Answering Atheist Memes (Part 2)
On the Facebook page for Classical theism, the atheists only seem to interact through memes. So, I’ve decided that I will answer any memes they post! In the future, I can simply respond, “I’ve answered that meme here [insert link].”
You will benefit from these. For each meme, I provide a meme response (like a sound byte) and a longer response as necessary.
Meme #1
Meme response: You’re an atheist who says God does not exist? Prove It!
Longer response:
What do you mean by “prove it?” We must ask this question. The skeptic might reply, “By prove it, I mean show that it’s true.” That’s a fair answer. I think there are some religious things that we can show to be true with evidence and argument. For example, I think there are very good reasons to believe God exists and that Jesus was crucified, died, and rose from the dead, vindicating His divine claims. Also, this leads to a lot of other truths, since if we accept Jesus as a divine figure who preaches truth with divine authority, we can be confident that what he says is true. As Catholic Christians, we should welcome dialogue about the reasons for our worldview.
However, the skeptic might still find fault and say there is no 100% proof that provides strict, compelling certainty that some religion is the right one. That point is a worldview destroyer. For the skeptic will not find 100% proof providing strict, compelling, irresistible certainty for any proposition he holds. There are philosophers who doubt everything under the sun Literally, solipsists doubt everything except their own self. And some, like Alex Rosenberg, even doubt their own self. Moreover, science does not even pretend to deal in certainties. So, if he wants to take a line of only believing when there is 100% proof providing strict, compelling, certainty, then he will have nothing left to believe.
Meme #2
Meme response: Some people think there are no artifacts from the Bible in Museums. They must not have looked . . .
Longer response:
Museums contain many artifacts and manuscripts that testify to Old Testament and New Testament figures. In fact, Biblical accounts of many historical events, places, and peoples have been confirmed by archaeology. Sometimes, the Biblical account has been mocked by historians/archaeologists.
For example, the Hittite Empire was thought to be a work of fiction. That is, until archaeologists discovered clear evidence of such an empire (source). This is just one example.
Meme #3
Meme response: It’s interesting that those who don’t believe in sin have identified sins against the human mind.
Longer response:
This meme might count against the Catholic Christian worldview if there were no good reasons to think Catholic Christianity were true. However, there are very good reasons to believe God exists, that Jesus rose from the dead, and that He founded the Catholic Church.
Meme #4
Meme response: Religious people behaving poorly doesn’t disprove religion anymore than atheists behaving poorly disproves atheism.
Longer response: Not needed.
This is just so depressing to read….