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Is belief in God reasonable? It is strange to even think of this question. And yet, in our society the “strangeness” has almost been taken away. From college professors, to popular atheistic writers and speakers, to that family member at the yearly reunion, atheism is widely an accepted way of viewing life. No, atheism certainly would not describe the majority of people, but the arguments, influence, and mockery that can be used by atheists at times carry weight in the eyes of a good number of people and in the arena of ideas.

Is it reasonable for Christians to believe in God? Not only is it reasonable, it is nothing less than unreasonable to do the contrary. In truth, to deny the existence of God is one of the most unreasonable things that anyone can do. In this post we look at a few reasons why people ought to believe in God and reject atheism. But, we won’t stop there. Our belief in God goes far beyond arguments, as we will see.

Reasons to believe in God and reject atheism

One of the great helps for people in seeing the reasonableness of belief in God are the logical outcomes of atheism. If someone told you, “It’s really true that banging your head against a wall is good for your health,” one way to prove the error of their belief is to see the outcomes of their belief and practice. After seeing injuries, concussions, memory loss, and the like, you could easily see that this is not a good practice, and as well should see that it’s reasonable to believe that it’s good not to hit your head on walls.

It is similar to atheism. When we see the logical, and at times practical, outcomes of atheistic thought, we can see that this way of viewing reality is to be rejected.

Though not all atheists would agree on every particular point of how the world came into existence or how man came to be on the earth, the basic thought of atheism stays the same. Atheism teaches that there is no supernatural. No God, no heaven, no hell. That humans are advanced animals and still evolving. That human life may be more valuable than other animal life, but not because of anything in humanity per se, but because we are more advanced animals and are more useful to society. Seeing that there is no God, according to atheism, then there is no lawgiver. Not only is there no lawgiver, but there is no next life and no judgment, either.

What are the outcomes of this way of viewing the world? First, there is no purpose in life. You may feel purpose and even long for it, but this is simply something that you have been taught through societal conditioning or came to by some other means. If atheism is true, then your life is meaningless. Think about it. You are a combination of chemicals and the evolutionary process. Some how this world came to exist and then some how humanity came to exist in it. But it was random, the acting of nature. One may say, “But I help save lives. This, even though I do not believe in God, is an act of purpose.” In an atheistic view of life even this has no purpose. Even if you help save lives, what does it really matter? We will all be dead most likely in 100 years, and most sooner than that. We will be forgotten, and the people we help will be forgotten. And after all, couldn’t it be that the best thing was not to save them? More on this in a moment.

Now, this is important. I am not saying that atheists do not “feel” or “think” that they have purpose. What I am saying is that if atheists feel and think they have purpose, then they are not being consistent. If atheism is true, then there is no purpose in life. But everyone (almost) knows that there is purpose in life! Which should help us see how wrong atheism is, and how reasonable it is to believe in God. There is only real purpose in life if there is a God who gives us a reason to exist.

Second, if atheism is true, not only is there no purpose, but there is no right and wrong. How could there be? There is no lawgiver. So how could there be an absolute standard of right and wrong? Now, consistent atheists can believe in some sort of right and wrong, but it’s formed by a societal opinion or some other way. They cannot believe that something is always right or always wrong for all people all the time. For example, in an atheistic way of viewing life, you cannot say that kidnapping a person and keeping him a slave forever is always wrong. A response may be, “But society at large says it’s wrong.” That may be true; but what happens when society at large says that it is not wrong? Does it then become right?

Again, I am not saying that all atheists do not believe in an absolute standard of right and wrong. Most would. However, I am saying that the consistent atheist cannot believe in any such absolute morality. Virtually every person alive believes that some things are always wrong and some things are always right. This helps us to see that atheism is wrong, and that we should believe in God. Only because of God can we have an absolute standard of right and wrong, because He is the lawgiver, and because right and wrong are expressions of who He is.

Third, similarly, we hear a lot about human rights, and that is a good thing (see more on this here)! However, where do these human rights come from? In an atheistic view, we are simply animals that are more advanced than other animals. There is no intrinsic worth about us. This helps lead people to believe that the killing of the aged, unborn, and even children who have been born, can be acceptable. However, when those with an atheistic view of life speak about “treating everyone fairly,” or the need to respect others, where do these beliefs come from? There is no place for human rights in an atheistic view of life, at least in the way of “we have to do this.” Again, I am not saying that atheists do not believe in human rights. I am saying that if an atheist is consistent he will not believe in the rights of others. Almost every person alive today believes that humans, to some extent at least, have rights that are always there and cannot be taken away. This again is another reason to reject atheism and believe in God. Human rights exist only because God is our source of right and wrong, and He has created all people in His image, and, because of this, each person has great worth.

If atheism is true then there is no purpose, no absolute right and wrong, and no human rights in the world. There are few who accept a reality like this. These all show how atheism goes against what almost every person confesses to know, which should lead everyone to reject atheism. Is belief in God reasonable? Yes, it is. Only because of God do we have purpose, an absolute standard of right and wrong, and human rights.

Is that all?

Can all we do is show that belief in God is reasonable? Though I think the above arguments can prove the existence of God in the normal way of speaking about “proof,” there is more that must be said. God has not left us with simply a belief that is reasonable. No, God has made every man know that He is there.

The Bible clearly says that God has revealed Himself to all people, and yet all people have rejected Him. The Bible says,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God has showed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened (Romans 1:18-21).

All people, at least at sometime in their life, know about God, and yet they reject Him. Atheism is rebellion, not against a God they have never known about, but against the God of the Bible who has revealed Himself to all people.

At the same time “theism,” the belief in God, will never save anyone. Even the devils believe in God. One must come to the God revealed in the Bible, through His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the only way of salvation.

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