Atheists, and unfortunately even some theists, think belief in God is irrational. I beg to differ. Given the maxim that effects require an adequate cause, and no effect can cause itself, theism makes the best sense of the world. The beginning of the universe (effect) begs for a Beginner (cause), the design of the universe (effect) begs for a designer (cause), and the moral law we intuit (effect) begs for a moral law giver (cause).
Indeed, theism is much more reasonable than atheism. Is it more rational to believe the universe popped into existence out of nowhere completely uncaused, or that it was caused by a powerful and intelligent mind? Is it more rational to believe the intricate design and incomprehensibly balanced fine tuning of our universe happened by chance, or that an intelligent agent designed it for a purpose? Is it more rational to believe moral values exist inexplicably or as the result of evolution, or that they are the product of a moral law giver? In each case, the latter seems to be the more reasonable position prima facie. The only reason to deny these conclusions would be if atheists could provide good evidence that would overwhelm our prima facie intuitions. Not surprisingly, they have not done so.
Thinking to Believe 
June 5, 2008 at 5:16 am
Jason,
Just a quick note.
I had mentioned to you some time ago that I wanted to start an Apologetics class tailored to the young teens at our church. We began our first lesson last night and although the numbers were small, the enthusiasm (both their’s and mine) was large.
Just wanted to give you sincere thanks for the material you present here and on IBS. Trust me, it really helps.
Dale
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June 5, 2008 at 11:24 am
That is great to hear! I wish more churches would do that. No one needs it more than teens because no one is faced with more anti-Christian, anti-God propaganda than them.
Jason
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June 16, 2011 at 6:43 pm
On this subject, a common problem I am seeing in churches is that they teach children the bible verses and what it says but not what it actually means. This saddens me because when we have debates in school the atheist children have a very good grounding in biology and physics from their teachers and christianity and religion is getting a bad reputation around here.
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June 17, 2011 at 3:12 pm
Megan,
Yes, that does happen. But even if they know what the verses mean, it won’t help them much in the way of defending their faith against the onslaught of secular humanism and atheism that they are encountering in the educational system. For that, they need to be taught apologetics. That’s definitely not happening!
Jason
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