I recently saw a video on YouTube called "10 questions that every intelligent Christian must answer."

Most of it was the same sort of stuff I see all the time from atheists, but a few of the questions were new to me. All in all, it was certainly a very thought provoking list.

Looking again, I see that there are already a ton of video responses, both in support of the original video and also arguing against it. Besides the fact that I can't easily make a video response, I don't think it would do any good; there's already so much "noise" out there no one would hear me.

But I do think it could be helpful for our church members to hear Biblical answers to the questions raised in this video. So over the next several posts I plan to take these questions on. I hope that you will join me in wrestling with them. Leave your own thoughts and questions along the way, even if (or especially) if you don't think I do a good enough job of handling the topics!

Before I get into the specific questions, I want to note that most of them fall into one of three categories, though these categories tend to overlap.

Category #1: I don't believe in a God that isn't like I want Him to be. Many atheist "arguments" function like this: If God existed, then He wouldn't let this or that happen, or He would do such-and such, so He must not exist. Excuse me? That's like me saying I don't think water should scald children at high temperatures, but it does, so I don't believe in water. Let me state what I think should be obvious: either God exists, or God does not exist, independent of my beliefs or preferences. If God does exist, then His character and nature are what they are, independent of my beliefs or preferences. If an all knowing, all powerful, unique and eternal being created the universe, then I would say that qualifies as God existing, whether He is loving or hateful, predictable or chaotic, interested in humanity or not. And if God exists, then His failure to meet my expectations hardly suffices as evidence that He does not.
This kind of argument can be made by people who believe in God as well. Some people say, "I don't think a loving God would send people to Hell," and so they choose not to believe in Hell (however you wish to interpret the word), not because of any Biblical evidence, or even any rational argument, but just on the basis of their preferences.

Category #2: Look at how preposterous the Old Testament is. When atheists complain about the Old Testament revelation of God, or accuse Christians of "cherry picking" what they like from the Old Testament and ignoring what they don't like, they simply reveal a lack of understanding of God's plan in revealing His Person and His Ways. We'll get more into the details when we deal with specific questions, but to summarize: In the Old Testament, God was primarily revealing His sovereignty, His holiness, and His standard of perfection. In the New Testament, God was primarily revealing His love, His grace, and His plan of salvation. They are in that order for a reason. Humanity needed to understand their inability to meet God's standard before we could appreciate His grace when we fail.

Category #3: My perspective is the only valid one. When atheists look at issues such as life and death, suffering and comfort, they generally seem to assume that because these issues are of paramount importance to them, of course they are (or would be) to any rational person (or God). They can't understand, without hope for eternity, how death may be viewed by God and His followers as not that big a deal. (Paul said to die is gain!)

Check back soon and we'll start applying these concepts to specific cases.