Atheism - Is It Really Reasonable?

Following Richard Dawkins and other high-profile atheists, many people have the idea that atheistic belief relies on the wonderful powers of human reason. The thought has become commonplace; atheism is super-reasonable, while Christianity is super-daft nonsense. Popular atheistic belief needs to be teased out a little to see what in fact it relies on.

• REALITY
Atheists like Richard Dawkins follow a philosophy of reality in which everything that exists is composed of physical matter in a space-time continuum. In this scheme such things as minds and personalities, including thoughts are all explained in terms of physical processes, some doubtless very complex, but still the result of chemical and electrical interactive processes. So, a word like 'mind' is merely a social construct describing a complex psychological entity, rather than it referring to a non-material dimension in our human make-up. So any non-material being such as God, or even thoughts, are excluded by the starting point of the atheist's philosophy of reality. Is this belief system grounded in scientific method? No, materialism is an unproven belief system that is not open to proof or disproof.

• VALIDITY
But then we ask 'What is reason and is it able to check itself without first believing in its own effectiveness? The straight answer is 'No'. To examine the foundations of the validity of thinking we first need to believe in it.

So, let's assume the validity of reason and say that reason is a faculty of our humanity by which we construct rules of logic, and use thinking in rational ways to offer explanations, form arguments, make inferences and deductions, and reach conclusions. There is a lot more but that is a start. So far, so good if you are following my thinking.

Now we all know that much of our thinking is expressed in words; a form of symbol-code that represents the meanings we wish to communicate. Thus, when it comes to Richard Dawkins' book, 'The God Delusion', he aims to show that God most probably does not exist on the basis that a case can be made using verbal arguments.

• PHILOSOPHY
However, this is just where Richard Dawkins faces his biggest problem because his philosophy of reality excluded the existence of anything spiritual or non-material from the start, so in fact it was a materialistic philosophy that determined Dawkins' conclusions for him. So, for instance, when an atheist says, 'there is no God', it means nothing beyond merely being a particular arrangement of molecules in his or her head. The materialist philosophy of reality has already awarded itself the status of being close to a true answer, but an atheist doesn't believe that real truth exists, which obviously includes atheism. On atheistic assumptions final answers could never exist in a cosmos without any final meaning.

• INCREDIBLY
By thinking like that, the atheist has leapt by an act of atheistic 'faith' and made an ultimate pronouncement that God probably does not exist. In that pronouncement he or she must assume they are in a meaningful reality in which their thoughts correlate with some sort of final or ultimate truth, and that it all exists, with such marvellous and vast grandeur that began with a meaningless explosion.

But however did they discover that ultimate truth, when all they had to do it with was molecules? Oh, how did they ever think it was reasonable for molecules to make such a final discovery that molecules is all there is - how incredible!

• DEITY
Atheists are persons made in the image of God, whose personalities and thinking have a transcendent dimension, which they use to presuppose the validity of their denial of God's existence, which as the Bible clearly reaches, is a denial grounded in suppressed and rebellious wishful thinking; 'For [God's] 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' (Romans 1:20).

Well, is it high time to own up that atheism is a lot more than molecules; it an expression of the rebel mind and thinking of real persons whose thoughts transcend physical matter. As such they are trapped in futile thinking and urgently need to repent and turn to Christ as they will one day give an account to the living God. Reason is indeed a high gift to be used for the glory and praise of God, but never for making futile, weak excuses like atheism.

ANSWERS FOR A SEARCHING GENERATION

Michael J. S. Austin, Ph.D. has authored several books and many articles that offer answers for many of life's big questions - 'Is biblical Christianity finished, or does it still speak to the 21st century?'

Take a look at my eBook or paperback, 'DAWKINS' DILEMMAS' to see how Richard Dawkins' atheistic belief cannot support itself, either as philosphy or science.

Use the following link:

http://www.amazon.com/Dawkins-Dilemmas-Deluded-question-ebook/dp/B007RFLYI8/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_2

My title, 'Darwin's Puzzle - Unravelling the Riddle of Reason' discusses how the evolutionary beliefs of Charles Darwin destroy human reason. He admits this when he says he inherited his thinking from monkeys.

And try this link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ZE34GG

Use my books and articles to help you find faith in Christ, or to strengthen your faith.

Also find titles on other websites - Thank you!


 By Michael J. S. Austin, Ph.D.


Article Source: Atheism - Is It Really Reasonable?