B. Common Questions from Atheists
1. If God is all-powerful and loving, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world?
2. Why does an all-loving God send people to Hell?
3. Isn't belief in God just a psychological crutch or wish fulfillment?
4. How do you know the Bible is the word of God and not just man-made?
5. Why doesn’t God just reveal Himself clearly to everyone?
6. Isn’t religion responsible for wars, oppression, and division?
7. Isn't the resurrection just a myth or legend like other ancient stories?
8. Why are there so many contradictions in the Bible?
9. How can miracles be trusted when they contradict science?
10. Why should I believe in Christianity over thousands of other religions?
THE FIRST QUESTION
IF GOD IS ALL POWERFUL AND ALL LOVING, WHY IS THERE SO MUCH EVIL AND SUFFERING IN THE WORLD?
Atheists often ask this because they can't just bring themselves to believe God being all loving can allow evil
They'll say, "look at the genocide that happened in the 1940's in Nazi Germany"
Look at children being killed in Palestine by Israeli Army
Some of them lost their loved ones even after praying, doing all they can in the hospital, spending all their monies, yet all was to no avail
So they just conclude there is no God.
The answer to this is mainly in "free will"
If you are being told not to use the canon as an answer you must let them know it's practically impossible for you to.
Most times during debate, they aren't the one asking those questions, it's the demonic spirits in their mind orchestrating them.
These guys are highly intelligent. They ask questions that can box the Christian to a corner.
The end point of their argument isn't necessarily to prove the superiority of their belief but to win you into becoming Atheistic in your thinking.
Romans 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
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THE SECOND QUESTION
"WHY DOES AN ALL LOVING GOD SEND PEOPLE TO HELL"
This can be answered from the standpoint of salvation..
God is Just ; He is a Righteous Judge
If God forces Everyone into heaven outside of their own free will, then he isn't Just.
During the course of everyone's life, people chose to do good or evil.
Those who do evil here on earth will surely have a retribution whether on earth or in the afterlife.
If there is no consequences for evil deeds while on earth in the afterlife, then everything has no meaning.
So God himself took upon himself the nature of sin, went to Hell just to save men from going to Hell
But those who go there chose it.
Infact, there are people who wouldn't want to make heaven because they believe their favorite musicians and footballers wouldn't be there but in Hell, and that heaven would be a boring place.
This is probably the most common question Atheists ask Christian Apologists
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THE THIRD QUESTION
ISN'T BELIEF IN GOD JUST A PSYCHOLOGICAL CRUTCH OR WISH FULFILLMENT?
ANSWERED VIA VOICE RECORDING
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THE FOURTH QUESTION
HOW DO YOU KNOW THE BIBLE IS THE WORD OF GOD AND NOT JUST MAN- MADE
To answer this, we Christian Apologists let them know the fulfilled Prophecies in the scriptures which authenticates it's validity
There are myriads of prophecies about Christ in the Old Testament, prophecied by kings, prophets, shepherds, farmers.
All these were fulfilled hundreds and centuries into Christ's day.
Isaiah 53, written over 700 years before Christ was fulfilled perfectly by Christ's Suffering as a servant
Psalms 22 speaks of the Suffering Righteous One
Daniel 9 spoke of a coming Messiah whose life will be cut off.
The bible even contained prophecies about earthly kings and emperors whose accounts can be fact-checked even in their civilizations history
The second answer to this is the historical evidences of the manuscripts.
In 1948, a young Shepherd in the Judean Wilderness in North eastern Jerusalem found several scrolls in an underground area. It had the writings of Isaiah, from Isaiah 16 to Isaiah 66... When they carbon dated this, it was over 2600 years old
The third point is that the bible, though having 66 books with over 40+ writers across 1500 years, written in 3 languages, written by people from different spheres of life, had a common, central story it told;
"justification by faith".
It was written by shepherds, kings, prophets, fishermen, lawyers, doctors, yet one message.
This can't be just coincidence
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THE FIFTH QUESTION
WHY DOESN'T GOD JUST REVEAL HIMSELF CLEARLY TO EVERYONE
ANSWER 1: He already revealed himself..
You'll ask How has he revealed himself?
• Via creation...
Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
God has revealed himself through the things he created.
Fishes, birds, oceans, seas, vegetations, valleys, hills, mountains.
These things speak of the wonders of God.. It isn't logical to believe these things just popped out of nowhere. They must have been formed by a supreme Being who is all powerful.
GOD
• Also via the conscience...
Every human, born of a woman has a conscience at birth and formative years.
As they grow, this conscience either get alive by receiving God into it or it gets smeared with hot iron as one receives the devil into it
Everyone child at a point will know what's good & bad, even if society didn't teach them.
God reveals himself by this conscience.
• Thirdly, God has revealed himself in his Son - Yeshua..
Hebrews 1:1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, .....1:2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
And this revelation was made 2025 years ago
Today, this revelation is seen via the scriptures
So man is without excuse in receiving Christ.
ANSWER 2: The second point is that GOD revealing himself to all creature by appearing in the sky and saying "I am God" would be a trespassing of natural and spiritual laws..
ANSWER 3: Thirdly, God revealing himself by signs and wonders when this is stretched will cause more hardness of heart.
Despite God revealing himself via the rod of Aaron to Pharaoh, yet his heart was still hardened
Despite all the miracles Christ did, the Jews still didn't receive him as their Messiah.
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THE SIXTH QUESTION
Now let's get to the 6th Question they ask Christian Apologists
Isn't religion RESPONSIBLE for wars, oppression and division?
Firstly, Christianity over the centuries have been used as a tool for wars, but this isn't what Christ preached.
Christ preached Forgiveness, love & peace. He said pray for your enemies, not fight with them..
People use Politics, science and even medicine as tools for war but those things in themselves aren't evil. Same with Christianity.
Secondly, Christianity has been a force for Growth and development over the centuries.
The advent of hospitals, schools, and even the inventions of big tech have their roots in Christianity
The abolishment of slavery was done by Christianity.
Thirdly, division isn't that bad..
The truth actually causes division.
Matthew 10:35 For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.....10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
This above text has been misinterpreted many times. It doesn't mean Christ's coming is for world war. Christ was talking in parables here..
He is the Truth and Truth divides
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THE SEVENTH QUESTION
Now the seventh Question they ask
ISN'T THE RESURRECTION JUST A MYTH OR LEGEND LIKE OTHER ANCIENT STORIES?
We Christian Apologists answer this by providing Historical, logical and evidential arguments for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead.
There are some historians that recorded the earthly life of Jesus & his resurrection
Flavius Josephus , a Jewish historian wrote a book he titled the Antiquities of the Jews
You can check out Tacitus, a Roman historian who wrote the book Annals
And Pliny the Younger
Aside these men, Matthew, Mark, Luke & John wrote books on the early life, the death & the resurrection of Christ which was later included in the canon and called the Gospels
There are historical evidences for the empty tomb where Jesus was laid, the shawl and even the stone where the name Pontius Pilate was inscribed.
Secondly, we answer this by saying
The disciples and early apostles lived, suffered, were persecuted and even died for the resurrection
If the resurrection was a fable or coined up lie or myth, these men wouldn't lay down their lives for it..
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THE EIGHT QUESTION
"WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CONTRADICTIONS IN THE BIBLE"
What they think are differences, aren't at all.
The account of Mark isn't exactly the same as Luke because both of them weren't among the disciples of Jesus.
Mark most likely got his account from Peter, same as Luke from maybe John.
You can't expect them to have same account as Matthew who was always present with Jesus everywhere; who saw the miracles first hand.
Also the Bible was written by over 40+ authors across 1500 years..
It's logically impractical for all these men from different backgrounds and different sphere of life to have the same tone of language or style of writing.
The beauty is that they all were telling the same story, about one Man.
Lastly on this question, we tell them instead of seeing these "contradictions" as something bad, it's better to see it from the standpoint of uniqueness.
It strengthens the authenticity of the scriptures
If all the writers are writing exactly the same thing with similar undertones and overtones, then it's a pointer there's a foul play somewhere.
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THE NINTH QUESTION
"HOW CAN MIRACLES BE TRUSTED WHEN THEY CONTRADICT SCIENCE"
The answer we give to it is...
Miracles doesn't Contradict Science, it goes beyond it.
Where science stops, miracles starts.
Also if there are evidential proofs of scientific inventions verifiable under eye witnesses, then we can also proof the authenticity of miracles under eyewitnesses too
The best way to answer them this question is by doing a miracle there.
Could be a word of knowledge, or a healing.
This doesn't guarantee they'll receive Christ but it's to proof to them it's real, But before you perform this miracle, discern if it's God's will for you to do so.
Lastly, miracles and science works hand in hand.
You can explain miracles sometimes using science..., but not all the time.
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THE LAST QUESTION
"WHY SHOULD I BELIEVE IN CHRISTIANITY OVER THOUSANDS OF OTHER RELIGION?"
Let me answer this.
The number one answer to give an Atheist who asks this question is that Christianity unlike other "religions" is rooted in strong historical evidences.
Christ, a man lived on the earth from 4 B.C to 33 A.D
He resurrected from the dead in the middle of history, in a time when civilization peaked in the Greco-Roman world.
He appeared to over 500 of his disciples & they were transformed by him
His disciples who were now apostles preached about his resurrection (the gospel) and even laid down their lives for it
The gospel spread like wildfire across Rome and even became the major force in the world two centuries after.
It's impact is still being felt today
The second answer why Christianity is above other religion is the fact that it has in it what others don't have: The Power of the saving Grace.
In Christianity, the forgiveness of sins is being taught. A blessing promised to Abraham and to his seeds, fulfilled via Christ.
No other religion on earth preach the forgiveness of sins
Buddhism preaches on karma (retribution), the cycle of birth, death & rebirth which they call samsara. They believe to achieve enlightenment (Nirvana), you need open your third eye
Christianity preaches Grace; you don't need do anything to achieve all these, just believe.
The third answer we give Atheist is that unlike any other religious leader, Christ spoke with Audacity and Authority.
Matthew 7:28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine: 7:29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes
Buddha said "I am just a teacher"
Muhammad said 'I am a Prophet, I don't even know where I am going "
Jesus said "I am the Way, the Truth & the Life.......I am the resurrection & the Life"
He was sure of his Divinity.
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