Getting into discussions about religion can be really tricky sometimes. If you’re a Christian, you’ve probably had friends or family who don’t believe in God ask you some pretty tough questions about your faith. Maybe they were just curious to understand your beliefs better, or maybe they were challenging the logic behind Christianity.
Either way, some of those questions from atheists and non-believers can really make you stop and think! Like, how can an all-loving God allow suffering and evil in the world? If God is all-powerful, why did he have to sacrifice Jesus? Doesn’t evolution disprove creationism?
Those are just a few examples of the kind of stumpers that atheists and skeptics often throw at Christians. And you know what? A lot of Christians struggle to give solid answers sometimes.
In this blog, we’re going to take a look at 15 of the biggest, most common questions that atheists have for Christians.
Why does an all-loving God allow suffering and evil in the world?
This is one of the biggest questions challenging the idea of an all-powerful, all-loving God. If God loves us, why is there so much pain, cruelty, and senseless suffering? Couldn’t an all-mighty being prevent natural disasters, diseases, and human atrocities?
Many atheists see the presence of evil as contradicting the Christian idea of God. This has been debated for centuries without a fully satisfying answer for many.
Why did God have to sacrifice Jesus instead of just forgiving humanity directly?
In Christianity, Jesus had to die for humanity’s sins to allow forgiveness and salvation. But if God is all-powerful, couldn’t he have simply forgiven humanity directly? Why did an innocent person have to be tortured and killed as a loophole?
To atheists, the idea of a blood sacrifice for forgiveness seems like an antiquated, barbaric concept. There must be a better way for an all-loving God to operate.
How can you believe in miracles when science explains how the world works?
From parting the Red Sea to resurrection, the Bible is filled with supernatural miracles that defy the laws of physics and nature. But modern science has logical, evidence-based explanations for how the universe operates based on physics, chemistry, biology etc.
For atheists, it makes no sense to insist miracles happened when science shows how the natural world functions.
Doesn’t evolution disprove creationism and the Bible’s origin story?
The theory of evolution through natural selection is supported by overwhelming fossil and genetic evidence studied by scientists worldwide. It directly contradicts the biblical account of God creating the world and all life in 6 literal days.
For many atheists, this is solid proof the origin story in Genesis cannot be true, undermining Christianity’s core teachings.
Why are there so many contradictions and immoralities in the Bible?
There are many instances of contradictory statements, immoralities like genocide and misogyny, and scientifically impossible claims in the Bible that atheists point to as evidence it is merely an antiquated book written by primitive men, not the divine word of God.
How can the source material for Christianity contain so many problems if it is the perfect word of God?
How can you take the Bible literally when it’s been translated so many times?
The Bible has been translated from ancient Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek through many languages over thousands of years, by thousands of biased people with varying agendas.
Atheists question how such an extremely old, repeatedly re-translated document can be taken as the 100% literal truth, especially with no original manuscripts existing.
How can you believe in something with no scientific evidence?
At its core, Christianity is based on believing in a supernatural deity and miracles that have never been scientifically proven or observed. Atheists value empirical evidence and what can be tested, so insisting on belief in something for which there’s no scientific proof seems irrational.
Why are there so many religions that contradict each other?
With thousands of religions and sects with vastly different beliefs all over the world, each insisting theirs is the absolute truth, many atheists see it as evidence that all religions are human-created mythologies, not divinely inspired.
If God did exist, why would there be such disagreement and contradiction over who he is?
Christians committed atrocities like the Crusades – how is that moral?
Throughout history, Christians have committed many acts of oppression, genocide, violence, sexism, racism and more – all in the name of Christianity. Atheists question how such a system that inspired so much immorality from its followers could possibly be a force for moral truth.
Why would a loving God send people to hell forever?
The Christian concept of hell as an eternal place of torment and suffering seems extremely cruel and unjust to most atheists. How could a truly loving, merciful God allow people to suffer infinitely over the temporary transgressions of a finite life?
To non-believers, hell is an unthinkable immorality.
If God is all-knowing, how can we have free will?
Many atheists struggle with the paradox that if God already knows every decision we’ll make before we’re born, how can humans truly have free will to make our own choices? It seems contradictory that an all-knowing God would give us a freedom he already knows we won’t have.
Why did Jesus have to be crucified in such a cruel way?
Atheists are often disturbed by the extremely brutal nature of crucifixion that the Bible says Jesus had to suffer for humanity’s sins.
Being nailed to a cross and left to die over days seems like an excessively cruel punishment even in the barbaric context of ancient times. Why did God require such horrendous torture?
Why are many intelligent people turning away from religion?
Surveys show atheism and skepticism towards religion are becoming much more common among highly educated people and in developed nations.
To non-believers, this trend of intelligent people rejecting faith raises further doubts about Christianity being a rational worldview.
How can you pick and choose what parts of the Bible to follow literally?
Atheists often argue that Christians arbitrarily choose which Bible verses to follow absolutely literally (bans on homosexuality for example), while dismissing other verses as allegorical or outdated (rules about mixed fabrics or stoning).
How can Christians claim it’s the infallible word of God while picking and choosing?
How can God be Just, Merciful AND a Jealous God who demands worship?
The Bible ascribes many different, seemingly contradictory traits to God like being just, merciful, but also jealous and demanding constant worship.
Atheists question how those differing personalities for a perfect being make logical sense together. For most non-believers, these paradoxes further undermine the idea of an infallible, godlike being.
As you can see, a lot of these questions really get at some of the core paradoxes and controversial parts of Christianity.
Things like the problem of evil, the concept of hell, the violence carried out by Christians historically, apparent contradictions in the Bible – these aren’t easy things for Christians to just hand-wave away. Even devout believers have to admit some of this stuff seems pretty tough to make sense of at times.
The point is, having a few unanswered questions and paradoxes doesn’t automatically mean a belief system is completely invalid or irrational. If you’re a Christian, don’t be afraid to admit when you don’t have a perfect answer. But also, don’t be afraid to lean on your faith when the answers get complicated.
Atheists and Christians may never be fully on the same page. But openly discussing these big questions is a great way for all of us to think deeper, learn more, and hopefully understand each other a bit better.
