The Theistic and Atheistic Beliefs

Different groups of people have different perspectives on the attributes of how the world came to being. On the one hand, there are those who believe that the world came to being by creation by a super natural being whereas others believe that the universe has been in existence by its own self; that it came to existence by its own will. The different believes have led to the insurgence of the two different groups; theism, who believe that the world was created and is maintained by a supernatural being, and atheism, a group that believe the world came to existence by itself and it is being maintained by scientific theory. This paper seeks to delve into the contrasting views postulated by both atheists and theists.

To delve into the theist believes, the paper will use the bible as the springboard to justify their believes in counteractive to the human theorems. To build this argument, we seek to answer questions like, is God infinite, are things not explained by science real, is it possible that human beings hold subjective ideas that are mostly destructive superstitions. Has the human race poisoned the universe and considered like a plague upon the universe? The views of the theists are that, we cannot use the semantic word puzzles to discredit the bible as well as the conception of God. It is illogic to think that God is undefined infinite impersonal force (Jüngel, 2014). The believers further claim that it is not the intent of God to prove His abilities in fitting into our humanely imaginations. Ideally, God is an all self-contained being and His actions are in conformity with His holy character. It is therefore, irrational for the atheists to even think of subjecting God to the trials that will contravene His very purpose as well as character. According to 2nd Timothy chapter 2 verse 13, God always acts true to Himself. In answering the atheists then, it is quite irrelevant to ever think of testing God based on human theorems so as to gauge His capacity to perform. The line of logic is counterproductive given the fact that it is only God Himself who has the capacity to take His own measure. According to the biblical teachings, God is omnipotence, infinite power, omniscience that is infinite knowledge and wisdom and also, He is who He is.

According to the atheists, “man’s imagined self-importance is belied by the sheer magnitude of our own galaxy and inability to mention the world itself.” Carl Sagan holds the view that incapacitates those of Milky Way (Jüngel, 2014). He portends that everyone who ever lived, lived out their lives. He goes further to state that the universe is just but a small stage in a vast cosmic arena characterized with suffering, economic and social hardships that are seen to be suspended. Furthermore, that is a notion that the aggregate of man’s joy and suffering entirely rests with him. The views represent pure logic. A counteractive response to this assertion therefore should be, can we determine or preferably conclude that man is without meaning in the face of the universe? Is it really logical to ever think that man’s usefulness is an act of arrogance and that he is meaningless? Evidently, the atheists believe on the human abilities and capacity to drive the universe. Their argument is constrained to think that man’s suffering and joy is bound to their ability to work hard or their inability to work.

On the other hand, the theists tend to think that believe that no man can live on pure logic. Notably, it is of great importance to understand that all reasoning is anchored on the presuppositions about the very nature of truth, that is metaphysics, as well as authoritative sources of knowledge (Markússon, 2010).  The atheists should be made to understand the mere fact that nobody can reason without presuppositions. It is therefore an act of misinformation and internalization to conclude that the nature of reality is physical. The former assertion by the atheists that there is no infinite God who is wise and powerful contradicts the science of logic which tells us that for us to be consistent, we must pursue a conclusion that is in conformity with our assumption. Based of the initial presupposition, it was arrived by act of faith since there was no scientific research conducted. Arguably, there is no scientific research to ascertain reality. According to the book of Genesis chapter 1 verses 26-27 it states that God created man in His own image, therefore, the significance and worthiness of man cannot be disassociated from him. Finding significance and meaning in God is both humanity and reality.  

Atheists claim that only science can validate the realness of things, and that if science cannot approve, then they are just subjective ideas in the minds of people. Whereas this claim may seem true to the atheists, it contradicts the prime reality. The statement is an extension of the presupposition that man’s nature is material and cannot be personal (Cimino, & Smith, 2011). Generally, the statement is a departure from the contemporary science. It should be noted that the cofounders of the modern science, the likes of Boyle, Kepler, and even Newton believed in God. The vigor and eager with which they did their scientific research was informed by the faith that a supernatural being was conserving what He created. Atheist go further to explain mankind based on the Darwinian theory. However, the merging of the theory of evolution and that of Philosophic Naturalism contradicts the scientific method. “the universe is all there and all there will be.” Besides, the philosophic naturalism is not in conformity with empirical science as it is seen as a religious philosophy hence negating the atheists claim. Conclusively then, science and in a broader manner, atheists cannot determine the nature of reality using an experiment because the very nature of reality is a metaphysical question.

It should be noted that PN view virtues like morality, logic, and righteousness as non-existent and that they cannot be found on a table with other elements like carbon, oxygen and even hydrogen. The philosophy goes ahead to conclude that they must be subjective and in the minds of people therefore unreal but just ideologies. In a quick contrast, God’s claim is that of the categories that He has put in the minds of believers because they are created to live in God’s world of thought.

Another contrast between theism and atheism is brought about by the argument of contrasting the bible and the Koran. Atheists argue that we cannot use the bible as the authoritative book of God. Their argument is founded on the fact that in the Koran, where when Mohamed was sharing with her wife, he quotes that he was in receivership of supernatural messages but he was not being sure where they were coming from. He says that he was not being sure whether they were coming from God or from the demons. The atheists go ahead to explain the none of the 40 biblical authors raised any doubt on message conveyed to them by God. To them, the doubt of the biblical authors demonstrates a certain unity which is doubtful. However, according to 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verses 16-17 records that the real author of the bible is the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, atheists ought to know that “Islam has no self-revelation of God, no incarnation of Mediator, no divine personal relationship with penitents, no atonement, no regeneration, no justification from sin and guilt.” Therefore, Allah is seen as a ‘blank” god and cannot be compared to the knowable God of the bible. This renders the argument by the atheist irrelevant and inapplicable.

In comparison, atheists can agree with theists on some aspects especially when it comes to the topic of natural selection. The views that living things have the ability to adapt and respond to changes within their niche are agreeable across the two groups. Macroevolution is seen to occur above the species level. The two groups agree on the changes that occur in organism. Evidently, it can be manifested especially the growth, and development that occurs. However, there is a disagreement when it comes to the breakdown of species to form new lives this is so since Christians believe in a creator.

Besides, both groups are in agreement on objectives of morals. It should be noted that as much as there are two groups, one believing in the existence of God and the other non-God, the question that one portends is that, does evil doings exist in your world of ungodliness (Whitley, 2010).  conclusively then, insights of the creation of evil cannot be attributed to God. If atheists deny evil, then they should also deny good doings. It is therefore not fair to attribute this to God.   

In conclusion, therefore, it is fundamentally important to recognize the fact that matters of spirituality and believes are very personal and each one’s opinion matters. Besides, it is logically wrong for anyone to judge a person based on his/her beliefs. The above contrast and comparison should form an independent opinion and this paper recommends that irrational positions should not be taken.

References

 Cimino, R., & Smith, C. (2011). The new atheism and the formation of the imagined secularist community. Journal of Media and Religion, 10(1), 24-38.

Jüngel, E. (2014). God as the Mystery of the World: On the Foundation of the Theology of the Crucified One in the Dispute between Theism and Atheism. Bloomsbury Publishing. Geertz, A. W., & Markússon, G. I. (2010). Religion is natural, atheism is not: On why everybody is both right and wrong. Religion, 40(3), 152-165.

Whitley, R. (2010). Atheism and mental health. Harvard Review of Psychiatry, 18(3), 190-194.