Have you ever heard one of your Christian friends say something like this: "I can't believe anyone doesn't believe in God! The evidence is all around us. All you have to do is look"? If so, you have probably been forced, as have I, to beg the question, "Why are there still so many atheists?" Seriously, if it's so easy to prove the existence of God, why are there still so many people yelling about it? Why isn't everybody on board? This link will point you to a really interesting article on this topic on Christianity Today's website. In it, Shawn Graves, a philosophy professor, posits that God isn't always as noisy as we say he is, and he is often drowned out by the noisiness of his followers.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2011/marchweb-only/whytherearestillatheists.html?start=1 He suggests that, while there may be much more at work in the minds of atheists than "cold rationality," in other words they carry baggage to this argument (e.g., anti-establishment or anti-authoritarian attitudes, etc.), the same is true of us. We rarely come to faith, or lack thereof, on rationality alone, but rather with a slew of psycho-social influences that predispose us to lean one way or the other.
Graves also suggests that some who claim Christ have ugly ulterior motives that drive a deeper wedge between the camps of belief and unbelief. Those who use religion to justify oppression, discompassion, judgment, or exclusion not only misrepresent our God but, by their behavior, bring him dishonor (Graves presents US slavery and Manifest Destiny as examples). To be sure, the atheist might be guilty of the same motives, but at least he doesn't drag God through the mud in the process.
I've also included a fun link in case you've never heard Steve Martin and the Steep Canyon Rangers play "Atheists Don't Have No Songs." It is awesome.
Have you ever been guilty of dismissing the atheist as foolish or characterizing him as self-absorbed? If so, check this article out and tell me what you think...
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