Opposing Views to the Existence of God

by | Updated December 21st, 2024

Introduction

Jesus said, “This is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent” (John 17:3). The knowledge of and knowing God is essential to all who have eternal life in Christ Jesus. We should all desire and seek an intimate relationship with our heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul had such an inward longing to know the Lord that he wrote, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death” (Philippians 3:10). The Psalmist, had such an unquenchable thirst for God that he cried out, “As the hart (or deer) panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after Thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God” (Psalms 42:1-2). We should all seek to know more of God and to know Him better and better as followers of Christ.

If it is indeed our desire to have an intimate knowledge of God, we must study and know as much of Him as is humanly possible. If we want to know God personally, we must begin by developing our relationship with Him through His Word and prayer. When I first gave my life to Jesus, I immediately began studying the Bible day and night. Shortly after starting Bible College, I began memorizing scripture. I went through the
entire Navigator’s memorization course, after which I began putting books of the Bible together. I have researched thoroughly all the books of the New Testament and most of the Old Testament books. I have also researched the major categories of theology in-depth. I found that an intimate knowledge of the Word of God is one of the greatest assets there is in our quest to know God.

Here, we will be studying what is known as Theology Proper or The Doctrine of God. This is not exhaustive by any means, but it will give the student of scripture and theology a very good and basic understanding of The Doctrine of God and God Himself. “Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty” (Job 11:7)? We can never know and comprehend the infinite God in all His fullness with our finite minds but we should definitely try and make it our goal and quest. The major areas that will be covered are the Existence of God, the Attributes of God, the Names of God, the Trinity, God’s abundance, God is Able, and the Worship of God. It is imperative we understand that the study of God alone is not sufficient in and of itself to knowing God but merely a means to that end.

Along with our study of God, we must pursue Him, seek His face and spend time with Him daily in His Word and prayer. We need a spirit and desire like that of Mary and not the spirit of busyness that Martha had. “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a certain village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s Word, seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him, and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me. But the Lord answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (Luke 10:38-42). We must seek Him first before all else, spending time seated at the feet of the Master. We are to “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matthew 6:33). “And ye shall seek Me, and find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).

It was said of Jesus,

Mark 1:35 – “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”

We must do no less, in our pursuit of God, than Jesus did. He sought God early before all else. We must follow His example and emulate Him. To be a follower of Christ is to do our best to mimic Jesus. Following Him is to follow the example He set forth. The Psalmist said, “”O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is” (Psalms 63:1).

Ephesians 5:1-2 – “Be ye therefore followers (imitators) of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given Himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.”

1 John 2:6 – “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also to walk even as He walked.”

It was said of the Apostles,

Acts 4:13 – “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

Wow! What a testimony “they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.” Would to God that we all might have this witness to the world, both the religious and secular world. That when they see us, talk with us, and spend time around us, they would take note of us that we have been with and have spent time in the presence of Jesus.

Here we will be studying the two most dominant views opposing the existence of God:

1. Atheism

Webster’s definition of atheism is, “A disbelief in the existence of God or any other deity. The doctrine that there is neither God nor any other deity; godlessness in conduct.” An atheist is someone who denies or doesn’t believe in the existence of God.

Psalm 14:1 – “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.”

There are five categories, types, or aspects of atheism:

1. Theoretical atheists. This is the intellectual belief that God doesn’t exist. Many make this claim, but I personally believe there are fewer true atheists than who claim to be one. An atheist is someone whose disbelief in God remains in every situation or circumstance. Many, when confronted with certain circumstances or difficulties, sickness and even death will at least hope that there’s a God and plead with Him for help and assistance. My dad, a World War II veteran, used to say, “There are no atheist in foxholes.” When a person has gunfire and bombs exploding around them they seldom doubt the existence of God. They are, in fact, usually crying out to Him.

Also, there are and will be no atheists in the presence of God. I gave my life to Jesus in prison when I was a young man. There was another young man there who claimed to be an atheist. One day a man, who was doing a life sentence but had been converted to Christ while there, came and talked with us about the Lord. Before leaving, he asked if he could pray with us. As he began to pray, the atheist began to weep. He was in the presence of God. The Holy Ghost was all over him. Needless to say, he was no longer an atheist. A few days later, he was miraculously released from prison and his life changed forever. He had been in the presence of God. “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

No one will be able to deny the existence of God in His presence on the day of Judgment either. When they stand before God, at the great white throne judgment, they will not be in doubt of His existence any longer. John wrote, “I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from Whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

At this time there will be no other chance for salvation. The Bible says, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). At this point, all atheists will know God exists and that He is real. Sadly, at this time it will be too late. Outside of a relationship with Jesus, having been washed clean by His blood, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31).

2. Atheists are foolish. “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalms 14:1a). All atheists fall under this category. It’s foolish not to believe in God. They are an atheist because they are first a fool by their very nature. Their disbelief in God stems from their sinful and foolish nature. It’s interesting that most people who claim to be atheist do so because of so called “intellectual reasons.” “Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:22).

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness” (1 Corinthians 1:18 and 3:19). Most claiming to be atheists are self dependent, leaning on their own strength, arrogant and filled with pride, thinking they are wiser and smarter than they really are but “God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1 Corinthians 1:27-29).

3. Atheists are corrupt. “They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good” (Psalms 14:1b). They are an atheist because they are corrupt by their very nature. Let’s face it, most of us don’t want to change until we are faced with circumstances or problems that force us to. It’s easier not to believe in or make a commitment to God so we can continue to live the way we want. Once we commit our life to Him, we must be willing to change and do things His way. We want to remain corrupt in our thinking and actions. If we believe we must change. They want the freedom and liberty to remain as they are and to do whatever they desire. “While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage” (2 Peter 2:19). Paul gives us a vivid picture of our inward state of corruption outside of Christ,

Romans 3:10-18 – “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

4. There are practical atheists. Many Christians fall under this category. Though we may profess belief in God we live as though we don’t believe He exist. We have an intellectual belief in God, but in practice we deny Him. We’re living as though we don’t know Him and not doing what we ought. “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble” (James 2:17-19).

Our walk doesn’t match our talk. We deny Him by our life. “He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked” (1 John 2:6). “For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written” (Romans 2:24). This doesn’t mean we should be legalistic (Romans 11:6, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 3:1-3, Galatians 5:4). On the other hand, our faith must be put into action to demonstrate to the world our belief in God (James 2:14-19, Mark 2:5, Matthew 7:21-27, 1 John 3:16-18). Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

5. Atheists are rebellious. Psalms 14:1a, “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” can also be viewed as “The fool hath said in his heart NO God.” All atheists are rebellious. This is also applicable to us as Christians. How many of us have said no to God at one time or another at least in our heart? When we say no to God, refuse to obey and cooperate with Him, and rebel we are acting like an atheist. Obedience releases God’s favor while rebellion does the opposite. It brings forth destruction and opposition to God’s favor and blessing.

Obedience is the key to receiving God’s blessings while disobedience thwarts it:

Joshua 1:8 – “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Psalms 1:2-3 – “But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.”

James 1:25 – “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

We often cover our rebellion and disobedience with tradition and superficial spirituality. This can be illustrated from when Peter was on the rooftop praying and he fell into a trance or had a vision of unclean animals, “And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean” (Acts 10:13-14). What a contradiction of terms. It is virtually impossible for Jesus to be truly Lord and to say, “Not so Lord.” On the contrary, if Jesus is really Lord, when told to do something we would say, “Yes Lord!” There are times our religiosity gets in the way of our willingness to obey God. This experience of Peter’s happened while he was seeking God in prayer. It went against the grain of his religious background as a Jew. It’s important to realize that Peter ultimately did obey, but he first had to work through his religious misconceptions.

This can also be illustrated by when King Saul went into a conflict with the Amalekites. He was told to destroy everyone and all they had. However, he returned from battle with King Agag and the best of their flocks. When confronted by Samuel, he said he kept the best of the flocks and herds to sacrifice to the Lord his God. He tried to cover up his disobedience with a spiritual act. How often do we as believers today cover up a life of disobedience with spiritual acts and motions? God may be requiring something of us and we cover up our disobedience by attempting to appear spiritual. We are an acting atheist when we rebel against God. It is a fool who says no to God, even if we say so just in our heart. Hopefully, most of us who are truly saved will, like Peter, ultimately obey and not be like King Saul who continued to walk in disobedience.

Samuel’s response to Saul was as follows, “Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness (or insubordination) is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the Word of the Lord, He hath also rejected thee from being king” (1 Samuel 15:22-23).

We see this also illustrated in our previous reference in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not every one that saith unto Me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Thy name? And in Thy name have cast out devils? And in Thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from Me, ye that work iniquity.” They were doing spiritual things in Jesus’ name but failing to do His will for their lives. They were covering up their disobedience to fulfilling God’s will for their lives by going through spiritual acts and motions. We must seek His will above all else. Jesus set us the ultimate example of this, “Nevertheless not My will, but Thine, be done” (Luke 22:42). “For I came down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me” (John 6:38).

2. Agnosticism

The Greek word “gnosis” means knowledge or knowing. Agnosticism means you don’t know. It’s the belief that the existence of God is unknowable. The Latin form of the word agnostic is ignoramus. However, it may seem insulting to call an agnostic an “ignoramus” because of the present-day meaning of the term. That’s really what they are saying. It sums it all up. It’s interesting to me that most people who claim to be an agnostic consider themselves intellectual. Agnostics are in essence saying, “I don’t know, I don’t think it’s possible to know, I’m an ignoramus.”

Most who claim to be agnostic don’t grasp the magnitude of what it means or what they are saying. The point is, wouldn’t you rather know one way or another? There are many books today on apologetics which would be a good place to start. I challenge you to begin reading some of them if you’re open at all. We’ll be covering arguments for God’s existence later in this study as well. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” I dare you to seek Him with all your heart and see if He will not reveal Himself to you.

More articles and guides...

  • Worship Guide for Small Churches

    When churches are new, and even in the life of an established congregation, there will be times when you don’t have anyone to lead worship.

  • Recommended Bible Commentaries and Study Guides

    Building a library of Bible commentary and reference guides will help you gain a deeper understanding of scripture, strengthen your faith, and expand your ability to create a powerful sermon or message.

  • Building Faith in Prayer

    Faith is essential to having an effective prayer life. Unbelief is a hindrance to prayer, while faith promotes powerful praying.

  • Revelation 19 – The Second Coming of Christ

    We have one final battle to take place in Chapter 19. The time has come for Jesus to return in power and great glory and establish God’s kingdom upon the earth.