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What would Jesus ask an Atheist?

Andy Fehler

An atheist is someone who is convinced that there is no God. They are not sitting on the fence like the agnostics - but they have clearly nailed their colours to the mast - there is NO GOD!

Well, what would Jesus ask such people as these?

He might ask:

  • Where do you think everything came from?
  • What is the point in living?
  • How do you decide how to live?
  • What hope can you find?

These aren't just good questions to ask an atheist - they are questions that we all need to ask ourselves and see how our worldview answers them, as our answers will determine how we live.

For an atheist they have to believe that all of this amazing world, all of the Universe in fact came out of nothing or has always been here - both of which are incredibly hard to swallow. While most scientists have now rejected the idea that the Universe has always been here and always will, they still struggle to explain what caused the Universe to burst into existence.

Without a God not only is it difficult to explain where the Universe came from - it is also clear that there can be no meaning behind the world. If there is no designer there can be no grand design. We were not planned, we are accidents, flukes of evolution - just animals made from chemicals. There can be no meaning to our short lives. We live then die. As the atheist philosopher Bertrand Russell put it: "We must build our lives on the foundation of unyielding despair."

Without a God revealing to us how we ought to live, our right and wrong becomes purely subjective - I can do what I like. Any attempt to say this is the right way to live is ridiculous as I can live how I want and no-one can tell me it's wrong. If someone chooses to rape or steal there is no overriding reason why that is wrong.

Indeed whilst there are lots of philosophical reasons put forward for God not existing the main reason that keeps cropping up is to do with suffering. The atheist says: "There simply can't be a God because of the terrible things that happen in the world." This is an interesting claim and a thorny issue to iron out - but it simply doesn't fit with the rest of the worldview that comes from rejecting God. (Check out our article [LINK]How do we account for all the suffering in the world?, toughquestions/suffering.html[/LINK]). Without a God who is outside us and who makes distinctions about what is right and wrong based perhaps on His own Character, then who are we to say what is good or terrible. Furthermore, we can't intrude on other people's lives, to me rape may be wrong but to someone else it may be acceptable. Unless there is an outside agency to call upon to clarify these matters we will get nowhere!

Finally, there can be no hope for the atheist. It's clear that us humans are not going to change - however much we dream of making utopia here on Earth through education, social planning, sharing the wealth or whatever, we cannot do it - history is littered with attempts of making Heaven here on Earth that have failed. No, the only hope an atheist can possibly have is that they might leave something behind for future generations - whether that is children or art or some scientific discovery. Such people are described in the Bible as "having no hope and without God in the world." Ephesians 2:12

These are difficult questions for all of us - but especially for the atheist!

So there is no God? No Creator? But why is it that all cultures have their Gods? How can the atheist explain away the "God-shaped hole" that people down the ages have described? The presence of this longing for something beyond ourselves explains why this country is still so spiritual despite the rejection of mainstream religions and despite being one of the most scientific nations around. Could it just be that God designed us that way? To me it is just as plausible - in fact more plausible to say there is an all powerful and eternal God who has not only created the Universe out of nothing - but through his Son Jesus he reveals what he is like to us, showing us how to live. Because God is outside us there becomes a concrete foundation on which to determine whether something is right or wrong.

We also find a purpose for our life - we live to glorify God. Through Jesus' death and resurrection we are assured that we can trust in Jesus and have a hope that this life is not all there is.

We may not be philosophical atheists we may just be practical ones who ignore God. Either way it's important to know that just believing in God is not enough. A lyric writer wrote: "The fool says in his heart 'there is no God'." (Psalm 14:1) the song this was taken from was used by the apostle Paul to make the point that no-one is right before the God who does exist! This is not just about atheists, it's not even just about practical atheists (those who ignore God most of the time) - but it is actually speaking about all people (Psalm 14:1-3 is the basis of Paul's argument in Romans 3:9-20 argument).

We all say in our hearts "there is no God" - we are all in one sense atheists - choosing to live as God of our lives, whether we believe in a god or not! As a consequence, Paul goes on: "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks God. All have turned aside!" Romans 3:10-12 (emphasis added).

But the good news is that there is hope for us. Paul goes on to say there is a righteousness (that is a way of being right with God) that comes through trusting in Jesus: "the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have sinned [that is wronged God] and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" Romans 3:22-24. There are a lot of strange concepts and words in that sentence but the gist of it is this - we are all wrong before God - but we can all be made right by trusting in Jesus and receiving this rightness with God as a gift.

There is hope for the atheist - but it is not through continuing to deny the existence of God - the atheist, and all of us, need to realise that to find answers to the most significant questions we need to accept that there is a God and He shows us what He is like through Jesus Christ.