Stealing From God預覽

What Kind of God Don’t You Believe In?

The God the new atheists reject is not the God of the Bible but a caricature of Him.  Richard Dawkins writes, “I have found it an amusing strategy, when asked whether I am an atheist, to point out that the questioner is also an atheist when considering Zeus, Apollo, Amon Ra, Mithras, Baal, Thor, Wotan, the Golden Calf, and the Flying Spaghetti Monster. I just go one god further.”

Unfortunately for Dawkins, this strategy only highlights his ignorance. The God of the Bible is not like Zeus, Apollo, Baal, and the rest, or even what the Bible calls an “angel.” God is not a created being among other beings inside the universe. He is Being itself and transcends the entire created order! He is the ultimate and sustaining cause of all created things, including angels, human beings, and the material world. This kind of God can be known by all people because God has revealed Himself through two books: the book of nature (which everyone has) and the Bible.

In order to grasp that kind of God, you may need to renew your mind. If you are used to conceiving of God as an old man in the sky, then drop the word “God” for a minute and simply think of the God of the Bible as the Source and Sustainer of all things. The Source and Sustainer of all things is:

• Self-existing: not caused by another; the foundation of all being
• Infinite: unlimited; the completely maximized or actualized Being
• Simple: undivided in being; is not made up of parts
• Immaterial: spirit; not made of matter
• Spaceless: transcends space
• Timeless: transcends time; eternal, had no beginning and will have no end
• Omnipotent: all powerful; can do whatever is logically possible
• Omnipresent: everywhere present
• Omniscient: all knowing; knows all actual and possible states of affairs
• Immutable: changeless; the anchor and standard by which everything else is measured
• Holy: set apart; morally perfect; is perfectly just and loving
• Personal: has mind, emotion, and will; makes choices
• Triune: three persons in one divine essence

So when people say they don’t believe in God, ask them, “What kind of God don’t you believe in?” After they describe their version of God, you can agree with them. “I don’t believe in that kind of God either.  Would you like to see some evidence for the true God?” (See the Introduction of Stealing from God)