CIM Briefing Papers

C.I.M.  Outline #6

                    THE PROBLEM WITH ATHEISM

I.  Definition

    An atheist is one who declares unequivocally that an eternal
    deity--a  supreme being--does not exist.
            
    Note: An agnostic is one who believes there is insufficient
    evidence to prove God's existence, or, if there is a god he
    cannot be known.

II.  Major Problem

     The major problem with the atheistic assertion is the nature
     of the man making the declaration;  he is finite or limited
     in his own being, yet the statement: "there is no god" is an
     all-inclusive absolute.  It is a well-known philosophical
     axiom that you can never arrive at an absolute or infinite
     beginning with the finite.

     Atheism makes the fatal mistake, as do all humanist
     philosophies, in that it makes man the ultimate judge
     despite the fact that man is finite.

III.  Five Corollary Problems

      As a result of the mistake mentioned above there are five
      major problems with the Atheistic worldview:

      A.  There is no explanation for why anything exists at
          all.  Atheists propose the following answers to the
          question:

          1.  Matter is eternal.  But this defies the 2nd law of
              thermodynamics.  The universe, which is like a
              giant clock could not be eternally winding down.

          2.  The universe created itself.  This is a
              contradiction.  If the universe created itself it
              would have had to exist prior to creating!  This
              is a logical absurdity.

          3.  The universe came from nothing.  But we have never
              observed something coming from nothing!  Nothing
              comes from nothing.

      B.  The atheist has no explanation for how life arose from
          non-life or how the personal arose from the
          impersonal.

      C.  The atheist has no non-arbitrary way of declaring
          human dignity or value.  Human value then is usually
          based on one of the following:

          Number of brain cells, status, wealth, productivity,
          beauty, age, skin color, race, beliefs, etc.
          Hence, the only difference between man and the animals
          is quantitative.  Human value is a sliding scale.

      D.  From the atheist perspective there can be no moral
          absolutes.  He can never say why I should act one way
          rather than another.  There can only be personal
          preference.  Morality is a matter of taste, the will of
          the majority or based on reason.  Atheists can never
          say it is wrong to kill.  He has no final authority to
          appeal to other than convention.  He may appeal to
          reason but whose reason?

          "If there is no god everything is permitted" 
          Dostoyevsky.

          If man is the sum total of chemical reactions in the
          brain, just a complicated machine, how can he be
          regarded as responsible for any moral behavior?  Why is
          even survival important?

          If there is no final judgement or a final judge in the
          next life, then there can be no true justice on earth.

          Example:  If true justice were to be meted out to
          Hitler he would have to die 6 million deaths.

      E.  If there is no god there can be no explanation for the
          laws of logic.  Therefore, the atheist can never prove
          his position.  To use the laws of logic is inconsistent
          and self-defeating.  Laws of logic must come from an
          ultimate source.  If the atheist says there are laws of
          logic he must explain where they came from.  But the
          atheist says reality is material; there is no such
          thing as the spiritual.  But has anyone tasted,
          smelled, seen, or touched a law of logic?  

          The atheist says reality is only that which can be
          verified by the empirical method.  In essence, he is
          saying:  "What my net does not catch ain't fish."  

IV.  Conclusion:

     No atheist lives consistently with his assumptions.  He uses
     the laws of logic; he lives as though man has inherent
     value, and asserts some moral imperatives.  What the atheist
     must do to live his life is borrow from the Christian
     worldview.  Even the noted atheist, Bertrand Russell had to
     admit that what the world needed more of was Christian love.

     The Christian worldview has intelligent and rational answers
     to the above questions of origin of matter, origin of life,
     ethics, and human value.  God does exist and He has not been
     silent.  He has revealed Himself propositionally to man. 
     Without the Christian God it is impossible to prove
     anything.  Without the Judeo-Christian God there is nothing
     but absurdity.
 
 
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