Question 1

What is atheism?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 14:1Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”Romans 1:20-25Ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.Ephesians 2:12In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope.Atheism says, “There is no God.”

Question 2

What are the characteristics of atheism?

Accepted Answer

Ephesians 2:12You did not know the covenant promises God had made . . . You lived in this world without God and without hope.Atheists live in ignorance of God. Those who ascribe to intellectual atheism have consciously chosen to live without reference to God. But many also live out a practical atheism. Their lives are lived without any reference to the reality and presence of God, so even though they may claim to believe in God, they still live as though he does not exist.1 John 4:3If someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.2 John 1:7I say this because many deceivers have gone out into the world. They deny that Jesus Christ came in a real body.Jude 1:4I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.Atheists deny the claims Jesus Christ and his identity as revealed in Scripture. Those who deny the claims of Jesus now will be denied access to eternal life by Jesus at the time of judgment.Isaiah 32:6Fools speak foolishness and make evil plans. They practice ungodliness and spread false teachings about the Lord.Jeremiah 5:12, 31“They have lied about the Lord and said, ‘He won’t bother us! No disasters will come upon us. There will be no war or famine.’ . . . the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?”Jeremiah 14:14Then the Lord said, “These prophets are telling lies in my name. I did not send them or tell them to speak. I did not give them any messages. . . . They speak foolishness made up in their own lying hearts.”Acts 17:18He [Paul] also had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, they said, “What’s this babbler trying to say with these strange ideas he’s picked up?” Others said, “He seems to be preaching about some foreign gods.”Romans 1:18God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.Atheists deny God’s truth. A sharp line divides what is true and what is not. To deny truth is, by default, to be living a lie, to be living by principles that have no purpose, no clear direction, no foundation that lasts, and no ultimate or eternal future.Exodus 5:2“Is that so?” retorted Pharaoh. “And who is the Lord? Why should I listen to him and let Israel go? I don’t know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go.”2 Kings 18:32-35“Don’t listen to Hezekiah when he tries to mislead you by saying, ‘The Lord will rescue us!’ Have the gods of any other nations ever saved their people from the king of Assyria? . . . What god of any nation has ever been able to save its people from my power? So what makes you think that the Lord can rescue Jerusalem from me?”Atheists defy God and his message. Picking a fight with the Creator of the universe is not wise.Isaiah 5:19They even mock God and say, “Hurry up and do something! We want to see what you can do. Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan, for we want to know what it is.”Jeremiah 17:15People scoff at me and say, “What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about? Why don’t your predictions come true?”2 Peter 3:3-4Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.”Atheists deny God’s ability to intervene in human events. To deny that God takes an active interest in this world is the same as saying that God doesn’t care about us or that God is not powerful enough to help us.Leviticus 19:12“Do not bring shame on the name of your God by using it to swear falsely. I am the Lord.”Jeremiah 5:2“But even when they are under oath, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ they are still telling lies!”Ezekiel 43:8“They put their idol altars right next to mine with only a wall between them and me. They defiled my holy name by such detestable sin, so I consumed them in my anger.”Atheists show contempt for God’s name. Those who profane the name of God are cutting off their only lifeline to eternity.Job 15:25“For they shake their fists at God, defying the Almighty.”Psalm 10:3-5They [the wicked] brag about their evil desires; they praise the greedy and curse the Lord. The wicked are too proud to seek God. They seem to think that God is dead.Ezekiel 35:13“In saying that, you boasted proudly against me, and I have heard it all!”Revelation 13:6He [the beast] spoke terrible words of blasphemy against God, slandering his name and his dwelling—that is, those who dwell in heaven.Atheists often boast against God’s name. Ironically, speaking against God’s name is acknowledging that God does, in fact, exist.Isaiah 26:10Your kindness to the wicked does not make them do good. Although others do right, the wicked keep doing wrong and take no notice of the Lord’s majesty.Jeremiah 5:5“So I will go and speak to their leaders. Surely they know the ways of the Lord and understand God’s laws.” But the leaders, too, as one man, had thrown off God’s yoke and broken his chains.Romans 1:28-31Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.Romans 13:12-13The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living.Atheists say they are convinced that God does not exist. This worldview can lead to a life of immorality, living for the moment because they have is no hope for a future after death.Daniel 5:23“You have proudly defied the Lord of heaven and have had these cups from his Temple brought before you. You and your nobles and your wives and concubines have been drinking wine from them while praising gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone—gods that neither see nor hear nor know anything at all. But you have not honored the God who gives you the breath of life and controls your destiny!”Romans 1:25They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise!Revelation 9:20The people who did not die in these plagues still refused to repent of their evil deeds and turn to God. They continued to worship demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood—idols that can neither see nor hear nor walk!In denying the existence of God, Atheists tend to lift up and worship created things in God’s place.

Question 3

What is God’s desire for an atheist?

Accepted Answer

Isaiah 55:7Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.Luke 19:10“For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”Acts 17:27“His purpose was for the nations to seek after God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him—though he is not far from any one of us.”Romans 5:6-8When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.2 Peter 3:9The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.God’s desire for the atheist is to have a personal relationship with him. God still loves those who do not love him. There is no greater love than that.

Question 4

What does the future look like for an atheist?

Accepted Answer

Job 8:13“The same happens to all who forget God. The hopes of the godless evaporate.”With no God, the atheist has no hope for a better world—an eternal world where everything is made right.Job 27:8“For what hope do the godless have when God cuts them off and takes away their life?”Those who deny the existence of God have cut themselves off from a relationship with him. The Bible is clear that only those who acknowledge God as Lord of all have the hope of living forever with him.1 Peter 4:17The time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?God will one day judge all people. Those who do not know him or have rebelled against him will spend eternity apart from him. All people, including atheists, have sinned (Romans 3:23), and the consequence of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Therefore, those who have cut themselves off from God have cut themselves off from the only One who can forgive them and offer them eternal life (John 3:16).

Question 5

What evidence of God do atheists ignore or deny?

Accepted Answer

Acts 14:17“He [God] never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”Romans 1:19-20They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.God has given plenty of evidence for his existence. He built a knowledge of himself into humans when he created them. In our natural wonder and curiosity about how the world was made and how it works, we will find God if we just look carefully enough.

Question 6

How can I know that God is real?

Accepted Answer

Isaiah 41:20-23“I am doing this so all who see this miracle will understand what it means—that it is the Lord who has done this, the Holy One of Israel who created it. Present the case for your idols,” says the Lord. “Let them show what they can do,” says the King of Israel. “Let them try to tell us what happened long ago so that we may consider the evidence. Or let them tell us what the future holds, so we can know what’s going to happen. Yes, tell us what will occur in the days ahead. Then we will know you are gods. In fact, do anything—good or bad! Do something that will amaze and frighten us.”Isaiah 46:8-11“Do not forget this! Keep it in mind! . . . Remember the things I have done in the past. For I alone am God! I am God, and there is none like me. Only I can tell you the future before it even happens. Everything I plan will come to pass, for I do whatever I wish. . . . I have said what I would do, and I will do it.”We can know that God exists from the fulfillment of prophecy. The track record of the prophets, who spoke long before the events they prophesied, confirms that what they spoke was truth—God’s truth. Everything they predicted God would do happened because God told them it would.Ecclesiastes 3:11Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.Romans 1:19-20They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.Romans 2:14-15Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard it. They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them they are doing right.We know God exists because of the conscience built within each person. In our hearts we know someone is out there much bigger than ourselves. This is the inner witness, the conscience, which God has built into every human being. Those who listen to their consciences will begin a search that will lead them to God.Job 38:1-5Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind: “Who is this that questions my wisdom with such ignorant words? Brace yourself like a man, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them. Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you know so much. Who determined its dimensions and stretched out the surveying line?”Psalm 19:1-6The heavens proclaim the glory of God. The skies display his craftsmanship. Day after day they continue to speak; night after night they make him known. They speak without a sound or word; their voice is never heard. Yet their message has gone throughout the earth, and their words to all the world. God has made a home in the heavens for the sun. It bursts forth like a radiant bridegroom after his wedding. It rejoices like a great athlete eager to run the race. The sun rises at one end of the heavens and follows its course to the other end. Nothing can hide from its heat.Psalm 104:1-5Let all that I am praise the Lord. O Lord my God, how great you are! You are robed with honor and majesty. You are dressed in a robe of light. You stretch out the starry curtain of the heavens; you lay out the rafters of your home in the rain clouds. You make the clouds your chariot; you ride upon the wings of the wind. The winds are your messengers; flames of fire are your servants. You placed the world on its foundation so it would never be moved.Acts 14:17“But he [God] never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.”We can know God exists from the design of nature. All creation testifies to the Creator. Nothing can be made without a Maker.Daniel 4:33-37“That same hour the judgment was fulfilled, and Nebuchadnezzar was driven from human society. He ate grass like a cow, and he was drenched with the dew of heaven. He lived this way until his hair was as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails were like birds’ claws. After this time had passed, I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up to heaven. My sanity returned, and I praised and worshiped the Most High and honored the one who lives forever. His rule is everlasting, and his kingdom is eternal. All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ When my sanity returned to me, so did my honor and glory and kingdom. My advisers and nobles sought me out, and I was restored as head of my kingdom, with even greater honor than before. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and glorify and honor the King of heaven. All his acts are just and true, and he is able to humble the proud.”We can know God exists from the testimony of others. When God transforms a life, it offers us clear evidence that a divine miracle has occurred.