Letter to a Beloved Atheist

We were instructed to write a letter to an atheist, (real or imaginary) that was, "dear to us". We were not to fight for the Christian faith but only to give some reasons for the existence of God. This is what I wrote.



Dear Friend,

Our many long and in depth conversations have persuaded me that it would be best to write out some thoughts on our discussions. To start I’d like you to ponder some arguments that have been around for quite a while.

The first I have is that which is called the moral argument. It goes simply like this, all peoples, throughout the ages, from every continent have all agreed that there are, in fact, moral obligations one has to others without oneself. I.e. murder, for in every culture there is a time and place where one man killing another is wrong. Now you must think there are many cultures which seem to think quite the acceptable pass time but we must look closely and see that there are rules to govern even the most violent of tribes, most often killing one’s enemy is just fine, trying to kill me is wrong indeed.

Another way of looking at it is this, we believe ourselves more civilized because we have left the days of anarchy and murder behind and we now have written laws saying a man ought not slay another for just any reason he fancies. The question, and meat of the argument, is why? Why ought I not go along the street popping off anyone who gave me a cross look? Why ought I conform to “civil” standards? The reason we of the theist mindset give, is that we ought not because a greater power outside of ourselves has told us that we ought not. This alone will not prove a God of any sort exists, but it gives a stone to stand on for now.

A second argument that I believe goes hand in hand with the moral is that of progression or gradation. This argument presents the idea of things as they are perceived, as being better or worse than another. I.e. the light is bright, brighter, or brightest. What this implies is that there is something to which all things correspond and aspire to. It is reasonable to think there must exist something that is brighter than all things bright. This applied to morals there must be something upon which all of our morals aspire to. If a thing is right we must have an ultimate standard that allows us to conceive of right as opposed to wrong.

Finally an argument of a different kind, suppose while exploring in the woods one day you come upon a golden object. This object is in the shape of a circle with a band connected to two sides of it. On top of the gold inlaid is a circle of perfectly clear glass. Beneath the glass are a set of writings you recognize as numbers and two tiny pointed sticks which circle around the apparatus underneath the glass. Having found this in the woods, I tell you that over extremely long expanses of time the gold melted in such and such a pattern. More years passed until numbers formed on the inside and to protect its’ numbers from being eaten by predators formed on itself a protective layer of glass. Eventually through many successive generations the gears inside were changed in such a way that the long sticks developed and began turning in a clockwise motion.

You of course, at this point already know what I am referring to, but let me assure you, your body is a much more complex machine than any pocket watch could ever dream of being. The fact that your brain can see the words on this page, recognize them as symbols, translate those symbols into thoughts and ideas and understand everything makes you a million times more complex than anything humanity has ever created, and yet you are willing to believe that finding us in the woods means we must have happened accidentally through numerous years and successive processes without any kind of direction or plan, seems to me, the much bigger leap. If you see a watch in the woods you think, without hesitation or logical scramble, that watch has a maker. Let me say, and I’m not in too bad of company with this, that your body alone is enough proof that there was in fact a hand in your making. You have a code within you that is infinitely more complex that describes and makes possible all functions of your life.

This argument often gets put down but I believe it makes perfect logical sense. The kind of complexity we have within us points toward an intelligent mind. If you are Richard Dawkins that means you believe in aliens planting us here as a science experiment, which actually does not answer the argument at all as that only means that a much more complex species must have had a beginning somewhere. The only thing that really makes sense is something without a beginning with extreme intelligence.

Atheist scientists first claimed that matter itself was eternal (though it has not thought process and therefore no intelligence and so still cannot fit in the first place) but we now know matter can be destroyed (and turned into energy). So of course energy was turned to. However energy still does not fit our criteria as it has no intelligence or will and it can have a beginning and is therefore not eternal.

So, to date and to my knowledge, mankind has not thought of anything that better fits the descriptions necessary for our existence other than an all powerful, eternal, intelligent being. Though to be honest my friend I must say this, while all these arguments do make me lean towards there being an ultimate being, I must with all humility say it is, perhaps, impossible to without any doubt or speculation prove the existence of God, and I think He meant it that way. There are good reasons to believe but it must and always comes down to that. One must believe. As a theist I have not, “left my brains at the door”. There is faith but there is also reason and one must have both for God.

Sincerely,

Caleb Russel

We covered this ontological argument in our Christian Beliefs class. I really enjoyed it. Partly because it really confused me.

"This proposition is indeed so true that its negation is inconceivable. For it is quite conceivable that there is something whose non-existence is inconceivable, and this must be greater than that whose non-existence is conceivable. Wherefore, if that thing than which no greater thing is conceivable can be conceived as nonexistent; then, that very thing than which a greater is inconceivable is not that than which a greater is inconcevable; which is a contradiction.

So true is it that there exists something than which a greater is inconcevable, that its nonexistence is inconceivable: and this thing you are, O Lord our God!

So truly therefore do you exist, O Lord My God, that you non-existence is inconceivable; and with good reason' for if a man's mind could conceive anything better than you, the creature would rise above the Creator and judge him' which is utterly absurd. And in truth whatever else there be beside you may be conceived as non-existent. You alone, therefore must truly of all, and therefore most of all, have existence: because whatever else there is, is not so truly existent, and therefore has less the prerogative of existence. "

[From Proslogion, iii and iv, Eerdmans p. 275] Anselm

So take that.

Statement of Faith

I had an assignment for my Christian Beliefs class to give my statement of faith which would include both absolutely necessary items of faith and those that are secondary though still important, all only in our own words avoiding theological jargon. This was my response.

Statement of Faith

To boil down everything, the only thing that is truly necessary for the Christian’s salvation we must start with describing sin. Sin is humanity’s rebellion against God, He gave us rules with which to guide our lives and we have broken every single one of them. Payment had to be made for our crimes. God had a plan to save us from His judgment. God sent His son, to take the place for us in our punishment. All we must do now is accept Christ as God’s son and accept what He did for us, instead of doing what seems to be the natural human response, which is to try and be good enough to offset the wrong we’ve done. Secondly we must begin to live our lives differently, we must begin to actively try to live like God wants, as prescribed in the Bible. This is not to say we must be perfect, as this will never happen in this lifetime but we do need to be turning away from away from our old ways and begin a new life in God.

These are the only things necessary for salvation, a belief in God and the price He paid for us and a genuine sorrow and turning away from our old ways to follow in Jesus’ footsteps as much as we can. Adding any other thing we must do would lead to a works righteousness, which does not work at all. I cannot think of any other thing that we absolutely need to believe in order to be saved.

The list of things we ought to do as Christians, but could not be called absolutely necessary is quite long. A few of the more important things include baptism, joining and being a working member of a church, taking care of the poor, and of course spreading the gospel to the four corners of the earth. Baptism is the submersion of yourself into water in the manner that Jesus did, as a representation of your salvation. Joining a church and being an a active working member of the church can take many faces but basically involves worshipping and learning about God in a group setting, using that group to do good works and spread the gospel. Taking care of the poor is something that is largely forgotten but I believe that if we are to be taken seriously by the world as ambassadors from God we must not forget one of Christ’s commands. Spreading the gospel is not only good it is also cruel to neglect. Christ has chosen the way Christianity will spread is by word of his people. If we will not share this wonderful truth, in a loving and humble manner, we are basically condemning others to Hell.

One last thing is of the utmost importance for any Christian who wants to get past infancy is the study of God’s word through the Scriptures and the seeking of God’s voice in prayer and contemplation. Without the Bible we cannot know what God expects of any of us, we cannot judge a thought or action right or wrong. Without constant communication between us and God we cannot find his direct will for us in our daily lives and we certainly would not call anyone on Earth a friend whom we had never spoken to or rare was the occasion comments passed between. If we expect to know God and to follow him, these two disciplines must be practiced daily.

Just scanning through Luke, I read over the passage where Jesus talks about the man building the tower who could not finish it. (Luke 14) Do we really realize Jesus is here talking about a commitment to Him?
What do we think about when Jesus says, "If you want to follow me, consider it at length, don't just jump in, I'm not some rumbling bandwagon for the cool kids, I won't be just another cool design on your t-shirt, this is life changing, life breaking stuff we're dealing with here." What we as Christians must come to terms with, especially when reaching out to others to tell them the Good News (and by all means, let us do this much more) that this is what we're asking of others and hopefully ourselves. This isn't a once a week chore. This isn't so you can look cool, be cool, think you're cool. This is about the breaking apart of everything you once were.
Jesus says to the crowd listening to him, many who would soon be denying they had ever owned a "Jesus is my Homeboy tee", if you're not able to go the whole way, don't start, because if you do, and you can't everyone's going to look at you and laugh. "Hey look, there's that guy with only half a house!"
Yet we all try real hard to look good in our half finished castles. It leaks a little, but if you look at the right angles, it seems really great! That's what we're doing with our lives. That's what I'm doing with my life.
A lot of us on hearing Jesus tell the rich young man to sell all his possessions to the poor or else he just can't come, like to immediately start doling out the excuses. "It's only because that was his god, I don't love my stuff as much as he did so I can keep it all." Was that really the heart of what Jesus was saying? And if it was, how many of us really aren't that attached to our stuff? How many of us flip the channel when the starved, beaten, and destitute children come onto the television? How many of us have more than one of those televisions in our house? But, we need those right?
Many of you are probably pointing your fingers at me right now, listing everything I have. And to that I say, thank you. I need to be reminded of my own personal hoard as much as the next guy on the pew.
Jesus told us, if you live like he lived you would be hated, persecuted, and even brutally murdered. In fact he went a step further and said, if everybody around you likes you, compliments you all the time, and everybody at work asks how the kids are doing, you better watch out because you're likely messing everything up.
Let's stop making excuses for ourselves and for others. Jesus certainly won't give or take those excuses and we all know it. Can we rally as a body of brothers and sisters and hold each other accountable? Can we point out, in love, saying, "You need to love your wife more, you need to stop gossiping, you need to give more, take less". Can we be mean enough to love each other?

Today, let's truly live like Jesus. Our homeless King of Kings.

The Fox's Hole, the Lily's Dress

Many of you will read the title of this blog and a couple pieces of Scripture will come to mind. These scriptures both covered what many people consider to be the basics of life. Shelter, clothing, food, and drink. About shelter, the man many of us claim to follow, had none to call his own. On sustenance and clothing for our nakedness, he told us never to worry or fret over, it would be provided as his Father provided for the birds of the field and the lilies of the valley.
Funny thing is, how many of us have actually taken him at his word? How many of us are worried about the clothing we put on this morning? How many of us, after waking looked at our full fridges in despair crying, "I have nothing to eat!" How offended God must be.
What I want to cover here a lot are the basics of life and how they relate to God. Everyday things that we don't connect to him out of ignorance or neglect. Things like the food in our refrigerator or the clothes on our back. I want to discuss the things we ask of God and the things we think we can handle deciding ourselves.
I hope to also talk about the deeper things of God and apply them to daily life, as I feel any good lesson has an application. If you believe in predestination, what effect does that have on your daily world, does it effect anything at all? If you believe in miraculous healings, what does that change? Is there just war, can a Christian fight, if so what for? These subjects and many more I hope to cover, always attempting to link them to our life.
For the few people who might glance at this occasionally, I hope I can make it worth your while. Feel free to comment and critique as need arises. My point is to apply the Scriptures to our lives, and to hopefully with those points make changes to my own and anyone who will listen's life.
"And Jesus said to him, 'Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.'"
Luke 9:58

"Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!
And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried.
For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.
Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. "
Luke 12:27-31