God Archives

May 22, 2025May 20, 2025

I WAS an Atheist

Yesterday, we looked at John N. Clayton’s answer to the question, “Were you really an atheist?” He said, “I WAS an atheist,” and explained two points about why. He concludes here with two final points:

My third point is that you cannot scare faith into a person. I have heard people say, “There are no atheists in foxholes.” That is not true. I have seen atheists who went through the worst of combat experiences continue their belief that there is no God. I had a few experiences as an atheist where I thought my life was about to end, and it never scared me into believing in God.

What finally changed my parents’ belief system was their response to Christians who ministered unselfishly to them when they could no longer take care of themselves. An atheist views death as part of life. What does not make sense to an atheist is someone who sacrifices when there is no personal gain for themselves. Survival of the fittest can explain death, but it cannot explain altruistic service to others. When my wife and I decided to keep and raise a multi-handicapped baby we had adopted, my parents were enraged. Our action violated their position, producing a major breach in our relationship for many years.

My fourth point is that helping someone out of atheism is never a fast process. I was never in a church building or worship service of any kind until I was nearly twenty years old. Hearing words like “Jesus Christ” used in any way but profanity was very strange to me. Prayer was a meaningless waste of time in my view.

When science forced me to recognize that my atheistic assumptions about the cosmos were inadequate, I started doubting my atheism. It was seven years until I was finally willing to ask questions and share my struggles with someone else. My father was not willing to discuss his atheism until he was seventy years old and faced leukemia. My mother was ninety years old before she would rationally discuss the existence of God.

People do not get out of atheism overnight, but if they accept the evidence and get to know God, their faith will be on fire like no person of inherited faith will ever be. I WAS an atheist because I inherited that belief system. Now I have my own faith, which is supported by evidence that I can see, and it is much better and more fulfilling.

May 21, 2025May 20, 2025

Were You Really an Atheist?

Were you really an atheist? People have asked this question incredulously, as if they couldn’t believe someone like me existed. Some will say, “I don’t think atheists really exist.” I have four points in answer to this challenge.

My first point is that I was an atheist for the same reason many people are believers. I inherited my atheist faith. Most Catholics are Catholic because they were born into a family with that conviction. My parents were atheists, so that is what I was. They indoctrinated me to believe that religion is a destructive and ignorant system that no intelligent person would believe. Ask yourself why you are what you are religiously. If you are what your parents were, is it because you have studied it and know it to be true, or have you just accepted the family faith as the line of least resistance?

My second point is that I did not doubt that there was no God. My only exposure to religion was negative, and my parents took advantage of every opportunity to reinforce the belief that religion was wrong and destructive. My father taught for several years at Talladega State Teachers College, an all-black school in Talladega, Alabama. I remember crosses burning in our front yard. I remember doctors refusing to give us quality medical treatment because of my father’s occupation. I remember my mother being refused service in a restaurant because we were sitting with a black member of the college faculty. Every time something like that happened, I was told that the prejudice was due to religion.

When newspapers carried the story of a religious figure doing something wrong, my parents told me that is what religion produces. Today, there are many examples of actions by religious people doing things that reflect badly on religion. That is why our ministry focuses entirely on scientific evidence for God, not on what “religious” people do. Many of today’s atheists are former Christians or even ministers of churches. They have seen people who are supposed to be Christians do destructive things, and they have thrown the baby out with the bathwater.

These two points are adapted from John N. Clayton’s book Frequently Asked Questions © 2007. John has two more points in answer to the question “Were you really an atheist?” We will look at those tomorrow.

May 20, 2025May 19, 2025

Our Pets Don’t Have Souls

Domestic animals make our lives full and sometimes are our best friends. Some people ask whether animals go to heaven, or say they won’t be happy in heaven if their pet isn’t there. Saying that our pets don’t have souls is very emotionally loaded.

I am an animal lover and have had eight dogs and three cats, all of which I loved dearly. I know what wonderful companions animals can be and how much they can enrich our lives. I also know that for some people, animals have been their primary link to sanity. People have called dogs “man’s best friend” because they don’t have the limitations of many humans. Animals trust, obey, remain faithful, are always truthful, always positive, always loving, and are always there. Our human relationships are likely to fail all these tests. Animals frequently serve as the needed equilibrium for people who have been hurt in their human relationships.

Please think carefully about the previous paragraph. It is a severe indictment of the Church. When I hear someone say that their dog is the only friend they have in the world, I know the Church has failed them. God intended for the Church to be the one force in our lives that would never let us down, but that has rarely been the case due to human weakness.

With those things in mind, the fact is that animals are not humans. The Bible makes it clear that humans are uniquely created in the image of God, giving us characteristics that animals don’t have. Our pets don’t have souls and are not the final answer to the isolation some of us feel.

When we are in heaven and no longer bound by time, will we be able to go back and revisit the animals that blessed our lives? I have no idea, but I believe our priorities and relationships will be different then. The Church often fails to support people who are hurt, isolated, lonely, and unfulfilled. I hope we will begin to do a better job of healing them with our love, compassion, and fellowship.

May 19, 2025May 18, 2025

Upside-Down Trees – the Baobabs

Our fourth quarter 2024 printed publication contained an article about the very unusual baobab trees that grow in Madagascar, Africa, and northwest Australia. These “upside-down trees” can live 2,000 years or more and grow to huge sizes. They have a pyramid shape with a large trunk that stores vast amounts of water, but they have no limbs or leaves except at the very top. Baobabs are essential to the lives of bats and birds.

Baobab trees are unusual because they have no genetic connection with gymnosperms like pine trees and modern seed trees like oaks or maples. They are also not related to palm trees, which are not true trees.

One of our followers sent me a letter about the article. She said it brought back memories of her childhood in Rhodesia and the story of the upside-down trees. She wrote:

“My family often camped out in the ‘bush,’ and no matter where we went, there were always baobabs. I must have seen a hundred or more over the years, but I never saw one with leaves and flowers … The Matabele, an African tribe in the Bulawayo area, had a great tale about why the trees look upside down and dead. When the baobabs were created, they were very proud of their size and beauty. They bragged to the other trees and became arrogant and annoying. The gods heard about their boasting, so they turned the baobabs upside down, and what we see are the roots.”

That is an interesting tradition with a great message about pride and boasting. We appreciate that our friend shared it with us. Despite the pagan story explaining the upside-down trees, we know they are not punishment, or an accident created by chance and without purpose. They are part of God’s amazing design for life on this planet.

If you are not on our mailing list and would like to read the article in the Does God Exist? 4th quarter publication, you will find it on our website doesgodexist.org. We also featured these trees in an earlier post on this website.

May 16, 2025May 13, 2025

Take It Easy and Live Longer

It’s an animal that can live for 500 years. The ocean quahog (Arctica islandica) is a clam native to the North Atlantic. They exemplify the slogan “Take it easy and live longer.”

The ocean quahogs living in deep, cold waters farther north live the longest. Those in the southern areas tend to have much shorter lives. Since these mollusks add one growth line to their shells each year, it’s possible to determine the age by counting the lines. The oldest reported specimen found in 2006 was 507 years old. That means this clam began its life shortly after Columbus discovered the Americas. Who knows how much longer it might have lived if it had escaped capture.

Ocean quahogs and a few other animals, such as tortoises, have a quality that scientists call “negligible senescence.” What that means is they don’t show signs of aging. Scientists are still trying to discover the factors that allow some animals to live long lives without apparent aging.

We suggest that one factor is obvious. “Take it easy and live longer” is demonstrated by the long-lived creatures with an unhurried and unstressed lifestyle. Perhaps we can learn something from that. The Creator had a reason for setting aside a time of rest.

May 15, 2025May 13, 2025

Dancing Frogs in India

If you can imagine a male frog sticking his leg up and waving his foot to attract the attention of a female frog, then you have a mental picture of “dancing frogs” (Micrixalus). Several species of these frogs live in the Western Ghats Mountain Range of India. Although these dancing frogs can’t dance like the cartoon version, with top hat and cane, they are gifted at sticking a leg out.

During the mating season, the male dancing frogs will find a prominent rock along the stream and puff out their white vocal sacs. Then they tap their hind foot on the rock and wave it in the air when they see a good-looking female frog approaching. They sometimes wave their foot when another male comes along to tell him, “This is my territory, and you better move along, buddy!” The frog may use alternate hind legs to perform this “foot flagging” while at the same time expanding its vocal sac to call out to the females. It’s a frog-style song and dance routine.

After mating, the female uses her hind legs to dig a hole in the streambed to bury the eggs. Dancing frogs are vulnerable because of habitat loss, but India has created some protected areas in the Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot. We are continually amazed at the diversity and creativity in the beautiful system of life God created. We even find it entertaining.

May 14, 2025May 13, 2025

Why We Have Four Gospels

When I was an atheist, it seemed ridiculous to me for there to be four accounts of the same story. Why not have one good account instead of four shoddy ones? The answer to why we have four gospels did not come to me for many years.

The old explanation that four different witnesses reported different things did not hold up well. Having one complete account made more sense to me. I finally came to see why we have four Gospels is because of the readers, not the writers. One of the problems that many Americans have with the Bible is that they assume it was written for Americans. The Bible is not an American book, and it is not about Americans.

We have three synoptic gospel accounts written by different authors, specifically designed for different groups of readers. In spite of that, there is an amazing accord between them. The synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke give a general view, or synopsis, of the events of Christ’s ministry.

The scholars who study the gospels tell us that 606 of the 661 verses of Mark appear in Matthew and that 380 of the verses of Mark are found in Luke. Mark is the oldest and shortest of the synoptic gospels. Matthew is very Jewish and contains much material that would be of interest to the Jewish culture, as well as covering the material in Mark. Luke was a well-educated Greek and a physician. His writing does not contain the Jewish slant of Matthew, and his approach would appeal to the Gentile, or Greek, population.

The Gospel of John is not synoptic but evangelistic. John’s purpose is to convince his readers that Jesus is the Christ and the Son of God. The very nature of Jesus as the logos in John 1:1 is expanded and carried throughout the gospel. Much of the information in John is not in the other Gospels, because it has a different purpose and intent. It is an apologetic gospel to address the skeptic and the uninformed.

Suggesting that the reason why we have four gospels is to prevent details from being left out is a vast oversimplification. The four gospels together give us a logical, reasonable, and essential understanding of what and who Jesus was and what He came to do. The Bible gives us an accurate record of the gospel.

May 13, 2025May 12, 2025

Questions About Life in Three Categories

Everyone is curious about the things we see in nature. Our posts here and on Facebook often concern animals, plants, and ecosystems. Most people looking at living creatures believe they see design and have questions about life in three categories.

The first category of questions, asked primarily by scientists or the scientifically minded, is, “How does it work?” We want to know how DNA determines the various traits of living things. We are curious about how green plants convert sunlight and carbon dioxide into energy to power their cells. How does a bat find its prey in the dark? How can an octopus control eight arms independently? The questions are numerous.

The second category is, “What is the purpose?” Atheist scientist Richard Dawkins stops after the “how” question to say, “Biology is the study of things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose.” But then he makes it very clear that he believes they are not designed and have no purpose. On the other hand, theologians look for a purpose. Since God created the world, He must have a purpose in mind.

Both scientists and theologians ask questions in the third category. They want to know, “How and when did this originate? How did the universe come into being? How did life come from non-living chemicals? When did the first human life originate, and how?” For believers, the Bible gives us basic answers to those questions. However, since the Bible is not a science textbook, it leaves many questions unanswered. That is where science can find answers.

Looking at questions about life in three categories, the third category is very contentious because scientists and believers disagree. I mean that unbelieving scientists disagree with believers and vice versa. But also, scientists disagree with other scientists, and believers disagree with other believers. The curious thing is that in recent years, scientists have resolved some of their disagreements. Those who once insisted that the universe was eternal have been forced to accept the evidence of a cosmic beginning about 13.8 billion years ago.

Believers, however, continue to argue about young-earth and old-earth theology. All believers need to accept the fact that the Bible does not tell us when the universe began or when Adam and Eve lived. As Christians, we must let the Bible speak where it speaks and allow science to speak where it speaks. Of the questions about life in three categories, the most important for believers to examine falls into the second category. “What is the purpose of life?” That is a question the Bible clearly answers. For example, read Romans 12:1-2, Romans 6:22, and Ephesians 3:10-12.

May 12, 2025

The Creation of Matter from Nothing

In high school, I enjoyed science and decided that I wanted to be a scientist of some kind. I entered Indiana University and enrolled in an astronomy course at the feet of one of the great astronomers of the day. In that course, we studied the problem of origins — the creation of matter from nothing. As we discussed this subject, we went into various theories that had been proposed.

When we got to the conclusion of the discussion, I asked the professor which of the theories was the most acceptable one that satisfactorily explains the creation of matter from nothing. He leaned over the desk, looked me straight in the eye, and said, “Young man, you need to learn to ask intelligent questions.”

I did not appreciate the professor’s response, so I said, “Well, what do you mean?” He said, “This is not a question that a scientist tries to answer. This is a question for the philosopher or theologian, but this is not something that falls into the realm of science.” In today’s discussions of black holes and parallel universes, things have not changed. The fundamental question of the creation of matter/energy from absolutely nothing is not an area that can be scientifically explored.

I had always felt that science could ultimately answer all the questions humans have. I believed there was no challenge that science could not eventually resolve. Yet this learned man, an expert in his field, said that this was an area that the scientist should not even try to answer. It was totally beyond the capacity of science to explain and explore.

That was more than 50 years ago. Today there are even more questions science can’t answer, and one of the remaining unanswered questions involves the creation of matter from nothing.

This was adapted from “Why I Left Atheism” by John N. Clayton. You can read the entire story HERE.

May 9, 2025May 8, 2025

Confidence in Astronomical Observations

Some people have asked how we can know that astronomers’ statements about the evolution and demise of stars are factual. This question is usually asked by those in religious denominations that demand a young Earth, which means a young cosmos. Even though the time factors are much longer than human existence, we can have confidence in astronomical observations.

Although humanity has not been around long enough to observe the complete life of a star, we have seen intermediate steps in star evolution. Astronomers plot the luminosity (brightness) of stars against their surface temperature (or color/spectral type) with graphs called the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram. It’s a powerful tool for classifying stars, studying their evolution, and understanding their properties. An example is the Crab Nebula.

In 1054, astronomers saw a star explode. The debris pattern of the explosion resembles a crab, so astronomers call it the Crab Nebula. Almost a millennium later, measurements show that the nebula is roughly 10 light years in diameter and is expanding at 1,500 kilometers per second. Observations of the Crab Nebula by the Hubble telescope in 2005 and the Webb telescope in 2023 show steps in the life of a star. Observations of other stars provide more information about a star’s lifetime, giving us confidence in astronomical observations.

Even though I didn’t see the launch, if I see a rocket climbing higher in the sky with every passing second, I know it was launched. I can even compute the launch time. When a car comes to a stop, leaving tire tracks, I know the car was going fast when someone applied the brakes. Every day, we understand evidence of a process without seeing it from start to finish. Astronomers come to understand the life history of stars in the same way.

As we have pointed out before, the Bible does not tell us the age of the cosmos or Earth. We can have confidence in astronomical observations. Young-earth theology is not only in opposition to the evidence but is also inconsistent with the biblical account.

References: apod.nasa.gov for May 8, 2025, and Wikipedia.