Six stages of becoming an atheist<\/a>”].\n b. Often the person wants to get involved in something that they\nknow is morally wrong. Their response is to get rid of the moral\nsystem.\n 3. Resentment of being treated badly or seeing corruption in a church.<\/p>\n
a. Thus, it is seen as a form of revenge<\/p>\n 4. Objections to a perceived connection between Christianity and\nconservative politics\n 5. Having an unbelieving spouse or parents, or parents of warring religious\nbeliefs\n
C. None of these motivations provide justification to conclude that God doesn’t exist<\/p>\n 1. You might not like what God allowed to happen to you, but it isn’t an\nintellectual jump to claim there is no God – Proverbs 19:3\n D. What they do give a person is a push toward considering that God doesn’t exist as\na way of dealing with the inner conflict\n 1. The problem is that if you want to believe a lie, God will allow a person to\ngo off after the lie – II Thessalonians 2:9-12\n
2. Thus, as people rejected God, God allowed them to go as they insist<\/p>\n
a. Romans 1:22-25 – Replacing God with one of their own making<\/p>\n
b. Romans 1:26 – Replacing morality with perversions<\/p>\n
c. Romans 1:28 – Replacing intellect with depravity<\/p>\n
E. Overtime, pride sets in.<\/p>\n
1. The atheist sees himself as superior to other men<\/p>\n 2. To claim there is no God means you become a god to yourself – Proverbs\n12:15\n
3. Which is why David noted – Psalms 14:1-3<\/p>\n 4. Pride is what shields an atheist from considering the possibility that he is\nwrong – Proverbs 18:2\n
IV. Convincing the atheist<\/p>\n
A. Too often brethren try to reason with a person drifting into atheism. <\/p>\n
1. They point out the logical flaws in their reasoning, but it makes no impact<\/p>\n 2. But that is because they aren’t seeking atheism because of reason –\nProverbs 23:9\n
3. Destroy one reason, they will merely seek another<\/p>\n
B. One preacher likened it to pulling off leaves on a dandelion.<\/p>\n
1. It will just grow more because the root remains<\/p>\n
2. You can’t grind it out of a person – Proverbs 27:22<\/p>\n
C. The atheist is wrapped up in self-deceit – Proverb 14:7-9<\/p>\n
D. Correction is rejected – Proverbs 15:5<\/p>\n
E. He will either get mad or mock you – Proverbs 29:9<\/p>\n
F. We need to discover and deal with the underlying motivation<\/p>\nV. My point is that you are not going to find the perfect argument, the be-all-end-all bolted\ndown logical argument to persuade an atheist out of his belief there is no God, but that is\nbecause he isn’t an atheist because of logical reasoning\n A. Oh, he will tell you that his reasons are intellectual, but prove him wrong and he\nwill simply create another excuse\n
B. Richard Dawkins was once asked what would persuade him that God exist<\/p>\n 1. He said, “Well, I used to say it would be very simple. It would be the\nsecond coming of Jesus or a great, big, deep, booming, bass Paul Robeson\nvoice saying, “I am God, and I created.” But I was persuaded…that even if\nthere was this booming voice in the second coming in clouds of glory, the\nmore probable explanation is that it’s a hallucination, or a conjuring trick\nby David Copperfield, or something…A supernatural explanation for\nanything is incoherent. It doesn’t add up to an explanation for anything.”\n 2. When further pressed, Dawkins said, “Well, I’m starting to think nothing\nwould, which, in a way, goes against the grain, because I’ve always paid\nlip service to the view that a scientist should change his mind when\nevidence is forthcoming.”\n 3. In other words, no amount of evidence will convince this man that God\nexists\n C. Thus, you’ll have to get to what is motivating his rejection of God and that may be\nhard to find and hard to deal with\n 1. I read one man’s account. He was a preacher’s kid who turned atheist, but\nwhat cracked his armor was a stranger who talked with him and before\nleaving simply said, “God loves you and someone is praying for you.”\n 2. It reminded him of his mother. He responded with anger because it hit him\nin his heart but it was enough to start him thinking again about why he\nchose atheism.\n 3. What was funny is that he stated he became an atheist because of logic, but\nit wasn’t logic that hit the foundation of his beliefs\n D. Don’t be afraid to talk with an atheist because you don’t know strong intellectual\narguments. Many times what is needed is someone to listen and to answer the\nheart.\n
\n
\n
Based on “The Motivated Atheist” by Matthew W. Bassford<\/p>\n
Additional Source: Tim Barnett, “Why Evidence Will Not Convince Some Atheists,” Stand to Reason, 22 January 2019.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: Proverbs 4:20-27 I. Consider the offer A. Atheism offers 1. No absolute morality. Everything is subjective. 2. No meaning to your life. Life is just a span of time, where you suffer for a while before you are squished into oblivion. 3. No hope about your future. B. Christianity offers 1. A clear, absolute morality with guidelines 2. There is a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[184,495,499],"class_list":["post-25548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-atheism","tag-heart","tag-motivation"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":61284,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/notes-on-atheism\/","url_meta":{"origin":25548,"position":0},"title":"Notes on Atheism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"Psalm 14:1 Psalm 53:1","rel":"","context":"In "Notes"","block_context":{"text":"Notes","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/notes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62772,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-immorality-of-atheism\/","url_meta":{"origin":25548,"position":1},"title":"The Immorality of Atheism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 1:28-32 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Atheism is a religion of destruction \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Its adherents try to destroy the belief system of any contrary belief system \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It demands proof from others while believing that giving no proof of its own is somehow \u201cproof\u201d \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As an example, \u201cProve there is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":56116,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-essence-of-atheism\/","url_meta":{"origin":25548,"position":2},"title":"The Essence of Atheism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Start with nothing. From nothing, for no reason or purpose, lifeless, mindless material just came into existence. Lifeless, mindless material, existing for no reason and with no purpose, somehow, some way, through a process that has never been observed anywhere, spontaneously generated something that was living. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":92271,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/nine-types-of-atheism\/","url_meta":{"origin":25548,"position":3},"title":"Nine Types of Atheism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 20, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall Emotional Atheism: Many have experienced personal harm in their lives. They are dealing with the \"problem of evil\", not from a philosophical perspective, but from daily pain. For example, the loss of a child, parent, or spouse. Hypocritical Religious Atheism: This paradox in terminology comes from their\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":52775,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/your-website-was-the-first-step-for-me-to-convert-from-atheism-to-christianity\/","url_meta":{"origin":25548,"position":4},"title":"Your website was the first step for me to convert from atheism to Christianity","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 13, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I talked to you around three and a half years ago. I just want to thank you! I grew up an atheist and converted three and a half years ago. Your website was the first step for me to come to faith. I am now training to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":55497,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/christian-morality-versus-atheist-morality\/","url_meta":{"origin":25548,"position":5},"title":"Christian Morality Versus Atheist Morality","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 5, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Donald R. Fox One of the most interesting formal discussions between an atheist and a Christian was the Oliphant-Smith Debate, conducted in Shawnee, Oklahoma, August 15-16, 1929. W. L. Oliphant was a preacher from the Oak Cliff Church of Christ, Dallas, Texas. Charles Smith was the President of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25548","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25548"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25548\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25548"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25548"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25548"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}