash, it is easy to decide to end life. The suicide rate at all levels is at an all-time high in our culture today, mainly because when we discard God, there is no hope.

The Bible repeatedly tells us there is a reason for hope. Psalms 42:5 and 62:5 urge us to put our faith in God. Romans 15:13 speaks of God giving us hope through the action of the Holy Spirit. Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as a function of hope and not just the hope of heaven. As Christians, we are part of the war between good and evil. With the hope of an eternal existence with God and knowing our life has a purpose here and now, Christians have a reason for hope.

January 11, 2024January 9, 2024

Aliens Visiting Planet Earth

The media has been full of claims that the government is hiding evidence from the general public about aliens visiting planet Earth. In this day of lying politicians and scams and fakes, it is essential to not buy into any claims too quickly.

The claims that were leaked out to the general public include the following:

1) A group of U.S. airmen found a downed alien spacecraft in Rendelsham Forest, England.

2) Sixty-two children in Zimbabwe witnessed a flying saucer near their playground.

3) A UFO knocked ICBMs offline in Montana.

(4) Various videos from the US Navy show aircraft maneuvering beyond what any earthly craft can do.

All of these and others are included in a film titled The UFO Movie They Don’t Want You to See, produced by Brian Dunning. (It is available for viewing on YouTube at the link below.) The reason we are interested in this film is that there have been those who claimed that aliens are responsible for the Bible, that Jesus Christ was an extra-terrestrial, and that the biblical narrative was given by aliens to guide gullible people into believing in God instead of knowing their true origin. This film exploring evidence about aliens visiting planet Earth has no religious interest and, in fact, is promoted by skeptic organizations.

It is important to understand that it is not our intent to say there is no life in outer space. With the massive number of galaxies, stars, and planets, other life forms may exist. God may have chosen other methods to conduct the war between good and evil. The problem is that the nearest star to our solar system is 4.3 light years away, and the closest galaxy to our Milky Way Galaxy is 750,000 light years away. Those distances are too great to allow any civilization to have an interest in us. Science fiction about aliens visiting planet Earth would have us believe that time and space can be controlled by aliens with intelligence far beyond our own. Some people choose to believe that even though it requires much more faith than to believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God.

The UFO Movie They Don’t Want You to See, produced by Brian Dunning

January 8, 2024January 7, 2024

Accomplishments of Older People

I debated with an atheist on a radio program on the topic of evidence for the existence of God. The radio host mentioned that I was retired from public school teaching after 41 years in the classroom. The atheist began a lecture about how people invent a god when they get old because they want to have someplace to go that allows their existence to continue. My atheist friend said, “It’s only old people who are about to die who believe in God because they can’t make any real contribution to humanity, and life is hard when you get close to death.” I countered with some accomplishments of older people.

For example, poet Maya Angelou received the Presidential Medal of Freedom at age 82. Julia Child wrote a cookbook at 87, and Frank Loyd Wright designed several of his best houses at 91. Astronaut John Glenn was a medical guinea pig going back into space at age 77 to allow doctors to study the effects of space on an older person.

After I had given several illustrations of the accomplishments of older people, my atheist friend said, “But you are obviously old, and that is why you invented God to deal with your impending death.” I responded by pointing out that our ministry has been showing evidence for the existence of God since 1968, so our work did not start in my old age.

It is true that sometimes people don’t stay up to date with new data and techniques as they get older. That is why we subscribe to nearly 100 periodicals, including atheist publications, so we can “be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). The debate over whether the qualifications of a politician or teacher can be diminished because of age depends on the individual. We may not know the answer to every question people may ask, but neither does anyone else.

As for the accomplishments of older people, age and experience frequently offer a better answer than modern philosophy. Let us deal with the evidence for the existence of God and not rely on human theories and youthful atheist philosophies.

Reference: The Mayo Clinic Health Letter for December 2023

December 29, 2023December 30, 2023

A Mindful Ultimate Cause for Our Existence

Yesterday, we said that all major polls from Gallup and Pew agree that faith in God is declining in America. We pointed out that the majority of atheists and agnostics agree with the statement: “The findings of science make the existence of God less probable.” That is true even though recent scientific discoveries point to the existence of a mindful ultimate Cause for our existence.

In the past, a significant factor that caused people to reject faith in God was the problem of pain and suffering. Why would a loving and all-powerful God would allow pain and suffering? That question has led many people to reject God in the past, but another factor for rejecting God has exceeded that one.

According to the Discovery Institute, research shows that 50% of people who reject God do so because of suffering, disease, and death. However, 65% of those who reject belief in God today do so because of: “Scientific theories about the unguided evolution of life.” That means science has become a more significant factor in rejecting God than the pain and suffering problem.

What are the implications for humans if we evolved by unguided evolution? Suppose humans have evolved from the lower animals by a mindless, undirected process. In that case, it means that humans have no intrinsic value, no ultimate purpose, no objective morality, and death is the end of our existence as our bodies decay. When people believe that, what can keep them from being filled with despair and choosing suicide and murder? If we fail to find happiness in life, why not bring it to an end?

Before society is destroyed by complete despair, we have a message of hope. We want to tell you that there is a mindful ultimate Cause for our existence. Even scientific evidence points to the existence of God. The Bible and Jesus Christ show us that God loves us and has a plan for our lives. There is purpose and hope and a reason to live. As we enter a new year, the Does God Exist? ministry will continue to share that good news with everyone willing to open their hearts and minds to listen.

Reference: Stephen C. Meyer on “Has Humanity Forgotten God” on YouTube

December 22, 2023December 19, 2023

Misconceptions About Christmas

Skeptics and atheists frequently attack Christianity by saying that much of what people celebrate at Christmas is either impossible or inaccurate. God coming to Earth would seem impossible if you don’t believe in God or miracles. However, much of the weakness of the skeptic’s arguments is that they attack misconceptions about Christmas.

For example, they criticize the “star of Bethlehem” as impossible. That “star” cannot be a celestial object since the closest star to Earth is Alpha Centauri A, which is 4.3 light years away. Like all celestial stars, it is too far away to stand over a Bethlehem stable. Herod didn’t see the star, and Luke 2:8-15 tells us that angels visited the shepherds but doesn’t mention the star. It had to be an extraordinary miracle of God.

The “wise men” described in Matthew 2:1-2 were “magi from the east,” not kings, and the Bible doesn’t say how many. When they arrived, the Christ child was not in a stable but in a “house” (Matthew 2:11). Atheists and skeptics often challenge misconceptions about Christmas that they see on greeting cards and pictures of the Christmas season rather than what the Bible actually says.

Skeptics also criticize the idea that shepherds were in the fields in late December. The Bible does not record the date of Jesus’ birth, and December is not the time shepherds would have been there. Christmas cards often depict angels with wings and golden harps, but neither of those references is biblical. Christmas songs may also create misconceptions about Christmas. There is no “little drummer boy” in the Bible. While we can enjoy the beauty of Christmas songs, go to the Bible for the facts of Christ’s birth.

December 25 is a great day to enjoy family and declare a rest at the end of the year. However, celebrating Christmas on that day is a human tradition, not a commandment of God. We should honor the incarnation of Christ every day as we look forward to His return.

December 1, 2023November 29, 2023

The Journey to Safety

We have often talked about the design of animals. Various animals act on what we often call “instinct.” Programmed into sea turtles is a journey to safety. When baby sea turtles hatch on the beach, they instinctively and quickly head to the ocean to escape the predators on land. Their mothers didn’t teach them to do that. It is programmed into them. When a kangaroo is born, it will instinctively journey to safety by climbing into its mother’s pouch. She does nothing to assist the tiny creature. Programming a specific action is very efficient, so we program computers to do specific tasks.

In contrast to programmed actions, there is free will. When we tell our children what to do, they may do something entirely different. The child can understand our instructions but still refuse to follow them. The reason is that the child finds other things he wants to do are more appealing.

The bottom line is that commanding actions is less efficient than programming those actions. A baby sea turtle, kangaroo, or robot will act in the way it is programmed. If you are a parent, you have realized that your child will not always do what you command. The question, then, is why didn’t God program humans to do what He wanted? Why did He give us free will? Programming us to act as He desired would have been much more efficient.

God commands us rather than programming us to do His will because He wants to have a relationship with us. Robots can be very efficient because they have specific functions programmed into them and will do what their designer intended. That is not true of humans. However, you can never have a real relationship with a robot. God wants to have a relationship with us. He knew what would happen when He created the first humans, but He did it anyway. We have rebelled and made a mess of our lives and our world. Hatred, war, and mayhem have been the results.

Why, then, did God choose to create us? To Him, having a relationship with us was worth the price. Jesus Christ came to Earth to restore the broken relationship. He was the perfect man, but at the same time, He was God in the flesh. He showed us how to have a loving relationship with God and each other. Then, He bore the punishment for our disobedience to restore the broken relationships.

We are not robots. We are God’s creation, in His image, with free will. We can choose the journey to safety or ignore God and choose our own path. God has made the journey to safety and peace available to us. Why choose the path to destruction?