Jan 24, 2016 - And it turns out that atheists have bigger gaps in knowledge because ... million, million a second after
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
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I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist I Don’t Have Enough Faith Dr. Brandon Park | January 24, 2016
According to USA Today According to USA Today and the Barna Research Group, ________% of Christian young people will According to USA Today According to USA Today and the Barna Research Group, and the Barna Research Group, ________% of Christian young people will % of Christian young people will walk away from the church once they leave home. walk away from the church once they leave home. There are many reasons for this but one of the major reasons is that intellectually, they don’t know why Christianity is true. They are not rooted and grounded in their faith because most churches aren’t equipping their young people how to be disciples of Jesus Christ and defend their faith. equipping their young people how to be disciples of Jesus Christ and defend their faith. The easiest way to be picked off in a war is to not know that you’re in one! Our culture is at war The easiest way to be picked off in a war is to not know that you’re in one! Our culture is at war with Christian values and Christian truth. with Christian values and Christian truth. 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” respect.” There are two great questions that must be answered. Otherwise, every other question is meaningless, and in the end unanswerable. 1. "Is there a __________?" Or to put it another way: Is God created in the imagination of man, or is man created in the image of God? That question determines whether life is an appointment or just an accident. 2. "If there is a God, has that God __________________ and revealed Himself in a way that we can understand and know Him?" God has answered those questions for us in primarily two ways: 1.) through His ________________, and 2.) through His _____________. It’s interesting that of the 41,173 verses in the Bible, one-half of one verse is given to the atheist. Psalm 14:1, "The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no god.'" In most Bibles, the words “there is” are in italics because in the Hebrew text, those words are not there. What the verse actually says is, "The fool has said in his heart, no God." This is the person who wants nothing to do with God at all. BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, wrote a book entitled: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist. They argue that that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems, but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself. There are two kinds of faith: belief ____________ and belief _________. Belief THAT is giving evidence that God exists, that Jesus is the Son of God, that He resurrected from the dead, that the Bible is true. Belief THAT is intellectual – it’s studying the evidence (apologetics). Belief IN happens after you know THAT it’s true – you trust IN Jesus for your salvation. John 20:31, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” What do I mean when I say, “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist?” Faith covers the gap in ________________________. And it turns out that atheists have bigger gaps in knowledge because they have far less evidence for their beliefs than Christians have for theirs. Romans 1:19-22, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” There are three basic arguments that prove the existence of God:
1. ___________________: The Cosmological Argument
“Cosmological” comes from the Greek word kosmos, which means “world” or “universe.” If the
universe had a beginning, it must have had a Beginner. The evidence for the “Big Bang” has grown “bigger” through new scientific discoveries in recent years. This has become some of the most conclusive scientific evidence for the existence of God and even atheists are starting to admit it. Stephen Hawking: “Almost everyone now believes that the universe, and time itself, had a beginning at the Big Bang.” Atheist scientists now admit that the evidence shows that space, matter, and time had a beginning out of nothing. Alexander Vilenkin says: “With the proof now in place, cosmologists can no longer hide behind the possibility of a past-eternal universe. There is now no escape, they have to face the problem of a cosmic beginning.” There has to be an uncaused first cause out there. As Aristotle put it, there has to be an unmoved mover. There has to be a cause that has no beginning – that gives rise to everything that is created. If the Universe had a beginning, then it must have had a Beginner. This evidence leaves us with the following two options: 1. No one created something out of nothing (atheistic view) OR 2. Someone created something out of nothing (theistic view) Which view is more reasonable? The Law of Causality says that everything that has a beginning has a first cause. So if space, time, and matter had a cause, whatever caused it had to be spaceless, timeless, and immaterial.
2. __________________: Teleological Argument
Not only do scientists now say that the Universe did not just explode into being randomly, but that it exploded into being with exact and extreme precision. Telos is the Greek word that means “design” or “purpose.” If there is design in the universe and there is design in you, there must be a Designer. The universe is so precisely tweaked that if you were to change any one of the numerous factors about the universe, we would have nothing that we have now. Stephen Hawking: “If the expansion rate of the universe was different by one part in a thousand, million, million a second after the big bang, the universe would have collapsed back on itself or never developed galaxies.” If you were to change that expansion rate just a small infinitesimal amount, you wouldn’t be here. The universe wasn’t just created and left on its own; it was created and ________________. Science shows that there is an Intelligence out there that creates and guides the universe. (For th example: If the gravitational force were altered more than 1 part in 10 to the 40 power, the sun would not exist and neither would we.) There are only three possible explanations for why that value is where it is: 1.) Physical necessity – It had to be there. 2.) Chance – It just so happened to fall there by accident. 3.) Design – Someone designed it to be right where it is. The same being who created it out of nothing designed it to be like it is right now. The problem with the atheist is not with his ____________; the problem is with the ___________. He may not lack confidence, but he does lack the evidence. God is not seen primarily by the eyes in our ___________, but rather by the eyes in our _____________.
3. ____________________: The Moral Argument
Is it wrong to torture babies for fun? Is it wrong to murder 6 million people in the Holocaust? Is it wrong to go into a theater or church and execute 100 people? If those things are wrong – then there has to be a God. Why? If there is no God, then all of those things are just a matter of opinion. We understand from an early age that certain things are right and certain things are wrong. If that’s the case then that’s proof for the existence of God. Because God’s nature is the standard of goodness. If there is no God, there is no standard of goodness – it’s just our matter of opinion. There are two types of atheists: • The ____________________ atheist: the person who believes there is no God. • The ____________________ atheist: the person who behaves as if there is no God. A practical atheist is someone who deep down he knows there is a God, and yet chooses to believe and act as if there is none. Based on how you have lived this past week and the decisions that you’ve made, would you be classified as a “practical atheist?”
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist
1
I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist I Don’t Have Enough Faith Dr. Brandon Park | January 24, 2016
75 According to USA Today According to USA Today and the Barna Research Group, ________% of Christian young people will According to USA Today According to USA Today and the Barna Research Group, and the Barna Research Group, ________% of Christian young people will % of Christian young people will walk away from the church once they leave home. walk away from the church once they leave home. There are many reasons for this but one of the major reasons is that intellectually, they don’t know why Christianity is true. They are not rooted and grounded in their faith because most churches aren’t equipping their young people how to be disciples of Jesus Christ and defend their faith. equipping their young people how to be disciples of Jesus Christ and defend their faith. The easiest way to be picked off in a war is to not know that you’re in one! Our culture is at war The easiest way to be picked off in a war is to not know that you’re in one! Our culture is at war with Christian values and Christian truth. with Christian values and Christian truth. 1 Peter 3:15, “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” respect.” There are two great questions that must be answered. Otherwise, every other question is meaningless, and in the end unanswerable. God 1. "Is there a __________?" Or to put it another way: Is God created in the imagination of man, or is man created in the image of God? That question determines whether life is an appointment or just an accident. spoken 2. "If there is a God, has that God __________________ and revealed Himself in a way that we can understand and know Him?" creation God has answered those questions for us in primarily two ways: 1.) through His ________________, Word and 2.) through His _____________. It’s interesting that of the 41,173 verses in the Bible, one-half of one verse is given to the atheist. Psalm 14:1, "The fool has said in his heart, 'there is no god.'" In most Bibles, the words “there is” are in italics because in the Hebrew text, those words are not there. What the verse actually says is, "The fool has said in his heart, no God." This is the person who wants nothing to do with God at all. BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Norman Geisler and Frank Turek, wrote a book entitled: I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist. They argue that that Christianity is not only more reasonable than all other belief systems, but is indeed more rational than unbelief itself. that in There are two kinds of faith: belief ____________ and belief _________. Belief THAT is giving evidence that God exists, that Jesus is the Son of God, that He resurrected from the dead, that the Bible is true. Belief THAT is intellectual – it’s studying the evidence (apologetics). Belief IN happens after you know THAT it’s true – you trust IN Jesus for your salvation. John 20:31, “but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” What do I mean when I say, “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist?” Faith covers the gap in knowledge ________________________. And it turns out that atheists have bigger gaps in knowledge because they have far less evidence for their beliefs than Christians have for theirs. Romans 1:19-22, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.” There are three basic arguments that prove the existence of God: Beginning 1. ___________________: The Cosmological Argument “Cosmological” comes from the Greek word kosmos, which means “world” or “universe.” If the
universe had a beginning, it must have had a Beginner. The evidence for the “Big Bang” has grown “bigger” through new scientific discoveries in recent years. This has become some of the most conclusive scientific evidence for the existence of God and even atheists are starting to admit it. Stephen Hawking: “Almost everyone now believes that the universe, and time itself, had a beginning at the Big Bang.” Atheist scientists now admit that the evidence shows that space, matter, and time had a beginning out of nothing. Alexander Vilenkin says: “With the proof now in place, cosmologists can no longer hide behind the possibility of a past-eternal universe. There is now no escape, they have to face the problem of a cosmic beginning.” There has to be an uncaused first cause out there. As Aristotle put it, there has to be an unmoved mover. There has to be a cause that has no beginning – that gives rise to everything that is created. If the Universe had a beginning, then it must have had a Beginner. This evidence leaves us with the following two options: 1. No one created something out of nothing (atheistic view) OR 2. Someone created something out of nothing (theistic view) Which view is more reasonable? The Law of Causality says that everything that has a beginning has a first cause. So if space, time, and matter had a cause, whatever caused it had to be spaceless, timeless, and immaterial. Design 2. __________________: Teleological Argument Not only do scientists now say that the Universe did not just explode into being randomly, but that it exploded into being with exact and extreme precision. Telos is the Greek word that means “design” or “purpose.” If there is design in the universe and there is design in you, there must be a Designer. The universe is so precisely tweaked that if you were to change any one of the numerous factors about the universe, we would have nothing that we have now. Stephen Hawking: “If the expansion rate of the universe was different by one part in a thousand, million, million a second after the big bang, the universe would have collapsed back on itself or never developed galaxies.” If you were to change that expansion rate just a small infinitesimal amount, you wouldn’t be here. guided The universe wasn’t just created and left on its own; it was created and ________________. Science shows that there is an Intelligence out there that creates and guides the universe. (For th example: If the gravitational force were altered more than 1 part in 10 to the 40 power, the sun would not exist and neither would we.) There are only three possible explanations for why that value is where it is: 1.) Physical necessity – It had to be there. 2.) Chance – It just so happened to fall there by accident. 3.) Design – Someone designed it to be right where it is. The same being who created it out of nothing designed it to be like it is right now. faith facts The problem with the atheist is not with his ____________; the problem is with the ___________. He may not lack confidence, but he does lack the evidence. head God is not seen primarily by the eyes in our ___________, but rather by the eyes in our heart _____________. Morality 3. ____________________: The Moral Argument Is it wrong to torture babies for fun? Is it wrong to murder 6 million people in the Holocaust? Is it wrong to go into a theater or church and execute 100 people? If those things are wrong – then there has to be a God. Why? If there is no God, then all of those things are just a matter of opinion. We understand from an early age that certain things are right and certain things are wrong. If that’s the case then that’s proof for the existence of God. Because God’s nature is the standard of goodness. If there is no God, there is no standard of goodness – it’s just our matter of opinion. There are two types of atheists: intellectual • The ____________________ atheist: the person who believes there is no God. practical • The ____________________ atheist: the person who behaves as if there is no God. A practical atheist is someone who deep down he knows there is a God, and yet chooses to believe and act as if there is none. Based on how you have lived this past week and the decisions that you’ve made, would you be classified as a “practical atheist?”
