The Atheism Debate

I just spent quite a bit of time reading through a long online discussion on atheism vs. Christianity and made my own lengthy contribution to the debate. I believe the stance I took is good for all of you to read, so I've included a good chunk of it here.

I want to encourage debate on this site as well, so feel free to comment!
--Art--

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MY RESONSE TO THE DISCUSSION ON ATHEISM VS. CHRISTIANITY:
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Hi everyone,

I just spent about the last hour or so pouring over the original article and most of the discussion that followed, and I found it all really intriguing.

The original article was well thought-out and intellectual. The author really put a lot of work into developing his argument, and I’ve got to give him credit for that. But unfortunately, it appears to me that he made the very same mistake that he accuses Christians of making: choosing a belief and then disregarding all evidence to the contrary.

Personally, I’m not a historian or theologian, but I still base my own faith on facts that have been proven over and over again. And what history exists, I am willing to accept as reliable even if there are some questionable aspects among the accounts.

There are also differing accounts of things that happened as recently as the Revolutionary War, but we still agree that it happened and that the colonists won! Why? Because of what exists in the present. No one will ever be able to settle a 100% accurate account of the whole war, but we can still observe the present-day effects of it.

Christianity is the same way. We could argue the events and chronology of 2000 years ago until we’re all blue in the face, but none of us will win because none of us can prove something so distant. Truth be told, I’ve read a whole lot of books that intellectually, historically, scientifically, and anthropologically prove the case for the Bible’s historicity and authenticity; so this isn’t a cop-out. I know the evidence exists even if I can’t personally do it justice. I just prefer to look at the present-day evidence to prove the reality of God and His Holy Spirit.

For one thing, there’s the ratio of new Christian converts to present-day martyrs. It is estimated that some 25,000 Christians are murdered every month worldwide for refusing to deny their faith. It is also estimated by many reliable sources that in the country of China alone, 25,000 people come to faith in Jesus Christ EVERY DAY! The worldwide statistics are actually 25,000 every 4 hours!

All over the world (I believe in 52 different nations) Christianity is either illegal or heavily persecuted. Christians face severe torture, family disownment, hate crimes, imprisonment, confiscation/vandalism/destruction of property, and even death; and yet more and more people continue to become present-day followers of Christ. And these are the countries where Christianity is spreading the most and bonified miracles are happening most frequently.

People in these nations know the risks associated with being Christians, and yet they continue to meet in secret gatherings and would rather die than deny their faith. Why? Because it’s real and they know it.

In America, we’re largely ignorant to these statistics. The problem is that we have “freedom of religion,” which I’ve found is merely the “freedom to be religious.” In other words, most of the “Christians” in America are not Christians at all–they’re just people with a lot of beliefs based on dogma and tradition. Unfortunately, they do not have a present-day relationship with the God they profess. I think this is apparent given all the insulting comments littering this discussion made by people claiming to be Christians. Such people are not representatives of Christ and do not know Him.

And that brings me to my second point. I believe the biggest detriment to the Christian side of this discussion is that true Christianity (as Jesus demonstrated it) is severely misrepresented in the world today. People like to rally around the ideology of the Bible, but they don’t apply its teachings to their personal lives. As a result, the most common example of a “Christian” is sadly someone who does not represent Christ at all. As a side note, I’ve found that this tends to be the most common trigger that drives many people to investigate atheism. So if you’re a Christian, take a look at your life and see if Christ is living through you. 1 John says that anyone who claims to be in Him must walk as Jesus did. And Jesus Himself taught us to prove by our actions that we have really repented from sin and turned to God.

Thus, the second present-day evidence is a transformed life. Such people are hard to come by, but they’re out there (I’m one of them). There’s not enough room to tell the whole story here, but I was personally set free from an addiction to pornography and lust that plagued me for years. And not only that, but I’ve gone from extreme outbursts of anger (and even nervous breakdowns) to being a peacemaker. I’m not perfect, but I can honestly and humbly say that Jesus Christ lives through me supernaturally, and He can live through you just as easily.

The last present-day evidence I’ll mention are the countless miracles that happen every day worldwide. I’ve personally been miraculously healed of more “incurable” problems than I deserve: a heart murmer, scars on my face from 2nd degree burns, chronic sinusitis, Attention Deficit Disorder, a degenerative tooth disease, tendonitis, and even a broken back to name a few. And I’ve seen many miracles too (I’m not talking about coincidences; I’m talking about things like thunderstorms parting in two at the command of a Christian in the name of Jesus).

I could go on, but I think I should start winding things up.

In short, I’ve come to find that atheism is a matter of beliefs, but Christianity is not. That may sound surprising to you, but consider the logic:

To be an atheist, you must believe that there is a non-spiritual explanation for everything. There is no way to prove this because there are so many “unexplained” things happening through Christians all over the world (including Christians raising the dead in more than 50 countries over the last 25 years alone).

To be a Christian, you start with a belief; but if you pursue it, that belief becomes solid knowledge. You can believe me or not. You can accept the present-day evidence or deny it. You can accept the biblical accounts or deny them. But it all remains in the realm of belief until you encounter it.

That’s why I say atheism is strictly a matter of belief–there’s nothing to encounter. Christianity, however, has a God who is to be experienced and encountered on a moment-by-moment basis. Whether you believe in Him or not is actually irrelevant. God doesn’t care if you believe in Him. He cares if you know Him.

Are you willing to test the belief?