“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life…” John the Baptist; John 3:36
Really, it all comes down to what we believe. I heard a preacher years ago say, “What you believe determines how you live regardless of what you say.” Truth.
When the disciple John wrote his gospel account he placed a great deal of emphasis on the concept of “belief.” In chapter 3, vss 11-21, alone, John uses the word “believe” seven times; and it occurs approximately 100 times throughout John’s gospel. For instance,…
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him….” (3:16)
“Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (20:30-31)
What atheists, agnostics, skeptics, etc. fail to remind their audiences is this: Sure, Christianity takes faith (“by grace, through faith we are saved” – Eph. 2:8). But, so do Darwinian evolution, atheism, and agnosticism require a great deal of faith.
Personally, I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist. I tried in the days immediately following my son’s death, but to no avail. The evidence for the existence of God is overwhelming. And, like former atheist, Antony Flew, “i must go where the argument leads.”
Soli Deo Gloria, Nick