Problems with the Atheistic Worldview

The feature image in this post is not an endorsement but is used to help you, the reader, recognize atheism’s symbol when you see it on a bumper sticker.  That being stated, this post is a return back to my series on world views and the basic make up of the beliefs of those views. This post is going to address the next worldview, atheism. I have written on atheism in past posts, so this one is going to be pretty streamlined.

For the sake of review, in “What Other Worldviews Believe,” I shared with you that atheism is the belief that God does not exist anywhere in the universe or beyond it. The atheistic worldview denies God’s existence altogether.

We also showed that unlike theism, which affirms God’s existence independent of human beings, atheism completely rejects the idea and believes man invented the reality of God.  Within atheistic framework, evil is real, however, there is no devil or ultimate moral standard exists by which to live. When it comes to morality, it is either situational or it is completely relative. Atheism views the universe as “all there is” and that there is nothing beyond the universe, believing that the universe arose purely by chance, without any intelligent cause.

So what are the shortcomings of the atheistic worldview? Atheism has been a healthy correcting influence to theists who have a desire in sharpening their skills in conversing with them.  Many of the reasons atheists use to defend their view of the world have forced Christians to refine their arguments to make them stronger. While the pantheistic worldview rejects the existence of evil, calling it an illusion, atheism acknowledges the reality of evil and injustice in the world. But there are three fatal flaws (there are more) in atheism that show it to be a bankrupt worldview.

1. Atheists do not have a first cause of the universe.  In the past, many atheists believed the universe was eternal. This belief has largely been abandoned since science has discovered that the universe has a beginning (i.e., the big bang theory). Within atheism, no first cause exists. Many atheists say that swirling gases, dust, and atoms were the cause. However, a question that can be asked is, what or who caused the gasses, dust or atoms? In other words, the atheist’s view does not answer the question of origins.

2. Natural forces do not explain the origin of the universe. Why is the case? Beacuse the cause that brought the universe (nature) into existence must transcend or be beyond nature. If the beginning does not have a natural cause and it is beyond, it must be a supernatural cause. Anyone can recognize the faces of the Presidents on Mount Rushmore. Atheists can recognize them as well, and would reasonably concede that the sculptures of those faces were created by natural causes. But why do they fail to see that the intelligent design present in the universe (i.e., the DNA double stranded helix, the anthropic principle implies to the existence of a designer.

3. Lastly atheists doe not have an ultimate moral standard by which to call the world evil or unjust. They have a borrow capital from the Christian worldview to make pronouncements. Apart from the Christian worldview, the atheist would not know evil or injustice unless they had a standard of good and justice by which to make an evaluation. No one can call as line crooked unless they first know what a straight line is and can use that to evaluate all other lines.

You can find more on atheism and my response to some of the objections thrown down by those embracing all kinds of forms of this God-rejecting worldview. As you can see from these three flaws, atheism really does not “have a leg to stand on” when it comes to presenting its “truth claims.” The more we hear about atheism, the more we can see the contradictions and its failures.
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We’ll continue on in this series in the next few posts. But if  you have enjoyed this posting, why not share it with a friend or family member. We appreciate your prayers and encouragement.  In fact none of this would be possible without your prayers, support, and encouragement.  It keeps us going.

If you are led by the Lord to assist us in getting into 2019 and impacting more for the gospel, your prayerful consideration and giving will carry us forward into the months and the year ahead.  Thank you in advance for whatever you can provide.
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