Is Atheism Dead?

More than one jail officer has shared, “I’m an atheist,” followed by:

“I don’t believe in something I can’t see.”

Yet, each admits that the (invisible) force of gravity, is real. Each, when asked, agrees that their own (unseen) thoughts are real, too.

Do atheists fully think through their non-belief?

“Is God Dead?”

In April,1966, this question was Time magazine’s cover. Now, Eric Metaxes’ book, Is Atheism Dead? presents scientific proof for an intelligent designer. The below points are from his book.

• Atheist Carl Sagan said, “Only two things are needed for life: the Sun and a planet the right distance from it.” Wrong; research proves that for life to exist, thousands of things, combined in precise ways, are needed—a process which scientists now describe as “fine-tuning the universe.”

• Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory of evolution (still unproven), doesn’t explain how life began; nor has a single fossil ever been found of his proposed “transitional species.”

• Atheists assert that with enough time, life evolved, yet scientists now put the ‘big bang’ (the beginning of material existence), at a maximum of 13.8 billion years—not unlimited time.

• Earth is uniquely protected by its tilt, location in the Milky Way, distance from the Sun, by Jupiter and Saturn attracting damaging meteors, and by having one, large moon (unlike other planets’ small moons).

• Found in 1947, the Dead Sea scrolls (dated 300BC–200AD), contain 37 of the 39 Old Testament books, and confirm the accuracy of current biblical translations.

• “No archeological discovery has ever refuted a Biblical reference”—Glueck in Time, 1963.

• Books by atheists Dawkins and Hitchens present all religious people as equally bad, including Bonhoeffer (who fought Hitler), Martin Luther King Jr (who fought for equal rights), Wilberforce (who battled slavery), and Mother Theresa (who served the poor).

• Atheists Mao, Stalin, Lenin, and others, murdered many millions of their own people during the 20th century—far more than those killed in wars. Since 1980, anti-God, communist China forced 336 million infanticide abortions on its women.

Atheism is Inconsistent With Science

In the middle ages, scientific investigation was only begun in areas of Christendom; the Arabs, Chinese, and Greeks developed technology and business, but not the scientific method.

Christian scientists read in the Bible about a God of order, and saw that order repeated in nature. They believed God had created with rules which could be sought and understood by scientific experimentation. They believed they had a sin nature and flaws, so didn’t pridefully assume that they understood everything; instead, with humility, they searched for knowledge, by testing ideas and theories.

Science and faith were firmly associated by many Christian scientists, including Boyle, Copernicus, Faraday, Galileo, Gauss, Joule, Kelvin, Lister, Mendel, Morse, Newton, Pasteur, Volta, and —

• Newton (a Christian who discovered gravity and invented calculus), said: “The universe could only come from an intelligent, powerful being.”

• Keppler (astronomer and mathematician) wrote: “The chief aim…should be to discover the rational order… imposed on (the world) by God.”

• Maxwell (who discovered electromagnetism and radio waves), wrote: “The Christian faith does not insist anyone believe what is not true.”

• Gleiser (award-winning physicist specializing in particle cosmology, nonlinear physics, and astrobiology), asserted in 2019, “Atheism is inconsistent with the scientific method.”

Famous Atheists Changing Their Minds

Dr. Francis Collins (head of the Human Genome Project, which mapped human genes), said “Science led (me) to faith.” He then authored the book The Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.

Atheist Antony Flew read the scientific evidence for intelligent design, converted to belief in God, and wrote the book There is a God, stating, “It’s unscientific to believe that life simply ’spontaneously appeared.’”

Sartre admitted, “I’m not a speck of dust, but a being only here by a Creator.”

Even atheist Stephen Hawking in his book A Brief History of Time, admits, “The universe as designed is very difficult to explain except as an act of God…creating it for humans.”

Why Would Anyone Reject the Idea of God?

Some may understandably not know of the scientific evidence, given that “separation of church and state,” mutes voices and discoveries of many scientists.

Or some may reject God because they want to “live life without restrictive commands”. Yet, such thinking is mistaken: his rules aren’t meant to kill enjoyment, but to offer us peace, better relationships, and the best possible life now and for eternity.

God made us in his image, believes in our potential, and loves us unconditionally, like parents who continue loving a child who rejects them: “Nothing will separate us from the love of God” (Romans 8:38-39).

The Bible reveals a God who created us to be like him: with creativity, a desire for justice, ability to enjoy beauty, and other attributes which no animal has. He came to earth to die to pay for our sin: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only son, so that whoever believes in him will… have eternal life.”(John 3:16). We only need to admit that we sin, that good we do doesn’t erase our wrongs; so we need a savior to pay for those, and agree that only Jesus’s payment offers redemption. We don’t earn God’s love by good works; his love and heaven are gifts offered to us, by his grace.

So, is Atheism Dead?

Not yet. Many governments, universities, public schools, big business, and media do not share the science which reveals a powerful designer and creator of us and his amazing universe. Thus, it’s up to each person to explore this crucial matter by reading the Bible and scientific reports such as Eric Metaxas’ book.

Someday, All Atheism Will End

God’s word accurately predicted hundreds of events, many years before they occurred. For example, Isaiah in 701 BC wrote that Babylon would capture Judah, which occurred 115 years later, in 586 BC. Scripture predicted the rise and fall of the Babylonian, Assyrian, Mede, Persian, Greek, and Roman empires—in order. It prescribed 14 days’ quarantine to combat disease, long before bacteria were known. It described the ‘circle’ of the earth when people believed the Earth was flat, and much more.

This same, accurate Bible, predicts:“…we will all stand before God’s judgment seat and bow…every tongue will acknowledge God...” (Romans 14:10-12).

This states that every person will eventually recognize God—many only after their death. However, belated acknowledgment of God won’t enable entry to heaven. Each who, while alive, denied God’s redemptive work, will be sentenced to eternal hell: “God will punish those who do not know God and obey the gospel of Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord.” (2nd Thessalonians 1:8-9).

You serve in corrections. You care for people daily, at jail and home, so I believe that you care about their eternity, too—which is far longer and will be far better or worse than this one, based on what each believes about God.

Ask those in your life if they’ve heard about the science supporting the existence of a grand designer of us and the universe. If not, ask them to read one of the books or articles mentioned in this column. It’s for their benefit. You’d not be pushing “religion,” but encouraging them to choose having a personal relationship with a loving God who isn’t pushy but waits to be invited, saying, “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone opens the door, I will come in.”(Revelation 3:20)

If you have a question, I’d love to hear from you.

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Chaplain Linda Ahrens Chaplain American Jail Association

Note: The opinions expressed in the article are my own as a volunteer chaplain and do not reflect the views of any other entity.