The reality of witnessing to atheists

As believers, wishing to share our faith, we can incorrectly assume most people will at least acknowledge there is a God.  We even expect that many will be open enough to consider the building blocks of the gospel of Christ; belief in God, and the death burial and resurrection of his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, as payment for sins and the means for gaining eternal life. 

The reality is very different.  What we actually encounter, is a range of strong beliefs, held by people who vehemently oppose the fundamentals of the gospel.  To a believer, the reasons given for rejecting God and the gospel, are weak and baffling, especially considering the high stakes of eternal life in heaven, as opposed an eternity of torment in the lake of fire, burning with brimstone. 

God is not willing that any should perish, so we should naturally desire to share the gospel, by which God offers salvation to all who believe, in this age of grace.  

The brick wall of natural pride

It may be tempting to think that by simply countering an atheist’s arguments, they’ll see we are right, and accept how wrong they’ve been. Our hope is that they’ll be so persuaded, as we cleverly debunk their beliefs; point by point, that they will simply accept that God is real, Jesus is God and that he died to save them from their sins. 

The reality can come as a shock, especially to those who are not prepared.  Be realistic, who is going to thank you for showing them how wrong and foolish they are? Pride simply won’t allow it.  Rather, they will see your attempts to help them as a personal insult to their intelligence. 

They’ve read and believed people like Charles Darwin, Richard Dawkins and Steven Hawking etc. so, in their mind, they have the authority of some of mankind’s most revered and greatest scientists and thinkers, whereas you are an out-of-date, unenlightened religious zealot who is stuck in the past.  A more typical reaction is therefore likely to be confrontational, where even your most convincing arguments are met either with hostility or, at best a response like “you’ve got your beliefs, and I’ve got mine”. 

The snare of blind faith

One way or another, the drawbridge goes up and no matter how hard you strive to convince an avid atheist, it can become a pointless exchange of views, until you realise that they are totally ensnared by blind faith in various anti-God and scientific theories.

God’s way for us, in these situations, is to avoid foolish and unlearned questions, because they lead to strife.  We should understand the ensnaring power of devilish doctrines, on people who resist the truth of God. 

Therefore, we need to be well prepared, able to gently, patiently and humbly teach and instruct those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth.

• 2Ti 2:23-26  But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strifes.  (24)  And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,  (25)  In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;  (26)  And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

What are the typical objections?

Here are just a few of the high-level opinions, theories, and objections, that have been received as facts, in the minds of people who are naturally enemies of God. 

• There is no God  / he does not exist;
• When you die, that’s it, no more consciousness;
• The universe is the result of a big bang, which occurred around 13.8 billion years ago;
• Science proves that we evolved from monkeys;
• Jesus was an historical figure, even a good man, but not God;
• The Bible is all twaddle, written by men, centuries ago, to control people;
• etc.

Fearless, ignorant, denial of God

It can seem incredulous to a believer who is filled with the knowledge of God, to hear how unashamedly, and fearlessly, an atheist opposes the wisdom of God, the creator of all things, visible and invisible.  They deny the truth, that all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do; so they show no fear, as if God neither sees, nor hears their blasphemies. 

Their confidence is not based on personal deep study, or knowledge of facts, as they are almost ignorant of the truth of the Bible. Their boldness, in rejecting God’s truth, seems to come from the popularity of what others have said or written, both about the Bible, and about opposing theories. Despite the eternal consequences, they typically are so confidently entrenched, that they are unwilling to entertain even the most obvious evidence of God’s existence, and the truth of the Bible. 

Our need to demonstrate the love of God

We must be compassionate, recognizing the ancient source of lies and its powerful, devastating impact, on all mankind. 

God is not willing that any should perish, but Satan relentlessly seeks to blind the eyes of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine onto them. The Bible tells us that Satan, the father of lies, is the god of this world. He is the adversary of God and, as a consequence of his oppositions, including the oppositions of science so-called, the whole world is in darkness. 

Our job, in this dark world, is to bring life and immortality to light, through preaching the gospel, so people can understand it, believe, and gain eternal life.  But where can we start?

The compelling testimony of the invisible God

There is not much point in trying to persuade someone that Jesus is the Son of God, and that he died for their sins, if they don’t even believe there is a God.  After all, God is invisible, so how can he be real? 

What inescapable evidence can we present, that speaks clearly to every human being on the planet, regarding the existence of God? We only have to look to the heavens above.

• Psa 19:1-4  The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork.  (2)  Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.  (3)  There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.  (4)  Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun,

Nobody can justly deny the existence of God; nor will they be able to claim he is unrighteous for executing wrath, and vengeance, on all who reject his truth. For what may be known of God has been manifest to all men; for God has showed them the evidence. 

It’s not just the heavens whose line has gone out through all the world, whose voice is heard by all men, regardless of their speech or language, but all of creation is a clear witness to the invisible things of God, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that all men are without excuse for denying him.

• Romans 1:18-20 KJV  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;  (19)  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  (20)  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:

Some oppositions of science falsely so called 

An atheist might argue, as did Stephen Hawking:

• “Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe. But now science offers a more convincing explanation,”;
• "If we find the answer to why the universe exists, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason—for then we would know the mind of God".

Hawking later clarified what he meant by these statements, when he said:

• “What I meant by ‘we would know the mind of God’ is, we would know everything that God would know, if there were a God, which there isn’t. I’m an atheist.”

We would do well to heed advice from the Apostle Paul, concerning science (falsely so called):

• 1Ti 6:20  O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

What is it in science that gives so many the confidence to conclude, when looking at the complexity and vastness of the heavens, that there is no God?  Here’s an example from Stephen Hawking, one of the most revered and influential theoretical physicists who ever lived.

A smooth exit from eternal inflation

Perhaps it would be useful to compare what the bible has to say on the creation of the heavens, versus Stephen Hawking’s final theory on the origin of the universe, co-written with Prof Thomas Hertog and published in April 2018 in the Journal of High Energy Physics, entitled “A smooth exit from eternal inflation?”

Read the following Abstract carefully, and then consider if you think it to be adequate evidence on which to reject the existence of God. 

Journal of High Energy Physics

April 2018, 2018:147| Cite as

A smooth exit from eternal inflation?

Abstract

• The usual theory of inflation breaks down in eternal inflation. We derive a dual description of eternal inflation in terms of a deformed Euclidean CFT located at the threshold of eternal inflation. The partition function gives the amplitude of different geometries of the threshold surface in the no-boundary state. Its local and global behavior in dual toy models shows that the amplitude is low for surfaces which are not nearly conformal to the round three-sphere and essentially zero for surfaces with negative curvature. Based on this we conjecture that the exit from eternal inflation does not produce an infinite fractal-like multiverse, but is finite and reasonably smooth.

If that does not give you absolute confidence to reject God, how about the following summary (NB:  This is tongue in cheek…):

• Hawking and Hertog say this account of eternal inflation as a theory of the big bang is wrong. “The problem with the usual account of eternal inflation is that it assumes an existing background universe that evolves according to Einstein’s theory of general relativity and treats the quantum effects as small fluctuations around this,” said Hertog. “However, the dynamics of eternal inflation wipes out the separation between classical and quantum physics. As a consequence, Einstein’s theory breaks down in eternal inflation.”
• “We predict that our universe, on the largest scales, is reasonably smooth and globally finite. So it is not a fractal structure,” said Hawking.
• The theory of eternal inflation that Hawking and Hertog put forward is based on string theory: a branch of theoretical physics that attempts to reconcile gravity and general relativity with quantum physics, in part by describing the fundamental constituents of the universe as tiny vibrating strings. Their approach uses the string theory concept of holography, which postulates that the universe is a large and complex hologram: physical reality in certain 3D spaces can be mathematically reduced to 2D projections on a surface.
• Hawking and Hertog developed a variation of this concept of holography to project out the time dimension in eternal inflation. This enabled them to describe eternal inflation without having to rely on Einstein’s theory. In the new theory, eternal inflation is reduced to a timeless state defined on a spatial surface at the beginning of time.

The Emperor’s new clothes

Well, if still not able to see the emperor’s new clothes, perhaps you are just not clever enough.  But hey, many top scientists agree, so it must be correct.   If you say you believe the latest science, at least people won’t think you are stupid, or worse still, one of those old fashioned unenlightened religious fundamentalists who believe in God !!  They might even think you are really smart. 

You’d be amazed at how many gullible and unlearned people there are.  Just be sure to tell them that Stephen Hawking developed a new theory, in the year before his death, in which eternal inflation is reduced to a timeless state defined on a spatial surface at the beginning of time.  Drop in a few scientific facts like similarities in DNA between humans and monkeys, and they are sure to be impressed; it will really help them feel OK, even proud, about having rejected God.

Blinded by science

The deception caused by so-called scientific theories, brings to light the real meaning of the term, “blinded by science”; and it is not hard to see who is behind that deception. 

The Bible calls Satan the god of this world and tells us that he is transformed as an angel of light.  He is the father of lies, and he therefore promotes this so-called scientific enlightenment, that blinds the minds of those who believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine onto them.

• 2Co 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
• 2Co 4:3-4  But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:  (4)  In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 

How about the following alternative, for simple minded people like me, people who want to understand before believing, who care about the truth, and want to be certain before entrusting their eternal future to the author of a belief.

What the Bible has to offer on the subject

Quite simply, the invisible things of God, his eternal power and Godhead, are clearly seen in the heavens and in all of God’s creation, but ungodly and unrighteous men do not acknowledge or thank God, so have become vain in their imaginations, professing themselves to be wise, their foolish hearts are darkened, and they are become as fools. 

When Stephen Hawking said “Before we understand science, it is natural to believe that God created the universe”, little did he realise that he was confirming exactly what God says in Romans chapter 1.   

It is indeed a fact that what may be known of God is manifest in all men, for God has shewed unto them.  It is also a fact that, in not glorifying and being thankful to God as creator, men have become vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.

• Rom 1:18-22  For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;  (19)  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.  (20)  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: (21) 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.  (22)  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Hawking was right in saying that it is natural to believe that God created the universe.  However, he and others who profess themselves to be wise, have devoted their lives to vain imaginations; so-called scientific theories that try to explain the universe as coming into existence without God.

Can the countless millions who reject the existence of God blame Stephen Hawking or science for their God delusion?  Most certainly not, for Rom 1:19-20 tells us, that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them; the invisible things of God’s power and Godhead are clearly seen all around us, in God’s creation.  While all mankind holds that truth, many do so in unrighteousness because they deny what is obvious to them and so are without excuse.

Conclusion on how to evangelise atheists

Nobody can be saved without believing God exists.  Before even looking to understand who the triune God is, his purpose for creation, the meaning of life, and how we can have eternal life, a man must first believe that God exists.  He will reward those who diligently seek him. 

• Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Avoid foolish arguments; point atheists to the eternal power and Godhead of Jesus Christ, and let them compare science (falsely so called) with the inescapable evidence all around, as they consider the meaning of life, the universe and everything.  

All people who have rejected God and his mercy, will have no excuse when he pours out his wrath in righteous judgment, or when they finally stand before his great white throne, prior to being cast into the lake of fire, burning with brimstone, to suffer the righteous judgment of eternal torment.

Those who believe God exists, and who diligently seek him, will come to the knowledge of the truth concerning the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, as all-sufficient payment for the sins of mankind. Simply by trusting in this gospel of Christ, they will immediately and irrevocably gain eternal life and will not be subject to the coming Judgment and wrath of God!!