What Do Atheists Believe?

Introduction

Who enjoyed last week?

Last week we talked about Islam and how it is fundamentally different from Christianity in so many ways, but we spent most of the time talking about why and how we can know that Islam is FALSE

We heard from my friend Shaka Kone who shared about his story, having grown up Muslim and then just 4 years ago he encountered Jesus and his life hasn’t been the same!

I am so glad we were able to talk about it because I have seen that on social media, particularly on TikTok, there are a good amount of people promoting it, and many people in other parts of the world are Muslims

and you never know when God might bring someone he loves very much, who is a muslim, into your life for you to share the truth with.

So I hope after last week you will now have a better understanding as to why Islam is FALSE and why anyone who believes it, should leave it.

But I am excited because we have more questions to be answered this week and the upcoming weeks:

Is atheism true? Does God even exist?

Don’t God and Science contradict?

How do I know the Bible is true? Aren’t all religious books basically the same?

How can I be sure Christianity is even true?

Again, these are fantastic questions that I believe EVERYONE should know the answers to!

I get so excited when someone asks a good question like these, because when you ask questions and actually take the time to look for the truth, you will be so much better off -

Not only will you know more, which is great.... but your faith in Jesus can increase…

AND you will know answers to questions that can HELP you share that faith with those around you.

People around us NEED Jesus - sometimes it is easy for us who have Jesus to forget to love our neighbors and point them to Him.

I am hoping that talking about these things will give you more confidence in your faith and sharing the truth with those God brings into your path.

So over the next few weeks, we will still be looking for answers to some of these questions and more.

We have a lot of things in store for this series, so you do not want to miss any of this

Next week we will look at few of the arguments for God’s existence - there are more than a few, but we will look at a few of them and discuss them.

Then the following week.... We have something very special. (Summary)

Dr. Sy Garte is a biochemist and has been a professor at New York University, University of Pittsburgh, and Rutgers University. He has authored over two hundred scientific publications and four previous books, and has served as division director at the National Institutes of Health and Vice President for Research (acting) at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He served on the Board of Advisors for the John Templeton Foundation.

Tonight we are going to talk a little bit about Atheism… what it is, what it isn’t, and what absurd logical consequences atheism leads to.

I know I just said a lot - you’ll have to hang with me… because as I said last week Deep questions require deep answers.

I remember having a conversation with a youth pastor of a HUGE youth group once and he told me that teenagers don’t care about this stuff.

I disagree. Sure, some might not care… but I think most do.

Older generations often look down on your generation, but what I see is a generation that is hungry for God because they have tried so much the world has to offer and are left empty.

I believe each one of you can rise to any occasion and take the time to understand deep things if you want to.

I want US to, by God’s grace, rise above shallow and lazy thinking which dominates our culture… to think deeply about these things… and to dig into the questions we have thoroughly so we can find the truth.

Now my plan for tonight is to give you atheism… real and as it is, a full picture of atheism as best I can in a short time.

Lets Pray

What is a worldview?

In order to talk about atheism, or any belief system, I first have to talk to you about a term you hopefully are familiar with - and that is Worldview.

Each person has a worldview.

So, what is a worldview? Who can take a shot at it

Worldview definition is: a particular philosophy of life or conception of the world.

Everyone has a worldview - its the way you view life and the way you think about life.

And what you believe about reality is what shapes your worldview.

Now, I used another term - “reality” - what do I mean by the term reality? Who wants to take a shot?

The definition of reality is: the world or the state of things as they actually exist

So our worldview is affected by what we believe about reality.

Does this make sense? Ok… Good

Now there are MANY different worldviews… Islam is a world view, Christianity is a worldview, buddhism is a worldview, atheism is a worldview.... there are many.

Even within and under those umbrellas, there are differences....

Not all atheists believe exactly the same things, not all muslims believe exactly the same things, and not all Christians believe exactly the same things.

Some worldviews may be closer to the truth than others, but all these different worldviews cannot possibly all be correct because they each often contradict each other, and not all worldviews are good ways of seeing the world.

So.... what makes a good worldview?

1) A good worldview needs to be one that is logical - and the beliefs that form that worldview need to be logical.

If your worldview is made up of beliefs that are not logical, your worldview has problems and red flags should go up.

Let me give you an example of an illogical belief that MANY, MANY people have today that affects their worldview and makes it also illogical:

Many people have a belief that is stated like this… “It is wrong for you to tell someone else what they’re doing is wrong.”

What is the logical problem with that statement?

This belief is self defeating… if that statement is true, then the statement defeats itself -

if it is wrong to tell someone they are wrong, than you can’t tell me I am wrong about telling someone else that they are wrong.

If your worldview has beliefs that are not logical - that is a MAJOR red flag that your worldview is not true.

2) A good worldview will reflect the reality that we experience.

Are there facts and evidence in the real world that support this worldview? Is there evidence against this worldview being true?

One criteria may be does scientific evidence support it? Does it not?

If it doesn’t line up with reality, it may be a red flag.

3) A good worldview is livable.

What do I mean by livable? If you follow the logic and facts you claim to be true, can you live according to them? Can you live like they are true, or do you have to live in a way that contradicts what you say you believe?

For example… if someone said that humans do not need to drink water to survive, but they drank water everyday to survive.... than that world view is not livable… you can’t live it out

I know we are getting a little philosophical.... stay with me.

A good worldview is going to be logical, fit with reality, and be livable - you have to be able to live it out - if you can’t live with the consequences of your beliefs, that is a major red flag.

Now, on to Atheism.

About Atheism

The first thing you need to know about Atheism is that

It is a worldview

Atheism is a belief system, a worldview, that makes various claims about reality, based on a central claim about reality that there are no gods or God.

For the sake of this discussion we are having tonight, I will just speak about this claim in terms of the Christian idea of God, whom they obviously also believe does not exist.

Some atheists will argue that claiming that God does not exist it is not a belief system, but that it is simply a lack of belief in God and not a worldview.

This is a popular a tactic internet atheists or those who have not been trained in philosophy will apply -

Atheist philosophers like Graham Oppy for example shoot this reasoning down because that is not how any of this works.

Atheists who say things like "atheism is not a claim about reality, but it is simply a lack of belief in God” usually will make a bunch of claims about reality, and then say its the other persons job to prove them wrong, while they don’t have to support their claim

These types of atheists will say Christians believe, but they lack belief… but they will ironically say a bunch of stuff they believe about reality, without providing a shred of evidence, then say we have to prove their assertions wrong when they have given no evidence to show that their claims are true and that God does not exist.

This is a good time to remind you that… when someone makes a claim… ask them, or yourself… why should I believe that?

I don’t care how good it sounds - how convincing their British accent is… WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE THAT?

Or how do you know that is true? Or where did you hear that? Or what specific sources can you point me to that support what you just said?

I have been in conversations, or sometimes debates, where the person will then go to google, find an article that says what they just said, that ALSO has no sources or evidence provided!!

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Always dig into the claim that was made.

For example… if someone says “Science proves that there is no God”, who has ever heard this?

you could say “Hmmm, that is interesting because if science can only study things that are made out of matter, how could science study God who NO ONE claims is made out of Matter?”

They may say, “right that is how we know God does not exist, because we cannot see it - I only believe in what I can see”

And then you can say, “So anything we cannot see with our eyes does not exist?”

and they may say “Thats right” ( i have had these conversations)

And then you might say “well then, if all that exists is what we can see… then since we can’t see your mind, your thoughts, or the love you think your mother has for you… the do you suppose those things do not exist either, or is there more to reality than just what you can see with your eyes?”

Keep asking questions… keep digging down. And that example I just gave is very relevant because…

This is the next thing that you need to know about atheism…

Naturalism

Most atheists are also naturalists - all this means is that they believe the only things that actually exist are made out of matter.

The only thing that exists is the physical world and the physical world ONLY.

All of reality is simply matter and there is nothing else beyond matter.

The universe and all that is in it, is all there is and all there ever was…

There are massive.... massive problems for your worldview if you are an atheist naturalist.

There are so many things we could talk about, but not in one week.

Let me just say that the evidence for naturalism being true is severely lacking, and the evidence we do have points very strongly to the existence of God and the existence of reality outside of the physical world.

Next week we will look at some of the arguments for the existence of God and in doing so, you will see how they evidence creates major problems for atheism.

And the following week, we will hear from a respected scientist who was raise as an atheist, who followed the scientific evidence to belief in God and a relationship with Jesus.

So we can’t cover as much tonight.... and I am not making any argument for the existence of God directly, tonight.

But tonight.... I want you to simply see atheism for what it must be because of the claims it makes.... I want you to make sure you understand this.

If Atheism is true, God does not exist and matter is all there is.... material.... solids liquids gasses.... ok… the periodic table is all there is…

If that is true.... what are the logical consequences of having this worldview?

If you believe those things… what MUST be true about reality? That is what I mean by logical consequence.

If this is true, than this leads directly to this other thing also being true by necessity.

Does that make sense?

If Atheism is true…

If atheistic naturalism is true, then what does that mean for reality?

If naturalism is true:

No meaning

no purpose,

no value,

no immortality,

no morality,

no free will,

no personhood,

we are only material,

DNA propagating machines etc….

“If we believe in nothing, if nothing has any meaning and if we can affirm no values whatsoever, then everything is possible and nothing has any importance.”

― Albert Camus

If christianity is true? : Meaning, Purpose, Value, immortality, morality, free will, personhood

Illustration with fake money, vs real money

- this paper has decided that it is 20 dollars. It has assigned meaning, value, and purpose to itself.

- This is paper that has been created and assigned meaning, value, and purpose by something greater than itself

I was talking to my wife, Mrs. Brittani, and she is a genius fyi - she has a mind that can spot a logical fallacy with deadly precision… sometimes when I hear something and I know it’s wrong but I can’t put my finger on it… I ask her and she’s like BAM! There’s the problem

I was talking to her about this and she reminded me that the definition of purpose is the reason something came to be and exists - and she’s right -

here is the official definition of purpose: the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists

So if purpose is the REASON something exists, if you are already existing, your purpose, or lack their of, has already been established.

This paper exists as it is, it cannot simply make itself 20 dollars.

Something greater and outside of the thing can only give something value and purpose.

And if the universe is pointless, purposeless, meaningless, valueless, it can only produce things that are pointless, purposeless, meaningless, and valueless

No amount of pretending or “assigning meaning to your life” will ever change that from an atheist naturalist worldview.

If atheism is true, Everything that makes you - YOU - is an illusion.

For example, the idea of being a person - its not real.

What is the difference between the carbon and H2O atoms that make up this table and make up us? Nothing - we are just material.

You do not have a soul.... Your consciousness… it isn’t real - it cannot be - how does matter become self aware? It can’t - it is an illusion.

Free will is an illusion.... if you are just matter, how can matter CHOOSE to DO anything?

Matter is moved around my the laws of physics… when the wind blows across the Sahara desert and sand particles get picked up and moved… thats all we are - matter being moved by the laws of physics.

That’s why if you are consistent in your atheism, you know that your thoughts.... they aren’t real either.

What are your thoughts made out of?

If you are an atheist naturalist, you HAVE TO SAY that they are chemical reactions and that is it.

No different than when water boils and turns into steam.

Do you understand what I’m saying?

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

You know what else isn’t real if God does not exist?

Right and wrong, good and evil… morality is also not real - we will look at this more next week - how right and wrong, good and evil DO exist and can only exist if God exists - but not tonight

At the end of the day, according the the logical consequences of atheistic naturalism… we are nothing more than meat machines that exist for no reason.

WLC - he is a famous christian philosopher - I do recommend, 10/10 - he put it like this

For man and the universe would then be simple accidents of chance, thrust into existence for no reason. Without God the universe is the result of a cosmic accident, a chance explosion. There is no reason for which it exists. As for man, he is a freak of nature— a blind product of matter plus time plus chance. Man is just a lump of slime that evolved rationality. .... What is true of the universe and of the human race is also true of us as individuals. If God does not exist, then you are just a miscarriage of nature, thrust into a purposeless universe to live a purposeless life.

THIS is the reality of what atheistic naturalism must conclude.

It is not just christians saying this about the reality of an atheist worldview…

One of the world’s most famous atheists named Richard Dawkins said this about our universe:

“ there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil, no good, nothing but pitiless indifference.”

- Richard Dawkins

The problem is, atheists like Richard Dawkins cannot LIVE like what they believe is true.

This is a MAJOR problem with any worldview.... if you can’t live like it is true, it is not livable and likely false.

WLC put it like this.... if God does not exist, then life is objectively meaningless; but man cannot live consistently and happily knowing that life is meaningless; so in order to be happy he pretends life has meaning. But this is, of course, entirely inconsistent—for without God, man and the universe are without any real significance.

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‌What atheists have to do to make their life livable, is to steal from God

(change this to be about Christianity vs Naturalism, show how many atheists steal from Christianity and you can’t do that and be consistent with your beliefs)

The Upper Story: meaning, value, purpose, God

Lower Story: Man & physical (material/natural world)‌

If naturalism is true, all that exists in the LOWER story.

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A creature revolting against a creator is revolting against the source of his own powers-including even his power to revolt...It is like the scent of a flower trying to destroy the flower. - CS Lewis

Why do bad things happen? - Need God to exist for there to be a purpose to life, so when you say BAD you assume theres such a thing as GOOD – STEALING from the upper story

Why so much evil? – Same thing -– STEALING from the upper story, which you don’t believe in, to even criticize God you need Him to exist!

See the MASSIVE issue here?

So when you point these things out Many times, you’ll hear atheists say “create meaning” for themselves

they cannot live with the brute fact that life is meaningless – they can’t live consistently

SO they have to play pretend to make life livable.

What the heck is meaning if there’s no real meaning? That’s like saying yeah I know im not valuable so I like to pretend I am, like monopoly money compared to real money…

The funny part is… Atheists have been known to say we are delusional, yet THEY have to play pretend – ie live in a delusion to live life without going crazy or falling into a deep depression.

Let me say, If your worldview requires to PLAY pretend or be heavily medicated in order to survive – your worldview MIGHT be wrong – and evolution has failed you – badly.

Romans 1: 19-22

They 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.

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

Or as the ancient Greek Philosopher Plato said…

“Atheism is a disease of the soul before it is an error of the mind”

Or as King David wrote in the Psalms… “Only a fool says in his heart that there is no God”

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A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell. - CS Lewis

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We are created On purpose, for a purpose. By a God who loves us, who wired us with dignity and value.

Guys, remember this… be kind to your atheist friends, love them, tell them the truth. Invite them to church, most importantly, pray for them… You can’t change their heart. Remember, God is working on them… and ultimately they will either accept or reject him – its their choice.

 7   A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.

Francis Bacon

Of Atheism (17th century)

Francis Bacon

Atheism turns out to be too simple. If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark.

C. S. Lewis

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If naturalism were true then all thoughts whatever would be wholly the result of irrational causes. It cuts its own throat. - CS Lewis

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