I recently had a ‘back & forth’ with a skeptic on social media. The man was kind and our debate was civil, but we clearly differed on various aspects of the Christian faith. (The goal of Christian Apologetics is not to win an argument, but to win a friend.) But, the conversation prompted me to post the following on social media.
Consider the following familiar quote by atheist, Richard Dawkins:
“Next time somebody tells you that something is true, why not say to them: ‘What kind of evidence is there for that?’ And if they can’t give you a good answer, I hope you’ll think very carefully before you believe a word they say.”
For once, I couldn’t agree more with Dawkins. And here’s a scenario of how I would respond.
Skeptic: “Nick, what kind of evidence can you cite in favor of theism?”
Me: “That’s a very good question. The following evidence really had an impact on me in favor of God’s existence. Let’s take a look at it together.
- The origination of the cosmos
- The fine-tuning of the cosmos (focusing on the 2nd law of thermodynamics/entropy)
- The Anthropic Principle
- Biology – specifically the human genome/ DNA
- Human consciousness
- The overwhelming historical reliability of the New Testament
There is more evidence from archaeology and history, but this is a solid place to start.
I have faith. But it’s not blind faith.
Nick
nw