Why I Am Not Atheist: Why Atheism is Unreasonable

A few days ago, after having read a string of comments at the Raving-Atheist-Turned-Raving-Theist blog, I had a revelation. Having some friends who are atheist, I have tried to think of ways to explain my faith to them that they can comprehend, and I think I may have stumbled onto something.

I've often thought that if God created people of varying levels of intellect, it would be unfair to make access to faith in Him easier for those of higher intelligence. When I explained this to an atheist friend, she argued that it shouldn't, however, be more difficult or impossible for those of higher intelligence to have access to God because of their reliance on reasoning. Although there is something within me that thinks there might be more fairness in this than she thinks, I've given some thought to her complaint and now might actually have an answer.

Atheists (in particular, weak atheists) want proof that God exists. I have heard many of them state that they would be willing to entertain the possibility of God's existence if anyone would just offer clear proof of His Existence. This seems reasonable. However, I'm going to explain why this position is actually quite unreasonable.

What do we know about the Judeo-Christian God? The most fundamental thing that we know about the God of the Jewish and Christian scriptures is that He exists. This may appear to the uninitiated as merely begging the question; however, it is not. Let me explain. When Moses asked God who He was, "God said to Moses, 'I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: "I AM has sent me to you" ' " (Exodus 3:14).

This matters because it is, therefore, impossible to understand Yahweh God outside of His existing. If an atheist says, "I am willing to entertain a belief in God if you can prove He exists," that position is unreasonable. We can't discuss God outside of His existence, since that is a fundamental principle of who He is. Christians often explain that one must have faith, but that seems nonsense to one who views rational thought as supreme. However, the position can be explained quite reasonably when we realize that if ongoing existence is a fundamental characteristic of God, then positing a God who may or may not exist does not take us to a discussion of the Judeo-Christian God, but to a discussion of someone or something quite different. In the same way that we cannot discuss the hypothetical responses of a golden retriever which is reptilian or a snake with four legs, so we cannot discuss the nature of a Judeo-Christian God who does not or even may not exist. For any atheist to reasonably discuss the nature of God, he or she must, first of all, acknowledge God's existence.

Thus, the most reasonable of atheists cannot begin to explain his or her atheistic belief (or lack of belief) because a discussion of God requires taking an initial position of acceptance of His ongoing existence.