Atheists choose to not believe in God for many various reasons, but one reason in particular is extremely peculiar. An atheist recently commented on this blog that she would not want to see even the meanest, rottenest, filthiest murdering psychopath SOB in the world to have to live in eternal hell. And if you think her sentiment is unusually rare, think again.
Even though they do not believe in God or hell, atheists like to challenge Christians with “If God is truly a loving God why would He send anyone to hell?” When presented with this challenge by atheists, some Christians think it is a good question that requires a good biblical explanation; I am not one of those Christians. If the question were asked by a believer or someone seriously considering the faith then yes, it requires a good answer. But when people who outright reject the council of God ask the question, it can only mean that they are trying to justify their behavior and unbelief, or they are attempting to just confuse Christians with the whole God is love thing.
The later are what I will call the true atheists; those who have no particular reason for not believing in God they just don’t. The former are those who have excuses for not believing in God. So to those of you atheists who truly wonder why a loving God would cast anyone out of heaven, here is a little scenario:
Suppose you have a large family living in a large house. You are loving parents, who adore your children, but times are tough and you are desperately strapped for money. So you decide to rent out one of the rooms in your large house to a stranger willing to pay room and board. Now suppose that stranger, once he settles into your home, begins to seduce, rape, torture, and murder your children. Where will your god’s compassion lie? What will be the judgment of your god? Will the stranger remain in your home, or will your god cast him out forever?
July 2, 2009 at 5:39 pm |
Hi Brian, thanks for the thought-provoking post.
Your premise is a little off. In order to believe in something, you have to have a basis for that belief. Many atheists just don’t see the evidence to conclude that there is a God. I think it’s important to not just brush them off and ignore them. They should be supplied with evidence to help them see why you believe what you do.
I think most atheists understand why God would damn murderers, rapists, thieves, etc. I have to disagree with you about that vehement atheist; I think her type really is in the minority of non-believers. Maybe the point that she should have made is that humans have no right to say who should be damned and who should be saved; this judgment should be left to God.
What many atheists don’t understand is why God would damn people guilty of no crime except being non-believers. It seems like God even damns people who have not even had the opportunity to make the decision to follow Christ. If this is true, it really does seem like God is not the loving God that so many preachers claim he is.
July 2, 2009 at 11:30 pm |
Perhaps you are right about the “true atheists.” However, it is impossible to say what percentage of atheists fall into any particular category of why they do not believe. Having said that, many, many…many atheists claim to be former believers.
I also agree with you that most atheists would agree that God, if they can imagine His existence, is justified in casting out violent criminals. But like you said, what about people who do not believe but are otherwise decent human beings? You said their only crime is that they do not believe. I ask you, who among us is not guilty of any sin other than not believing? Do you know anyone who has not lied, stole, deceived, taken advantage of someone, etc.? I know of no one with the mental capacity to sin that hasn’t done so.
God is righteous and His Law is righteous; we are not. When we are judged according to the righteous Law of God we can in no way measure up. Our only option is to be found guilty. I don’t know if you are familiar with the Law of God, aka, the Law of Moses, but let me give you an example. (I don’t know if you will understand this but I hope you do)
The Law says that adultery is a sin punishable by death. Sounds harsh, doesn’t it? By our standards we might say the perpetrator needs counseling, or something to that effect. But next to God’s perfect righteousness the person is guilty and not worthy to be in the company of perfection. Atheists are usually familiar with these parts of the Law, but what they are not familiar with is God’s mercy that was also contained in the Law. God instituted the Levitical priesthood as a way for the Israelites to receive forgiveness. That priesthood and the sacrifices contained within all pointed to Christ who was sacrificed for all mankind. The animal sacrifices themselves had no power to forgive sins, but when the people who offered them trusted and believed God, they were forgiven; a forgiveness that looked forward to the truly righteous sacrifice of Christ.
In the New Testament the Pharisees caught a woman in the act of adultery and brought her to Jesus so they could test Him. They picked up stones to stone the woman and said to Jesus, “The Law commands that she be stoned.” Jesus replied, “He among you who is without sin cast the first stone.” The unrighteous judges could not kill her and the righteous judge forgave her and told her to sin no more. You see the people who took up stones were no less guilty than the woman caught in adultery even though they might not have committed any grave sin. None of them was good enough to put the woman to death, but the one who was did not, but instead forgave her.
Atheists, unfortunately for them, turn their back on Christ, the only hope of our salvation
July 28, 2009 at 2:39 am |
And just to continue with what Brian said, ultimately everyone has sinned and are therefore condemned due to our sins. Because Jesus sacrificed Himself on the cross, the Righteous for the unrighteous, we now have eternal life through Jesus. No man can pay for there own sins or for sins of others (Psalm 49:7,8) but because Jesus was perfect and because He is God, His sacrifice was the payment for our ransom (1 Tim 2:5,6). We are free from our sins and we should go and sin no more.
August 13, 2009 at 11:35 am |
Hello again.
I found a couple of bible verses that kind of go against this loving God idea.
John 12:40
He has blinded their eyes, and he has closed their minds. Otherwise they would see with their eyes, and understand with their minds and come back to me and be healed.
According to verse 38, “This was to bring about what Isaiah the prophet had said: ‘Lord, who believed what we told them? Who saw the Lord’s power in this?’”
So, God is hardening peoples’ hearts on purpose so that they will go to hell. This seems a bit strange and malevolent in my book.
And David, God offering his son as a sacrifice was a noble thing to do, but was it really logical? How can Jesus’ death pay for other peoples’ sins? It isn’t logical. People are responsible for their own actions.
August 23, 2009 at 11:06 pm |
Hi Dalton.
Sorry for the delay in responding, I was on vacation the past two weeks.
It is often sated in the New Testament that something was done so that a prophecy would be fulfilled. To many unbelievers statements like these appear to defy free will. It looks as though God simply orchestrates events here on earth for His good pleasure. But if such an Idea as that were true God would be inconsistent in His word for Christ said, “God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son and whosoever believes on Him will not parish but have everlasting life.” Unless we interpret “whosoever” as only those whom God chooses, free will of every man must be undeniably valid. It is not that God hardened their hearts so they could not believe; He hardened their hearts because they would not believe. The people being referred to in that passage are people who beheld with their own eyes the miracles of Christ, yet they would not believe. In their eyes, if Jesus were the Messiah He would lead them in a revolt against Rome and establish the everlasting Kingdome that was promised them through their fathers. And therein lies the problem; they were so sure of what they thought they knew, their pride would not allow them to listen to Christ. They had ears to hear but would not, they had eyes to see but were blind, and so God hardened their hearts to the truth because they would not believe the truth. This inevitably set the stage for Jesus’ crucifixion in Jerusalem when the Jews turned on Him and called for His execution. They were angry with Him because they believed He deceived them into believing He was the Messiah, yet when He humbly appeared before them in Pilot’s court, they determined He was not the promised Messiah. Thus the prophecy was fulfilled.
I don’t want to answer for David, but I would like to address your question to him. Indeed people are responsible for their own actions. We believe God is perfect. That must be understood in order for this to make sense. Do you know of anyone beyond the age of reason that ever lived on this earth who was perfect? I know of only one and that one is Christ. The proof of His perfection is displayed in His resurrection. Christ was judged by the Law of Mosses as was every Jew, and every Jew but Christ was found guilty by the standard of the Law because they could not keep it. Only Jesus faithfully kept the Law and was therefore justified, as Paul said, “the doers of the Law will be justified.” (Rom. 2:13) By keeping the Law He fulfilled the Law in His crucifixion. He, therefore, became a perfect sacrifice by which others, who simply put their faith in Him, may be justified through Him. His sacrifice is the reality of the thing symbolized under the Law when the high priest offered the unblemished sacrificial lamb for the sins of the people, which they committed in ignorance.
Brian