Could you review this debate on whether God exists?
Question:
Can you look at this is a video of a debate asking if the God of the Bible exists? Now it's lengthy, but I imagine you will skim through the main points. My question is if you could address some of the statements that were made because I feel the Christian side did a poor job in answering them. This really makes me doubt, and I hate it. Some things they mention are contradictions concerning the Bible, the proof that the fossil record shows there was no Adam and Eve, and the clear question: ”if Jesus had so many followers, why don't they have any writings on Jesus?" I hope you can answer all the things they address, but it's fine if you can't. It's just that this made me very confused as it seemed that they proved the Bible to be a book of man, and God being cruel to people who suffer. Thank you so much. Sorry, I don't mean to be so pushy.
Thank you so very much for this!
Answer:
I'll answer your questions, but my general rule is not to pick apart other people's arguments when they didn't ask me.
I know of numerous claims of biblical contradictions, but I know of none that have withstood examination. I've answered a number of them over the years, so you'll have to mention which supposed contradiction you think has credence.
Regarding the fossil record. Excuse me but where is the fossil record that George Washington existed? How about Abraham Lincoln? If you found human bones, are they labeled with the names of the person they were once a part of? The problem is that a lack of information doesn't prove anything. It only says that there is no information. Yet there has been some scientific evidence that shows all of mankind did descend from one woman. It is debated and I disagree with the dates assigned, but the claim that there is no evidence pointing to an Adam and Eve is false. [Are we all descended from a common female ancestor?] There is also evidence that all men descended recently from a single male. [All People Descended Recently from a Single Family and Y-chromosome Reveals The Genesis Flood Account]. What you have is a shell game being played. The claim is there is no fossil evidence, but the reaction should be "of course!" few humans become fossils. But it is made to appear that there is no evidence of any sort, which is false.
Regarding writings about Jesus, what do you think the Bible is? They are basically saying the very thing they are arguing against doesn't exist. Plus there are mentions of Jesus and his followers in non-biblical sources. This is an argument that is counting on the ignorance of the audience. The debater plants a false idea and then rapidly moves on not giving the audience a moment to think that the argument is clearly false.
Any argument that claims God is cruel again is based on a lack of knowledge about the contents of the Bible. "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him" (I John 4:8-9). Usually, these arguments are created by pulling out an example where someone is punished, and then they exclaim "How cruel!" But what is purposely ignored is why the person was punished. When that is examined you realize that God was being just and often He went over and beyond what we would tolerate to hold off punishment to give people a chance to change. As an example, see "Why did God kill all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians when it was Pharaoh who sinned?"
What most people miss is that atheist debaters don't try to prove their points. They count themselves successful by creating doubt in people's minds while demanding that the person they are debating prove his point beyond a level required in a court. If you want to watch these sorts of things, ask yourself what verifiable facts are present to prove their point -- not allegations, not conjecture, not arguments based on lack of evidence, but real hard evidence. And you quickly realize they have none. Even the stuff that looks like it could be verified doesn't stand up to scrutiny. They have nothing but an empty bag and are trying to convince you that it holds the wealth of the world.
