There are no true ATHEISTS...

The story is told of a man who was convinced that he was dead. His friends and family tried in vain to dissuade him from his pointless and irrational mindset. Finally his wife introduced him to a wise doctor. The doctor asked the man: "Do dead men bleed?" The man answered, "Why--of course not!" The doctor then pulled out a tiny needle and pricked the man's thumb...soon a small trickle of blood began pouring out. The man looked up in amazement at the doctor and declared: "Wow, dead men DO bleed!"


This humorous tale has serious implications. There are those who will not be persuaded (about different matters), no matter how much evidence, logic, or sound reasoning is presented. Let's look at one particular case: ATHEISM.

Defining Definitions

To truly understand this issue, let's dissect the very word "Atheism", which is really an ancient Greek word transliterated into English.

THEOS means deity or God, and the letter "A" at the beginning negates the word following. Therefore, A+THEOS (Atheism) means "No God" or, more correctly, "There is no God."

It is a declarative statement, an absolute affirmation of a negative. Some would like to say an Atheist is a person who doesn't believe in God, but it is more accurately defined as a person who denies that God exists.

Outside of a few spittle-dribbling crazies, I would like to assert that:
 there are no true Atheists in the world.

Why? I'll show you how utterly incomprehensible, indefensible, and illogical that assertion is. Let's take the statement:

THERE IS NO GOD.

Does that statement hold up to investigative scrutiny?

Is it possible to make that statement in an absolute sense? Absolutely not. Here's why: To make that absolute statement, the following statements would have to be true about the person making it (the "Big 4"):

1. You would have to have always existed (since time began)
2. You would have to have been everywhere in the Universe
3. You would have to have experienced every event
4. You would have to have perfect/unbiased understanding 

Like a Needle in a Haystack

Once ALL 4 of those "Necessary Rules" are satisfied, then and only then, could a person even PERHAPS to make a statement that "There is no God." But---there is a problem, and one that perhaps you have never even considered:

God could have created the Universe in such a way that it is impossible to prove that He created it.


Think about that. If there is a God, and if we were created by Him/It--then He/It could have perfectly "covered His tracks" so that we could not ever prove that He/It created it.

Period.

Now, I do believe that it is fairly easy to demonstrate the God does exist, and that He did create the Universe, and that there is undeniable evidence and clues to His existence.

A Fun Example

Think about a modern computer game, and imagine for just a moment, that the characters inside the game somehow became "self-aware".

It is entirely reasonable, that no matter how hard they try, given the limitations put on them by the programmer(s), that they could never figure out that their world was designed, created, by people, us.


If, as the programmers, we do not give them that ability to find us out, then---they never will, nor could they. For one of those characters to assert: "There is no programmer!" is an illogical statement.

Let's return to our earlier 4 PREMISES, and look at them in comparison to what we now know.

1. You would have to have always existed (since time began).
In the modern world, less than one tenth of one percent ever even live to be over 100 years old. Even if you lived to be 1000 years, big deal---the Universe is far, far older than that. So, no atheist you will talk to today can claim #1 to be true of them.

2. You would have to have been everywhere in the Universe.
This is crucial. Think about it--for someone to assert that God does not exist, they would have to know about every place in the Universe that could hold clues to God's existence.

Since man has only been to Earth, and recently to the Moon, this does not even begin to cover it. Even if our own solar system was the whole Universe, we have been to far less than a fraction of 1% of our own solar system!

We are specks, living on a speck of dust, in an insignificant system, on the far Western Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, a small cluster among the hundreds of billions of such systems scattered throughout a vast and complex Cosmos.

(really, really small)

To assert that "There is no God!" is nonsense of the highest and most arrogant of orders.

3. You would have to have experienced every event in the Universe.
We read the papers, catch the latest cable news tickers, and talk at the local Starbucks about the comings and goings of life here in our tiny speck of the Universe.

But, for all of the pomp and circumstance and business of Earthly life, it comprises a number of events almost equal to ZERO when compared to all of the events occurring (and that have occurred) since the dawn of time across the Universe.

An Atheist would have to somehow declare that knowing about .00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000
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0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of all the events that have occurred in the Universe (even over the past hour or so) qualifies them to make an absolute statement about the non-existence of God.

Stunning, breathtakingly stunning.

Atheists have pet "evidences" that they like to point out, such as suffering and evil the world, or injustice, or some other such "imperfection" that they say negates the possibility of God.

(after reading to this point--the average reader should be saying: "Really???")

Let's digress for just a tiny moment and look at this supposed argument.

Standing over 324 meters high (just over 1000 feet) is the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France. It was designed by Gustave Eiffel, a brilliant engineer. It was built as the entry way to the 1889 World's Fair, and is the most visited, paid man-made monument in the world.

Now, imagine someone examining a tiny corner of a tiny section of a tiny, single support beam with some graffiti painted onto it. After looking at this disrespectful and ugly artwork they look up and declare: "Gustave Eiffel did not create this tower---if so, how could there be such an imperfection as this graffiti!"

It would be absurd. That graffiti can not, in any way, change the fact that Gustave Eiffel was the creator of that tower. That graffiti was a later, man-made, addition to the tower. Similarly, nearly all of the "suffering" and "injustices" of the world that atheists attempt to use to somehow discredit God are later additions, man-made imperfections (brought about by greed, cruelty, malice, etc).

Now, someone could also examine part of the Eiffel Tower and see something that "appears" to be a design flaw. They find a part, or a system, that is wholly inexplicable to them---having no apparent purpose, or worse yet, perhaps even a "flawed" approach. Could they then look up and exclaim: "Gustave Eiffel did not create this tower!" Of course not. Just because we do not understand why a Creator or designer would do something in a certain manner, does not mean that it is improper or flawed.

These types of arguments are really just emotional arguments. "Well, if I were a perfect God, I would not have done it this way!" is a childish and immature objection (and far too common--especially among Biologists such as Dawkins). Since we know less than a even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of how this Universe operates and all of the events occurring within it, no one on this planet is qualified to make these types of opinionated, emotional, and uninformed arguments.


From hurricanes, earthquakes, and all types of illnesses, the Atheist loves to question the wisdom in allowing these types of "evils" to exist, and therefore do an illogical and wild extrapolation spanning the entire width of the Cosmos and declare:

"There is no God!"

There are not words to describe that degree of narrow-mindedness.

There could be nearly limitless reasons for the Creator allowing any one, or all of these conditions, and who are we, as created beings, in standing in judgment over the wisdom/purposes of these types of events? If "evil" can be harnessed to bring about an even greater "good" then the entire Atheist house-of-cards collapses of it's own weight. Case closed.

(For further info, visit this page about reasons for Evil and Suffering)

4. You would have to have perfect and unbiased understanding of every event in Universe.

This cannot be overestimated in this chain of arguments. If someone is biased (making a decision with presuppositions and favored outcomes) when considering evidence, then the chances at arriving at truth approaches zero. If I do not believe in God, and presuppose that God somehow CANNOT exist, then there is no degree or threshold of evidence that will or could ever convince me.

Could this mindset actually exist? Absolutely--consider these recent words of famous Atheist philosopher Thomas Nagel, when he admitted:

“I WANT atheism to be true. It isn’t just that I don’t believe in God and, naturally, hope that I’m right in my belief; It’s not that I hope there is no God! I don’t WANT there to be a God; I don’t WANT the universe to be like that.”


(look it up...I am not making this stuff up!)

I don't think that ole Tommy Nagel is going to be objective and unbiased when considering evidence for God.

How about you?

Since no one can claim to be completely objective, and since no one can claim perfect understanding of all events that have ever occurred in the Universe, then no one can claim to have met this most-important 4th criterion.

In a very undeniable and fundamental sense, we all tend to see life through less-than-perfect lenses.

The Truth About Atheism

So, when considered together, no "atheist" can come even close to claiming to have met the 4 Necessary Rules...therefore, there can be no true "atheists". We may have skeptics, we may have agnostics, we may have stubborn, arrogant authors with huge followings, but, in actuality, we have no true (sane) atheists.

Turning the Tables

Some quick-thinking skeptic may try to flip the argument around and counter with the following:
"Since an atheist would have fulfill the 4 Necessary Rules to say that God does not exist, doesn't the theist have the same problem in asserting God's existence?"

They imagine that there must be a mirror-opposite of the 4 Big Rules.

Interesting challenge (though doomed to simple failure).

Does the "theist" (one who asserts that God exists) have to also meet the 4 Necessary Rules when making their positive, absolute declaration? Actually, no, not even close---and the reason is LOGIC.

Let me illustrate with a simple example. Suppose that someone declares: "Former President Bill Clinton exists!" Would the person making this claim have to (1) Always exist, (2) Been everywhere, (3) Observed all events, with (4) Perfect, unbiased knowledge? Absolutely not. For instance, they could actually MEET Bill Clinton, and therefore, settle the issue. 

The reason? Logically, Bill Clinton is here on Earth, and there are fairly straightforward methods of establishing his existence here.

Now, to establish the existence of a Creator, there are likewise, important logical and inductive/deductive methods that can lead us to the reasonableness and rationality of acknowledging His/Its existence...even from right here on Earth (a speck on the Western Spiral Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy). 

Once those logical constructs are met, we can establish God's existence. 

If someone says: "Blue objects do not exist in the entire Universe!" and yet, we find blue objects here on the Earth, then they are wrong (even though our ONLY experience is here on Earth, a speck, of a speck...well, you get the point!)

An Atheist Must Be God

Think about it: if anyone claims that they have (1) Always existed, (2) Been everywhere, (3) Observed all events, with (4) Perfect, unbiased knowledge---then they would have to be...

God.

It is inescapable. A being that could meet the 4 Necessary Rules would have to be divine, godlike, or God Himself. Perhaps this is the real and ultimate goal of "atheism", it is not that "there is no God" but rather, "There is no God but ME!"

Now the real hidden agenda surfaces. Go figure.