Author Topic: A Christmas gift for atheists -- five reasons why God exists  (Read 824 times)

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Offline oldcoastie6468

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A Christmas gift for atheists -- five reasons why God exists
« on: December 16, 2013, 04:52:08 PM »
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A Christmas gift for atheists -- five reasons why God exists
By William Lane CraigPublished December 13, 2013 FoxNews.com

For atheists, Christmas is a religious sham. For if God does not exist, then obviously Jesus’ birth cannot represent the incarnation of God in human history, which Christians celebrate at this time of year.
 
However, most atheists, in my experience, have no good reasons for their disbelief. Rather they’ve learned to simply repeat the slogan, “There’s no good evidence for God’s existence!”

In the case of a Christian who has no good reasons for what he believes, this slogan serves as an effective conversation-stopper. But if we have good reasons for our beliefs, then this slogan serves rather as a conversation-starter.

The good thing is that atheists tend to be very passionate people and want to believe in something.

The atheist who merely repeats this slogan after having been presented with arguments for God’s existence makes an empty assertion.
 
So what reasons might be given in defense of Christian theism? In my publications and oral debates with some of the world’s most notable atheists, I’ve defended the following five reasons why God exists:

1.  God provides the best explanation of the origin of the universe.  Given the scientific evidence we have about our universe and its origins, and bolstered by arguments presented by philosophers for centuries, it is highly probable that the universe had an absolute beginning. Since the universe, like everything else, could not have merely popped into being without a cause, there must exist a transcendent reality beyond time and space that brought the universe into existence. This entity must therefore be enormously powerful. Only a transcendent, unembodied mind suitably fits that description.

2.  God provides the best explanation for the fine-tuning of the universe. Contemporary physics has established that the universe is fine-tuned for the existence of intelligent, interactive life.  That is to say, in order for intelligent, interactive life to exist, the fundamental constants and quantities of nature must fall into an incomprehensibly narrow life-permitting range.  There are three competing explanations of this remarkable fine-tuning: physical necessity, chance, or design. The first two are highly implausible, given the independence of the fundamental constants and quantities from nature's laws and the desperate maneuvers needed to save the hypothesis of chance. That leaves design as the best explanation.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/12/13/christmas-gift-for-atheists-five-reasons-why-god-exists/
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Offline Libertas

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Re: A Christmas gift for atheists -- five reasons why God exists
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2013, 07:34:25 AM »
It is curious, the motivation behind the attempt to address the target audience of this piece with this subject matter.  No matter, I suspect it will have little effect on them.

I do prefer the Franklin quote though, it is short and sweet and right to the point:  "If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be if without it?".

I say use that!
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Online Pablo de Fleurs

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Re: A Christmas gift for atheists -- five reasons why God exists
« Reply #2 on: December 21, 2013, 06:27:51 AM »
Ravi Zacharias uses this syllogism:

1. Objective moral values exist only if God exists.
2. Objective moral values exist;
3. Therefore, God exists.

OR

If God doesn't exist, then nothing is wrong (or right).

It's not that atheists  don't have meaning & value in their lives...simply no good way of explaining it (from within their own Worldview).
2 Timothy 1:7
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of power & of love and of calm, a well-balanced mind, discipline and self-control.