Posted on 01/14/2005 8:26:44 AM PST by truthfinder9
Atheism is the world view that denies the existence of God. More specifically, traditional atheism argues that there never was and never will be a God. But is this position rationally justifiable?
Atheism positively affirms that there is no God. But can the atheist be certain of this claim? You see, to know that a transcendent God does not exist would require a perfect knowledge of all things (omniscience). To attain this knowledge you would have to have simultaneous access to all parts of the universe (omnipresence). Therefore, as an atheist, to be certain of this claim you would have to possess Godlike characteristics. Obviously, mankind’s limited nature precludes these special abilities. The atheist’s dogmatic claim is therefore clearly unjustifiable. The atheist is attempting to prove a universal negative. In terms of logic this is called a logical fallacy.
The atheistic world view is inadequate for many other reasons as well. First, atheism cannot adequately explain the existence of the world. Like all other things, the world in which we live cries out for an explanation which is clearly beyond itself — however, the atheist is unable to provide one. Second, the atheistic world view is unable to provide the necessary preconditions to account for the laws of science, the universal laws of logic — and, of course, absolute moral standards. In short, the atheistic world view cannot account for the meaningful realities of life.
If individual atheists are serious about truth when it comes to God, let them consider the claims of Jesus Christ. He claimed to be none other than God in human flesh (John 1:1). This astounding claim was supported, however, by His matchless personal character, His fulfillment of predictive prophecy, His incredible influence on human history — and most importantly, the historical fact of His resurrection from the dead. The evidence is definitely there for the skeptic to analyze. As Francis Schaeffer, the noted apologist, stated: “God is there and He is not silent.” God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself (2 Cor. 5:19). Ultimately man does not deny the existence of God for lack of evidence, but because man does not want to be accountable to his creator.
Hanegraaff is correct in saying that the most extreme, dogmatic atheism goes beyond the available facts. But, of course, so does extreme, dogmatic theism.
Atheism is not logical in any sense of the word. They would have to know everything, And in which case, most of them can't add 2&2.
Atheists would be fools to think our liberty comes from government.
Theists would be fools to think our government comes from God.
Sorry you're stuck.
I agree, but we are in disagreement with the view held by the Christian establishment for most of the last 2000 years
Atheism is just fine IF the universe created itself. What caused the cause?
Any argument which tries to prove a negative is not logical, period.
Then the universe is God. That would be Hinduism. Not atheism.
Sorry again. In my religious outlook the year is 5765.
"You see, to know that a transcendent God does not exist would require a perfect knowledge of all things (omniscience). To attain this knowledge you would have to have simultaneous access to all parts of the universe (omnipresence). Therefore, as an atheist, to be certain of this claim you would have to possess Godlike characteristics."
I thought the atheists' arguments were on a more philosphical level, e.g., If God existed he would have created a perfect world. The world is not perfect. Therefore, God does not exist.
>I thought the atheists' arguments were on a more philosphical level, e.g., If God existed he would have created a perfect world. The world is not perfect. Therefore, God does not exist.
The problem with this argument is that atheists assume they know what a "perfect world" would be like. Only a being beyond our existence in space-time could do that.
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