* Joel Gave Two Reasons: that led to his atheism:
- perceived inconsistencies in the Bible; and his
- reliance upon empirical evidence.
Bob Enyart modified the atheist billboards that went up around Denver, and you can see Bob and Joel talking about the billboards on Denver's ABC affiliate 7 News. And at TheologyOnline you can see Joel's atheist tattoo (really), and there TOL reveals also that Bob himself is tagged :)!
* Atheist Billboard, RSR Style: "Don't believe in God? You are not alone."
-God
Bob and Joel agreed that Christians do not assert that God came into existence with the writing of the Bible. Thus inconsistencies, even if they were shown to exist in Scripture, would not disprove God's existence. Bob agreed that it is difficult to prove a negative, and stipulated as he always does that an atheist need not worry about whether God is present on a planet somewhere across the universe, but that the evidence around us here and now would suffice to resolve the matter. Bob also stipulated that, yes, a Christian must explain why bad things happen; but then he added that an atheist must explain everything else :) .
Enyart quoted Albert Einstein observing that about ideas, mathematical principles, and logic are not physical and are not made of matter, and thus they are overwhelming evidence of the reality of the non-physical realm. Bob shared the following with Joel (from TheologyOnline's Christian Answer to Euthyphro):
In 1936 Einstein famously wrote, "the most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is comprehensible," and in 1944, remarking about atheist Bertrand Russell, he described the ability to get from matter to ideas as a "gulf-logically unbridgeable," which some scientists and linguists refer to as Einstein's Gulf, and in 1950, Einstein wrote that "science can only ascertain what is, but not what should be," necessarily excluding from its domain "value judgments of all kinds." The laws of the physical sciences do not employ the moral concepts of right and wrong and the laws of logic are not physical (no mass, polarity, etc.)... [read more at TOL]
Bob Enyart asserted to Joel that:
- if he used only knowledge provided by his five senses, Joel would not be able to graduate with his upcoming degree in theoretical mathematics; and that,
- being a person has more to do with the non-physical realm of ideas, logic, relationships, and reason, than it does with chemistry and physics.
Post-show Notes
* Listen Online to Brian Rohrbough in DC: Brian Rohrbough, the president of American Right To Life, will be speaking this weekend at the Institute on the Constitution in Washington! To listen and watch live on Friday at 7 p.m. E.T. go to National Pro Life Radio!
* BEL Indiana Seminars: Bob Enyart is coming to Indiana, Goshen in the evening of Jan. 29th and Indianapolis on Saturday January 31st, to present a brand new BEL Seminar titled Hermeneutics: Tools for Studying the Bible. Learn how to use tools of interpretation as you study the Bible. And as importantly, Bob will discuss the principles involved for prioritizing these hermeneutics and how to decide which tool to use in which instance. You'll love it! Click for more info and to register please call 1-800-8Enyart!
Today's Resources: Have you seen the Science Department at our KGOV Store? Check out Guillermo Gonzalez' Privileged Planet (clip), Illustra Media's Unlocking the Mystery of Life (clip)! And you might enjoy reading Bob's book-length debate, Does God Exist? You can consider our BEL Science Pack; Bob's Age of the Earth Debate; Walt Brown's In the Beginning and Bob's interviews with this great scientist in Walt Brown Week; the superb kids' radio programming, Jonathan Park: The Adventure Begins! Remember, unlike virtually any other book, audio or video publisher, BEL offers a money-back guarantee if not satisfied! However, we're usually perfectly satisfied with your money :) Actually, if YOU are not satisfied, you can return any particular BEL resource within 90 days for a full refund! And finally, Bob Enyart's Mount Moriah DVD examines the powerful historic and geographic evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ!