Christian, Tell Us Why We Don't Believe!
We skeptics don't need to explain your belief away. We can, and we do, but we don't need to. We think you have fallen prey to what Paul Kurtz called The Transcendental Temptation. You have a need to believe based on a fear of death, the need for moral certitude and/or a blissful hope in an afterlife. All skeptics have to do is show you why you are wrong, and we do.
But since you believe we will be punished by God in hell (however conceived) if we don't believe, then you need to offer some explanations for why we don't believe. Surely a good God like yours wouldn't punish us if we weren't deserving of it, right? And surely your God wouldn't punish us for our disbelief without offering us a clear testimony with sufficient evidence to believe, right?
Are we ignorant? What are we ignorant about? Is there a book we haven't read that if we read it we would no longer be ignorant? Would we believe if we read it? Which one?
Are we willfully disobedient of the truth? Do we love sin more than truth? Why would you say that? Because the Bible says so? The billions of people who are not Christians in today's world are a testimony that the Bible is wrong about this. There is other overwhelming evidence against believing in the Bible. This is just one more. Why do you trust what the Bible says when the evidence of billions of people say otherwise? Just look at what people of other faiths or no faith at all will do if they think they know what is true. A lot of sacrificing is going on, from freethinkers suffering the approbation of the majority in our society to suicide bombers to ascetic Tibetan monks. People the world over would gladly sacrifice themselves for a cause or a faith they sincerely believed was the truth. I think it’s patently false to say people are not interested in the truth about such things, especially if we’ll fry in hell if we’re wrong. Who in his right mind would be willfully disobedient of that which he knows to be true, if the truth is that he will go to hell if he is?
Have we just failed to experience God in our lives? Do we need to experience something that we didn't? What kind of experience do you mean? A miracle? Well, whose fault is that? God knows what we need to believe, and if so, why doesn’t he provide it? If God did the greater deed, by sending his son to atone for our sins, then why doesn't he do the lesser deeds by providing us the evidence and experiences we need to believe?
But since you believe we will be punished by God in hell (however conceived) if we don't believe, then you need to offer some explanations for why we don't believe. Surely a good God like yours wouldn't punish us if we weren't deserving of it, right? And surely your God wouldn't punish us for our disbelief without offering us a clear testimony with sufficient evidence to believe, right?
Are we ignorant? What are we ignorant about? Is there a book we haven't read that if we read it we would no longer be ignorant? Would we believe if we read it? Which one?
Are we willfully disobedient of the truth? Do we love sin more than truth? Why would you say that? Because the Bible says so? The billions of people who are not Christians in today's world are a testimony that the Bible is wrong about this. There is other overwhelming evidence against believing in the Bible. This is just one more. Why do you trust what the Bible says when the evidence of billions of people say otherwise? Just look at what people of other faiths or no faith at all will do if they think they know what is true. A lot of sacrificing is going on, from freethinkers suffering the approbation of the majority in our society to suicide bombers to ascetic Tibetan monks. People the world over would gladly sacrifice themselves for a cause or a faith they sincerely believed was the truth. I think it’s patently false to say people are not interested in the truth about such things, especially if we’ll fry in hell if we’re wrong. Who in his right mind would be willfully disobedient of that which he knows to be true, if the truth is that he will go to hell if he is?
Have we just failed to experience God in our lives? Do we need to experience something that we didn't? What kind of experience do you mean? A miracle? Well, whose fault is that? God knows what we need to believe, and if so, why doesn’t he provide it? If God did the greater deed, by sending his son to atone for our sins, then why doesn't he do the lesser deeds by providing us the evidence and experiences we need to believe?