Aetheist 2.0
Oct 1, 2009 Author: godvertiser | Filed under: Ponderings
When engaging the world in our now post-Christian times, I really feel that the Church needs to perk up its ears to the message that atheists are pushing against the existence of God. The campaigns are getting more sophisticated, media savvy and loud.
This video is fast and fluid and you’ll feel the persuasiveness as the message proceeds:
Aside from the petty, but gross misunderstanding shown in the portrayal of Christian’s imposition upon others, how do you respond to this type of bold argument?
For me, I see that if you take a moment to think about the path of this argument, you’ll understand that some basic epistemological criteria are ignored in dealing with supernatural issues. One area I think those that want to pursue atheistic positions should consider further is the assumption that subjective experiences cannot be used as evidence for assessing objective reality. Or whether logic and reason can be relied upon solely in determining God does NOT exist. The Christian claim is supernatural. It ain’t logical at all.
If we are to be called heralds for God, we seriously need to understand the campaign against God and the Church. Listening to their pitch is the first step.
How do you respond to this specific video? How do you respond to the atheist of today?
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5 Responses for "Aetheist 2.0"
It still comes back to the following: Ephesians 4:14 (New Living Translation)
14 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.
We are not to be deceived by their clever arguments no matter how logical. By definition, faith is not logical, but that does not make it false.
I encounter these arguments all the time. Never all at once as in this video, but I have been presented with the separate elements of this argument at different times.
I agree with your point about subjective experiences. Many people who make these arguments accuse Christians of intolerance, but in my view, it is the height of intolerance for them to suggest that their *opinion* invalidates my *experience*. Rev. Joel also makes a good point. We can’t be swayed by attempts to distort truth.
He also said that faith is not logical and that’s true. But faith is a necessary aspect of life and every human being practices faith to some degree. I have an atheist friend with whom I was having this conversation. He said to me, “I can’t do anything on faith, I have to have facts”. I asked him if his mother loves him and if so how does he know. All he could say of course is that he believes it and that she has demonstrated it. I explained to him that he can’t KNOW she loves him. He feels it and believes it. He is taking it on faith that she loves him. Everything she has done to inform his belief in her could have been prompted by role playing what a mother is, or by societal and family pressure to do the right thing by her child. Not genuine love.
What is genuine love anyway. How does anyone know that the emotion they experience as love is felt in the same way by anyone else. We assume love exists – even though it is not rational and even though it cannot be objectively proven. Yet without love particularly the love which bonds families and couples our whole society breaks down.
Any emotion that underlies what moves people, and societies, and therefore the world forward cannot stand up to the objective tests discussed in this video. It would be ludicrous however to say that those emotions don’t exist. Those of us who have felt the presence of God in our lives have all the proof we need.
A person who has hardened their heart and is determined not to consider the existence of God, may bolster themselves with the kind of arguments in this video. You have to wonder though about someone who puts so much time and energy into arguing against something they don’t believe exists. I got long winded here, but this topic is very close to my heart because I have some unbelievers in my life who I love very much. All we can do is love them and let love guide our responses to them. God didn’t demand or force anyone to become a believer and neither can we. We can only win people over with love. By the way, God is love.
Makes perfect sense, if one constrains oneself to a naturalistic worldview.
I also find it amusing that they go to great lengths to explain why one cannot make objective propositional statements about God and right or wrong, then proceed to make objective propositional statements about how wrong it is when someone does just that. They are their own self-defeating argument.
They also do not deal with the idea of divine revelation, though they cannot, since they reject it as a possibility out of hand. Again, a self-defeating position.
@Doc B – great points.
The bigger lesson for me is to understand what the "competitive" message is that is being put out there. And while there will be opportunities to shoot them down or reveal fallacy in approach, I think it's an opportunity to become informed —> helping the Church to craft better apologetic discussions which help individuals disarm aetheist arguments for themselves. It was good for me to watch this video and see how they are constructing their "counterpoint" arguments.
@RevJoel – Thanks for recalling http://wordof.gd/NLTephesians4:14
I had it on the tip of my tongue . . .
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