Putting Skeptics on the Hot Seat

by Rich Bordner

“If God exists,why is there so much evil?”

“If God exists, why all the hypocrisy amongst Christians?”

“Why is there so little evidence of God’s existence?”

If you are a disciple of Jesus, you’ve probably been confronted with those questions, whereas if you are a skeptic, agnostic, or atheist, you’ve probably been the one asking the questions! Mostly, it is the religious who have to answer the tough questions. Skeptics also have some tough issues to face, though!

While the lead questions above have great answers, don’t let the skeptic off the hook! Christian answers to ultimate questions shouldn’t be the only focus:

1) Why is there something rather than nothing?

The “big bang” has a lot going for it, both scientifically and philosophically. If the “big bang” happened, then the universe began a finite time ago. Atheism runs smack dab into this–out of nothing, nothing comes. How could the universe just pop into existence uncaused? Either something outside the physical universe brought it into existence, or it all came ex nihilo. If the big bang happened, those are our options. Which is more solid?

2) What do you mean by something being “good”?

Sometimes atheists say “you can be good without God,” but this goes much deeper than that. If all we have is the physical cosmos, then everyone, Christian included, *thinks* he is acting good, but it’s all a farce. I like cheese, you don’t. I like killing people, you don’t. How horrible would that be! In the absence of a universal moral good, the only thing left are preferences, pragmatics, and the herd morality. How can the atheist ground and justify a universal moral good? How can he say that racism or misogyny is not just wrong “for me,” but wrong, end of story? If someone from another culture says that beating homosexuals is ok, is he really wrong?

3) Matter stays inanimate no matter how complicated you arrange it. In the absence of an immaterial mind, how can consciousness arise from a chunk of complicatedly arranged material (i.e, the brain)?

Identifying a brain state and causally connecting it to a mental state is not enough. Mental states have properties that physical states don’t possess, so the former cannot be reduced to the latter. For example, physical states are third person whereas mental states are private.

4) If the physical world is all there is, is there free will?

5) This last one comes from The Wintery Knight: if Jesus appeared to you and told you everything about Him in the Bible is true, and witnesses confirm you weren’t hallucinating, what would you do?

Their answer will tell you a lot about the true state of their heart. Intent is prior to content: some, using the supposed lack of evidence as a red herring, won’t believe even if God appeared to them. The evidence is not the problem.

If you are a Christian, don’t feel bashful about asking tough questions to skeptics! Skeptics, don’t feel bashful about thinking about these questions–the answers might surprise you.

About the Author:

Rich Bordner is a teacher in California who earned his B.A in English an Philosophy from Ohio State University in 2002. He blogs about philosophy, religion, spirituality, and politics at The Pugnacious Irishman and is currently obtaining an M.A in Philosophy from Biola University. If this article sparked interest in you, or if you want to discuss politics, sprituality, or philosophy, click on over!

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