Some of you may recall that, a few weeks ago, I went to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter in northern Kentucky. I posted articles about both those visits and I have linked them if you are interested. However, upon returning, I put up a video on my youtube channel which amounted to a brief rundown of both places with images from the trip in the background. This appeared to have greatly angered a pair of evolutionists who have launched insulting attacks upon both myself and Answers in Genesis founder Ken Ham. When I challenged these two on their beliefs, their default response was to call me names. I believe “moron” was the word of choice. This started me thinking about why people choose atheism and resulted in the article you are reading now.
In even a brief reading of atheist literature, a common theme emerges. People have chosen atheism because something in organized religion bothered them. Many of the atheist “testimonies” if you will, came from people with religious backgrounds, mostly mainstream denominations or state churches, though there were people ranging the entire spectrum of Christianity. I did not see anyone state that they were born into any religion other than Christianity, though my reading was not exhaustive. The most common thought I saw was that they could not accept the supernatural, because they could not see it. Other thoughts included rejection of the Resurrection specifically, rejection of traditions of man in state churches and belief in “science”.
However, what many of these “testimonies” hide, is the underlying motivation. Some of the stories were honest enough to admit they thought Christianity was “boring” and atheism more “liberating and fun”. Essentially that adds up to rebellion against their parents, by rejecting their parent’s values and religion to live for themselves. Nowhere did I see anyone say anything about the problem of pain, but I know this is an issue for atheists from personal experience. I know an atheist couple, who I like by the way, and both of them have dropped enough hints at their past for me to understand why they have chosen atheism. They both have some exposure to Christianity, but both, though neither will admit it, have rejected God because of one or more painful events in their past that they blame Him for.
Now that we have a basic idea of why atheists choose to reject God, let us examine what the Bible says about atheists. Romans1:21-22 tells us a bit about what God thinks about atheists. “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. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,”. Essentially by abandoning God, man has become a fool. Psalms 14:1 indicates this as well. “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.” Now obviously if you are witnessing to an atheist, calling him a fool might not be the best idea.
All this does not explain why atheists are so full of hatred towards anyone who disagrees with their secular worldview. Of course, Jesus did say in John 15:18 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.” However, this does not explain the hatred directed at the intelligent design movement. What follows here is strictly opinion, based on the experience I have with atheists and the reading I did while studying for this article.
Generally, the first response from an atheist to one of my articles is to hurl invective at it, unsupported by even an attempt at evidence. There are multiple reasons they do this. The first is that they hope to either shout down their opponent or intimidate them into silence. Most people don’t like to be controversial and will back down eventually if enough pressure is applied. Being called names in a public forum such as the internet is enough of a deterrent to keep people from speaking up. Failing to intimidate their opponents, the atheist then attempts to prevent them from speaking, in much the same way radical Marxists attempt to shout down their opponents.
There is, however, a deeper reason that atheists react so strongly against anyone who disagrees with them. This reason is found in Romans 1:19-20 “Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 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:” This verse makes it very clear that even the most hardened atheist, deep down inside of himself, knows that there is a god out there. He may not know the God of the Bible, but he knows there is a god. This knowledge deep inside him is constantly trying to assert itself, but his willing ignorance( 2Peter 3:5) fights back against it. This internal conflict simmers, boiling over when he is confronted with dissent. Everyone must agree with him, to assure him that he is right. When he encounters disagreement, he must squash it at once, because dissent reminds him that he is wrong.
As much as atheists oppose Christianity and creation, they are not the enemy. They do work for the enemy, but they are not the enemy, nor do they realize they are working for him. They need to be loved, just as we would love any other lost sinner.
In His Image 