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Many conservative Christians also believe that Atheists are hypocrites; they simply pretend that they are unaware of God, and are lying to others. We describe both of these passages below, with rebuttals.
Romans 1: Argument from design:Romans 1:18 to 20 states:
That is, when a person looks around at the design of the stars; sun; moon; planets; the world and its oceans, mountains, valleys canyons, plants, and animals; and the rest of the universe, they see multiple proofs for the existence of God. There is no excuse for anyone to deny God's existence or creative power. This is basically Paul's version of the argument for the proof of God's existence from design. Atheists are without excuse, since they only need to look at creation and be forced to conclude that the universe must have had a creator with superhuman/supernatural powers. That is one definition of a God. A rebuttal: Whenever a statement is encountered in the Bible, it is important to determine whether:
It can be argued that Paul's statement was applicable in the first century CE when he wrote it, but is not necessarily meaningful today. In the middle of the first century CE, when people believed in a three tier universe composed of a flat earth, a metallic dome above that supported Heaven, and the space between the dome and earth. Living in a pre-scientific culture, they had no concept of the Big Bang about 14 billion years ago, the development of the universe, the origin of the solar system, that the earth rotates around the sun, the coalescence of the Earth about 4.5 billion years ago, the emergence of single-celled life, and evolution of the species of animals, etc. With the rise of of modern cosmology, geology, evolution, as well as studies of the origins of religion, higher criticism of the Bible, and the quest for the historical Jesus, people in the 21st century have the necessary framework to begin to understanding how the universe developed without a creator, and how the Bible writers formed their beliefs. People in the first century CE may have had no excuse for having no belief in God. However, many people in the twenty-first century are able to defend their lack of belief in God from the observations and conclusions of science.
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Romans 2: Beliefs written by God onto their conscience:Romans 2:15 states:
That is, even people who have not been exposed to the Bible have God's standards "written in their hearts" as part of their development as human beings. In Biblical times, the heart and kidneys were believed to the organs where human thoughts arose and were stored. In modern times, his is often expressed as God inserting an awareness of his law into everyone's conscience. These two passages from Romans might have inspired the following attacks on Atheists, Agnostics and non-Christians:
A rebuttal: Most of those mental health professionals who are not religious conservatives believe that one's conscience is formed by the age of about seven, as a result of their experiences as newborns, infants, and young children. That is, newborns do not enter the world with a conscience pre-formed by God. From the hundreds of conversations that we have had with Atheists, Agnostics, and other non-theists via Email and face-to-face meetings, we have concluded that Atheists generally do not feel that they are suppressing a personal belief in God. They truly believe that they can find no conclusive evidence for the existence of God, Satan, angels, demons, or any other supernatural entity. Many Atheists find it difficult to understand how Christians, Jews, Muslims and other Theists can believe in a personal God, without any convincing data to support that belief. Some note that the specific beliefs held by followers of theistic religions are largely determined by one's location on Earth: most people born in Saudi-Arabia accept the beliefs about Allah found in Islam; most Americans in the deep south are conservative Protestants; most Canadians in Quebec are at least nominal Roman Catholics, etc. One's beliefs on religious topics are largely an accident of birth. Of course, most Christians pray to God and believe that their prayers are answered. They believe that they sense God taking an active role in determining even minor events in their life. Many use phrases such as "their daily walk with Christ." They often find it difficult to understand how anyone can possibly refuse to acknowledge God's presence. This mind set may well lead them to conclude that Atheists are "faking it." Just as homophobia is most easily overcome by dialogue among heterosexuals, homosexuals and bisexuals, understanding of individuals' beliefs concerning the existence of God is also best achieved through contacts between Theists, Atheists, Agnostics, Humanists, etc. Unfortunately, such individuals seem to form groups of separate solitudes with little interaction.
References used:The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
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Consultants on Religious Tolerance
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