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Having finished the published debate itself, I will now turn
to dealing with some of the common questions and tactics
utilized by anti-theists when talking with Christians about
the Bible. Notice first of all that I have used the term
anti-theist. Many atheists like to say that they have no
beliefs, hence they have nothing to defend. But, if atheists
have no beliefs, how can they write books about atheism? How
can they publish monthly periodicals attacking the Bible? Are
they not by doing so asserting something even if that
something is negative? Of course they are. So, when dealing
with people such as Mr. McKinsey using the term anti-theist is
perfectly accurate. It is clearly Mr. McKinsey’s goal to
destroy any trust in the Bible and, by so doing, belief in
God. Therefore, he is rightly called an anti-theist.
In
the final installment of Mr. McKinsey’s response to my letters
he suggested I deal with the issues raised in an earlier issue
of BE. Since the fourteen questions listed by Mr. McKinsey are
some of the most common raised by skeptics and atheists, I
will take his advice and deal with these questions. I will
begin by listing the questions, taking the liberty to edit
them to be the most representative possible. I will then
provide some possible answers for each.
1.
Why are people today being
punished for Adam’s sin? Why do women have to endure pain in
childbirth because of Eve’s sin, especially in the light of
Deuteronomy 24:16 and other references?
2.
How could two perfect beings, Adam and Eve, have sinned?
(Mr. McKinsey adds here, The usual reply that they had
free will is of no substance. They can have all the free will
desired, but if they chose to sin then they weren’t perfect.)
3.
Christians claim that in order to he
saved you must accept Jesus as your savior. If so, then how
are babies who die in infancy, the mentally infirm, those who
lived before Jesus, and those who lived in the New World
before missionaries arrived, saved, and
how
could God be just if he condemned people because of where or
when they were born?
(McKinsey adds,
“Don’t let them escape via Romans 1 and 2. Belief in God and
good works does not save. Only belief in Jesus. If belief in
God and inherently knowing the good is all that’s required,
then many non-Christians are included).
4.
How could Noah (Genesis 6:9) and Job (1:1)
have been perfect if all have sinned (Romans 3:23)?
5.
How could Paul have said we are
saved through faith in Jesus when Jesus himself repeatedly
said good works are the pre-requisite?
6.
(I include this one only to show the insanity of some of
these types of questions). Ask someone
if
they believe. The answer is
nearly always yes. Then ask
if
they would be
willing to drink arsenic or handle deadly snakes since Mark
16:18 says, those who believe shall take up serpents and drink
any deadly thing with impunity.
7.
How can Numbers 23:19 and / Samuel 15:29
(both stating that God does not repent) be reconciled with
Exodus 32:14 and I Samuel 15:35 (which say that he does)?
8.
How can Exodus 33:20 and John 1:18 (both
stating that no one can see God) be reconciled with Genesis
32:30 and Exodus 33:11 which say that men have seen God? (One
might add numerous other references to seeing God, such as
Isaiah 6:1).
9.
How can the resurrection be so important when others were
raised before Jesus was?
10.
How can Jesus be our perfect savior when
he made many false and deceptive statements such as John
7:8-10), Luke 23:43 (you will be with me in paradise today)
Matthew 5:22 and Mark 8:34 (at this point McKinsey says
“take up a nonexistent cross.” What he means by that is a
mystery)?
11.
How can the Bible be the epitome of
morality and virtue when it uses profanity such as that found
in 2 Kings 18:27, Ezekiel 23:20-21 and Song of Solomon 5:4?
12.
How can the various accounts of the
Resurrection be reconciled?
13.
How can women support the Bible in light of
the demeaning status accorded them in I Corinthians 11:3, 9,
Ephesians 5:22-24, and other appropriate verses?
14.
How can Jesus, who is allegedly God,
talk to God the Father and yet only one God exist?
(McKinsey adds “Don’t let biblicists escape with the
rationalization that there is only one God but three
persons.")
Obviously many others could be added to this list and we will
address other questions at a later point. But, since Mr.
McKinsey suggested dealing with them, and as they do pose a
fairly representative sample of the kind of questions posed by
hostile non-believers, they will do for our present purposes.
Answering the Objections
part I |
