Why I am not an Atheist
How does a believer respond to the arguments people advance against the existence of God? In the next minute you will find out!
(If you are interested in seeing a number of simple arguments for Theism, check out this article about how we know God exists.)
What are the proofs that atheists typically adduce? Here are two popular ones: The Argument from Evil; and Who designed the “Designer”? Let’s begin!
The Argument from Evil
The line of reasoning goes like this:
- Innocent people suffer evil.
- A perfect God would willingly and ably prevent such evil.
- Therefore, such a God cannot exist.
Can you see how many mistakes are just those few lines?
To begin with, premise #1 presumes three big assumptions, all of which may be challenged.
First, do we know who is innocent? If we really knew all the non-publicized sins a person committed, we may not view him as innocent. Thus his suffering wouldn’t be unjustified.
Second, even if he is innocent in this life, who says he is not the reincarnation of a sinner who died previously? A person may have committed no sins in this life, yet he will be punished to atone for sins of a previous life.
And finally third, even if he committed no sins in this life nor in previous lives, still is there no other reason he should suffer? Maybe God wants to test if he will be righteous under difficult circumstances .Maybe God wants to give him greater reward in the next world. Maybe he is making an atonement for the whole generation. There could be countless reasons why a person is punished, even when completely innocent.
So much for premise #1.
What about premise #2? Would a perfect God prevent any evil? God may be achieving a greater good by inflicting pain on these individuals. You ay argue that since He is perfect, God should achieve the same ends without these destructive means. But maybe these are a logically necessary means. Even God is bound by logic.
For instance, there are a number of things God “cannot” do: He cannot be wrong; He cannot die; He cannot create a stone too heavy for Him to lift. Do any of these “inabilities” reflect an imperfection in God? No, of course not. There is nothing wrong with Him. Rather, there is an inherent logical fallacy in performing those actions. So too, with evil; it may be a logically necessary means to achieve His ends, and therefore failing to stop it reflects to imperfection on His part.
Who Designed the Designer?
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