Why Don't You Believe in God?

TimeTravelTeam
Jan 28, 2021
6 min read

Updated: May 25, 2021

Hi there! I'm Jordyn (TimeTravelTeam), and I'm a guest writer/editor for Alexa's blog. In this article, I'd like to discuss some common reasons why people don't believe in God. This is just an overview; by no means is this an exhaustive list. See the links below the image for more detailed explanations of these points.

When asked why they don't believe in God, people can give a variety of reasons. Some may say that science has proven that God doesn't exist, while others might ask how a good God would allow evil and suffering to exist. It's important for all Christians to be able to politely defend their faith when asked these questions.

With that said, I'd like to briefly address three common reasons that people give for not believing in God.

1. Science has proven that God doesn't exist.

There are a few problems with that statement. First, science can't "prove" anything about the existence of God. Rather, people take their beliefs about the world and apply them in order to interpret the evidence in a way that fits with their worldview. (A worldview is a fundamental set of beliefs that affects how a person sees the world.)

For instance, a person who believes in evolution may look at similar structures among different species and claim that the similarities are evidence for a common evolutionary ancestor. On the other hand, a person who believes in God could look at the same similar structures and conclude that the similarities are evidence for a common Designer.

The evolutionist and the creationist both have the same evidence, but they interpret that evidence in different ways according to their respective worldviews. The question here isn't about whether evolution or creation has more evidence in favor of it - rather, it's a question of which worldview (evolution or creation) you use to interpret the evidence.

Moreover, science is the study of the natural world - stars, rocks, animals, chemicals, motion, and so on. However, the Bible makes it clear that God is supernatural (not bound by the laws of nature). Therefore, science (the study of the natural world) can't reasonably make a statement about whether or not God exists.

The bottom line: science can't prove or disprove the existence of God. In fact, saying that science has proven God doesn't exist is similar to saying that math has proven George Washington didn't exist. It's the wrong tool for the job.

With that said, there is actually scientific evidence that supports God's existence. For example, look at the double-helix structure of DNA.

DNA strands code for proteins, and these proteins determine the traits of an organism (for instance, brown eyes vs. blue eyes, etc). It's been estimated that the amount of DNA needed to cover the head of a pin contains the same amount of information as a stack of encyclopedias 500 times higher than the distance from the earth to the moon! How is it possible that mere chance and time could produce thousands of encyclopedias' worth of information? It's not! In every instance known to man, information always comes from intelligence.

Have you ever read a book that had no human author, or seen a smartphone that built itself just by sitting in a junkyard for millions of years? No? I didn't think so. The information contained in DNA is just one of the countless examples of evidence for a supernatural Creator that can be found in nature.

To sum up, science can't "prove" (or "disprove") God's existence - but much of science actually does provide strong evidence for a Creator.

2. Believing in God is illogical.

Now hold on just a second. To say something is illogical implies a standard of logic. (Logic is reasoned, correct thinking.) But where does this standard of logic come from?

It turns out, universal laws of logic only make sense if the Bible is true - and here's why.

When I say "laws of logic," I mean the basic laws of reasoning that everyone instinctively knows are true. For instance, the statements "I am sitting in my chair" and "I am not sitting in my chair" can't both be true at the same time. That's the law of logic known as the law of non-contradiction.

In fact, the law of non-contradiction has a basis in the Bible. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, "If we are faithless, [God] remains faithful - for he cannot deny himself." This means that the law of non-contradiction is a reflection of the way God thinks. Because God has made us in His image, we're able to reason according to the laws of logic (though because we're fallible humans, we don't always reason correctly).

However, in an atheistic worldview where everything is material (made of matter), then why would immaterial laws of logic exist? In other words, if you believe that the only real things are things you can see and touch, then how would you explain the laws of logic? Laws of logic aren't material - you can't see them or touch them. That's why the atheist can't explain the existence of the laws of logic.

To be clear, I'm not saying that atheists can't reason logically. Rather, I'm saying that the laws of logic only make sense if the Bible is true.

Well, why can't other religions explain the laws of logic? It turns out, other religions have contradictions in their holy books (see the link at the end of the post).

Meanwhile, atheism itself is illogical. Atheists believe that there is no God. But in order to say that, an atheist would have to be everywhere in the universe (and even outside of the universe) to definitively say that there's no God anywhere in the universe. Also, an atheist would have to know everything in order to conclusively make the claim that there is no God.

The proper word for being everywhere at once is omnipresent, and the proper word for knowing everything is omniscient. Now, don't those sound a lot like attributes of God? That basically means that if a person were to claim with certainty that there is no God, then he or she would have to be God-like! Therefore, atheism is self-refuting.

To sum up, belief in a God is far from illogical. In fact, without God, we wouldn't be able to explain the existence of the laws of logic at all! And not just any god can explain the laws of logic - only the God of the Bible.

3. If God existed, then He wouldn't allow evil and suffering to exist.

Actually, the evil that exists in the world isn't God's fault - it's ours! According to Genesis, God originally created the world "very good," with no death, disease, or suffering. But God gave the first man and woman (Adam and Eve) free will. When Adam and Eve sinned by disobeying God, evil and suffering entered the world. Because we're all descended from these first two humans, we all have it in our nature to sin. Think of it this way - you don't have to teach a toddler how to lie.

All of us have a sinful nature, so if God were to destroy all sin, then He'd have to destroy us, too. In fact, those who sin (i.e., all of us) are condemned to eternal punishment. But because God loved us so much, He gave us a way out. If we accept His Son Jesus as the only way to salvation, then we'll have eternal life with God in heaven - where sin and evil no longer exist.

Of course, this isn't to say that Christians have perfect lives, or that Christians never sin. However, this does mean that we shouldn't blame God for the evil that exists in the world. Though we don't always understand why God allows bad things to happen (see Isaiah 55:9), we can trust that He can use bad things for good (see Romans 8:28). For example, God used the loss of Alexa's dad to prompt her to write this blog and hopefully strengthen others' faith (including my own).

I hope this post helped clear up the truth behind common reasons for not believing in God. In summary, science fully supports the idea of a Creator. Logical reasoning wouldn't be possible if God didn't exist. Evil resulted from humanity's sin, though God can use bad things for good (even if we can't always see how He's working).

Thank you for reading!

Jordyn

P.S. from Alexa: I agree with everything Jordyn said. =^-^=

"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."

~ Romans 1:20