The following is one of several letters that I wrote several months ago to Sam Harris in response to his anti-theistic diatribe, Letter to a Chrisian Nation. Mr. Harris is just one in a long line of atheists who capitalize on rehashing jaded arguments against the Christian religion…
1
Presuppositions
Dear Sir,
I recently purchased a copy of your work, Letter to a Christian Nation. I found it to be representative of a viewpoint that most skeptics and anti-theists espouse. For centuries, anti-theistic philosophers have tried to disprove the existence of God but have been unable to come up with convincing arguments. Instead, many set up straw-man arguments by creating a position that is easy to refute then attribute that position to the theist. This is what you have done in your diatribe against Christianity. My main concern is that you do not present a factual representation of Christianity. You incessantly attack those who believe in God, but never once do you offer any evidence that anti-theism is true. Therefore, I wish to offer a few points for consideration, and I will strive to elucidate some obvious deficiencies you have concerning the Christian religion.
Skeptics
Shortly before the death of Jean-Paul Sartre, he confided in his friend, Pierre Victor, “I do not feel that I am the product of chance, a speck of dust in the universe, but someone who was expected, prepared, prefigured. In short, a being whom only a Creator could put here; and this idea of a creating hand refers to God.” Fellow philosopher and long-time companion, Simone de Beauvoir, protested and asked, “How should one explain the senile act of a turncoat?”1
A friend of mine similarly shared De Beauvoir’s obstinate reaction. In the fall of 2005, I found myself engaged with him in a debate about the existence of God. He repeatedly asked me questions about God’s veracity and challenged me to prove that God exists. After nearly an hour, I thought I was beginning to make progress and produce valid points he was unable to refute. However, he was not impressed with my reasoning nor was he persuaded with my arguments. Clearly exasperated, he stated dogmatically, “There is no God.”Mr. Harris, much like my friend, you reject the God of Christianity because of “how inadequate the reasons for being a Christian are,” and you also speculate that there is no God. In response, it is important to first understand the implied presupposition both you and my friend use in your arguments. That is, it is important to note that the fundamental, unquestioned principle upon which you both base your entire line of reasoning is yourself. Man has become the ultimate standard of truth and righteousness. And how man has been elevated to such an exalted status is never stated but accepted in arrogance as an infallible truth. That I should keep in mind your starting point of man as an ultimate source of knowledge is extremely important when discussing the veracity of God in general and Christianity in particular. In order to have a fair and honest debate, one must know the other’s basic presupposition, or starting point, which will ultimately govern how one determines the facts presented. It will also determine if one is truly open to logic and reason and would accept evidences offered as proof for the existence of God.
“But where is the proof?” you ask. To that I answer, because of your real but unspoken anti-theistic presupposition, you will not examine, without bias, the evidence that is presented for God. No matter what evidence is shown as proof, your presupposition will only lead you to interpret the material in a manner that is consistent with your presupposition that there is no God.
Suppose I was to tell you that the Old Testament prophecies were fulfilled in the New Testament with the life of Jesus Christ. You would inevitably respond by claiming the New Testament was written based on the “predictions of a previous book,” and the New Testament writers “made errors of scholarship.” You would further claim that these “errors” are proof that the Bible is not from the Creator of the universe. If I said that there were eyewitness accounts to the corporeal resurrection of Jesus Christ, you would dismiss the claim saying the eyewitnesses were foolish, lying and could not possibly have seen what they wanted to see. In short, no amount of evidence would persuade you into believing there is a God who became incarnate and dwelt among men. In your mind, you have already concluded that you are the standard of all things, and that God could not possibly exist. I could offer a hundred proofs for God’s existence, but each one would be quickly discarded as unreliable, inaccurate or fabricated.
Consider the following conversation:
Theist: “What kind of evidence would you accept as proof of God’s existence?”
Anti-Theist: “No amount of evidence will convince me that God exists, because my starting position is that there is no God.”
Your presupposition would dictate that you answer in a similar manner, because your starting point is there is no God. Any evidence that might refute your premise is rejected outright. Therefore, when you state there is no proof for God, that is an intellectually dishonest statement. There is plenty of evidence for the existence of God; you simply choose not to believe the overwhelming data.
It would be more intellectually honest if you would admit that no amount of evidence would persuade you to a theist’s viewpoint. You cannot, nor will you, accept theism’s premise that there is a God. Therefore, I cannot prove anything to you, because your presupposition will not allow for it.
In this particular area of discussing the existence of God, I do not deny that everyone has a basic prepositional thought. As a Christian, I presuppose God’s existence, and I argue from that perspective to show the validity of Christian theism. My position holds the Bible to be the infallible, inerrant word of God. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Tim 3:16-17). It has been said that if a person can believe the first four words of the Bible, “In the beginning God. . .” (Gen 1:1), the rest will pose no problem.From Scripture, it is clear that you, an anti-theist, are biased in your thinking and are unable to discern spiritual matters. The Bible speaks of such people in plain language:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore, God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents; Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them” (Rom 1:18-32).
“But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Cor 2:14).
According to Christian theology, no matter how strong the evidence may be or how logical arguments are presented, you cannot change, because you are unable to perceive truth apart from divine revelation. My basic presupposition is rooted in tangible evidences such as the creation which declares the glory of God (Ps 19:1) and the Bible which is God breathed (2 Tim 3:16), while your presupposition is rooted on the foundation of your own autonomy.
In the final analysis, it is profoundly absurd and logically irresponsible to claim audaciously that there is no God. I invite you to become intellectually honest, and admit that you cannot know for certain if there is a God, because for you to make such a statement you would have to know all things in order to state conclusively whether or not God exists. And if you had such omniscience you would contradict your own anti-theistic presupposition, because by definition, only God could be all knowing.
As an anti-theist and a fallible human who could not possibly possess omniscience, you cannot logically make your claim valid by any objective standard. At best, you can only state the purported proofs for God, which you have seen or heard, are not convincing. You could also say you believe no proofs exist to validate the existence of God. With this honest admission, at least the possibility still remains for a proof yet to be discovered to convince you, and in that possibility, I take hope for you.While I can hope on your behalf, I am realistic and understand that in all probability, regardless of what proof was presented for God’s existence, you would not be able to accept it given that your presupposition is in direct contrast to the belief in God. For you to alter your beliefs would require a change of heart and a divergent presuppositional view. Since no amount of persuasion will allow you to believe in the existence of God, it is not my chief aim to prove God’s existence to you but to point out the fallacious reasoning you have used to conclude there is no God. In doing this, my own personal prayer to God is that He will grant you the wisdom to see the errors of your presuppositions and will change your irrational reasoning.
An Earnest Inquiry
You made the accusation that “many who claim to be transformed by Christ’s love are deeply, even murderously, intolerant of criticism…it is clear that such hatred draws considerable support from the Bible.” You continue by stating religious individuals are “fooling themselves,” because they believe in a being greater than mankind. You laud the anti-theist for being tolerant, logical and reasonable. Therefore, in the spirit of the principles you claim to manifest, I trust you will engage in an earnest inquiry into your own presuppositions and ascertain whether or not they sway the evidence that is presented. Can you truly come to a logical conclusion about God based on evidence and reason, or do your biases prohibit you from doing so? If your answer is, “Yes,” and you are able to take an objective look at your own presuppositions, then I encourage you to read what I have to say.
Mr. Harris, we disagree on most issues, but there is a major point on which we are in concert. When you wrote, “In the fullness of time, one side is really going to win this argument, and the other side is really going to lose,” you stated an objective truth. We can both be wrong, but we cannot both be right. Someone is going to lose this great debate. However, I would like to take your statement a step further and say that the greatest potential loser will be you and the position you advocate. If there is a God as I claim, then in the end, you are going to lose your immortal soul which is why Jesus issued a warning to careless skeptics. “Fear Him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell” (Matt 10:28). As an anti-theist, you do not fear God. If God exists, you have nothing to gain and everything to lose. Conversely, I have nothing to loose and everything to gain. I live “in hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began” (Titus 1:2). You have no faith and no hope. The Christian has both.
1 His Magazine, April 1983.
2 Harris, Letter to a Christian Nation, 4.
3 Ibid, 57.
4 Ibid, 58.
5 Ibid, vii.
6 Ibid, 7.
7 Ibid, 5.