I Don't Have Enough Faith TO BE AN ATHEIST

I Don't Have Enough Faith 

TO BE AN ATHEIST 

By Frank Turek 

Lecture given at Hope Chapel, Hermosa Beach for Stand to Reason's Masters Series in Christian Thought January 14, 2008 

Study outline is intended for personal use only 

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Stand to Reason, the Organization 

Stand to Reason is a non-profit educational organization whose goal is to train Christians in the art of careful thinking, and to send them into the public square defending classical Christianity and classical Christian values. 

Our long-term vision is to build capable ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) with knowledge (an accurately informed mind), wisdom (an artful method),and character (an attractive manner). 

Stand to Reason is committed to cultivating the intellectual life in the nurture of Christian maturity. We use moral and rational suasion and fair-minded advocacy to make the point that Christianity is worth thinking about. STR gives Christians the tools of thought and the facts needed to stand to reason for the historic Christian faith and its essential values. STR aids in communicating these facts in a compelling, even-handed and gracious way. 

Stand to Reason offers seminars, publications and instructional tapes geared towards helping Christians gain the practical tools they need to make a difference in their world, giving them both the knowledge and the confidence to be players again in the world of ideas. If you'd like more information about Stand to Reason, please call us at 1-800-2-REASON or visit www.str.org.

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I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist 

I. Introduction: The World Awaiting Your Kids 

K.A. 75% of kids in youth groups leave the faith when they leave home (3 out of 4).

1. Intellectual skepticism is one of the major reasons they walk away 

2. Students are ill-equipped to resist secular, anti-Christian professors intent on converting students to atheism. 

a) College professors are 5 times more likely to identify themselves as atheists than the general public .

b) More than half (53%) of all college professors view evangelical Christian students unfavorably.

B. New atheists challenging Christianity vigorously 

1. Richard Dawkins: The God Delusion written to convert people to atheism. 

2. Richard Rorty: Professors are trying to rescue kids from their dangerous, fundamentalist parents 

3. Steven Weinberg: Scientists need to destroy the influence of religion on   young people. 

C. Even religion professors are arguing against Christianity. 

1. Bart Ehrman (Religion Professor at Chapel Hill): We have to stop looking at the Bible as if it's a direct line to God. 

2. Miriam Cooke (Duke): Islam is the ideal of a just society. 

3. James Tabor (Religious Studies Dept., UNCC): Jesus was most likely the child of a Roman soldier named Pantera. 

D. Impact on our youth - unless they know why it's the truth, they will reject: 

1. God's foundation - the Bible 

2. God's purpose - glorify God and enjoy Him forever 

3. God's morality 

E. The "I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist Seminar" was created to address intellectual objections to Christianity. 

1. Addresses four areas 

a) Does truth exist? 

b) Does God exist? 

c) Are miracles possible? 

d) Is the New Testament true?

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II. Does Truth Exist? 

A. What is truth? Telling it like it is; it's what corresponds to reality. 

B. The Law of Non-Contradiction helps us discover what is false. 

1. Opposite ideas cannot both be true at the same time and in the same sense. 

2. This applies to religious questions just like everything else. 

3. The law of non-contradiction is undeniable. You can't contradict it without using it. 

4. This is a self-evident principle of thought.

C. All truth is absolute - something that is true is true for all persons at all times in all places. 

D. Objections: 

1. There is no truth. 

2. You can't know truth. 

3. All truth is relative. 

4. It's true for you but not for me 

5. No one has the truth 

6. You ought not judge. 

7. Tool to answer many objections: apply the claim to itself a) There is no truth. (Is that true?) 

b) All truth is relative. (Is that a relative truth?) 

c) There is no truth in religion, only science. (Is that a scientific truth?) d) You should doubt everything. (Should we doubt that?) 

e) You ought not judge. (Why are you judging me?) 

(1) Matthew 7:1-"Judge not... 

(2) Matthew 7:15- Beware of false prophets. 

(3) 1 Corinthians 5:12-Expel the immoral brother. 

(4) John 7:24- Stop judging by appearances and make a right judgment. 

(5) See also 1 Corinthians 6:2, James 5:19, Titus 1:9, Matthew 18, Matthew 23, and 1 John 4:1. 

f) The Road Runner Tactic - the person making the claim has no ground to stand on (like the overzealous coyote). 

E. Summary: Contrary beliefs are possible, but contrary truths are not possible. 

III. Does God Exist? 

A. Three major worldview categories: 

1. Theism: God made all (e.g., Judaism, Christianity, Islam). 2. Pantheism: God is all (e.g., Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, New Age). 3. Atheism: No God at all (e.g., Religious Humanism)