The Illogical Argument
Job 6:25 How painful are honest words! But what do your arguments prove?
Introduction:
1. The Devil loves this argument because…it’s true. There is no proof that God exists.
a. Strictly in the sense that we haven’t personally seen him.
1John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.
b. But we can see evidence of Him
i. E.g. deer hunters
Acts 28:27 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with theireyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
2. We live by faith
Romans 1:17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
I Cor.5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight.
3. God is not going to prove himself
Mark 8:12 He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? Truly I tell you, no sign will be given to it.”
4. The agnostic believes that it is illogical to believe in God whom we haven’t seen.
5. This argument is illogical
a. Arguing against God is arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all. C.S. Lewis.
b. Illogical=not logical; contrary to or disregardful of the rules of logic;unreasoning:
c. It is logic that makes me ill
d. An example of illogical thinking- Neary all sick people have eaten carrots. Obviously, the effects are cumulative.
i. - An estimated 99.9% of all people who die from cancer and heart disease have eaten carrots.
ii. - 99.9% of people involved in car crashes ate carrots within 60 days of their accidents.
iii. - 93.1% of juvenile delinquents come from homes where carrots are served regularly.
iv. - Among the people born in 1839 who later ate carrots, there has been a 100% mortality rate.
Discussion:
1. We don’t require proof of other beliefs we hold
a. Examples
i. E.g. George Washington was the first President
ii. E.g. gravity
iii. Taking medicine—how do you know it’s going to work?
iv. Ghosts-42% believe in ghosts, 29% believe in astrology, 26% believe in witches, 24% believe in reincarnation.
b. The agnostic believes in science
i. "Science is simply common sense at its best, that is, rigidly accurate in observation, and merciless to fallacy in logic."
ii. There’s just one problem with that, it’s wrong. How many times has science been wrong. And yet we continue to believe in it.
• Jonathan Haidt: “We may think we're being scientists, but we're actually being lawyers”
c. The scientist is like everyone else, they tend to see what they want to see
• The military commander had grown increasingly anxious over rumors of an impending air strike from the enemy. So, he summoned a corporal. “I want you to climb that mountain and report any signs of a military activity.” The corporal trudged up the mountain. As soon as he crossed the ridge, he saw a squadron of planes heading their way. “There are many planes coming!” he promptly radioed back. “Friends or enemies?” the commander demanded urgently. The corporal again lifted his binoculars to the sky. “They’re flying very closely together, he replied. “I think they must be friends.”
i. Top 10 Errors in Science (The Science Channel)
1. Doctors used to believe that the liver circulated the blood and they taught that the heart circulated “the vital spirit” (whatever that is)
2. Ptolemy wrote that the earth was the center of the universe and the scientific world taught that for 1400 years until Copernicus refuted it.
3. It wasn’t until the 19th century that surgeons felt the need to wash their hands
4. DNA was discovered in 1869 but scientists believed that protein passed on heredity until 1953.
5. It wasn’t until the 20th century that scientist believed that the atom wasn’t the smallest particle in existence.
6. For centuries we believed that plowing caused rain.
7. Phlogiston was an element, it made combustion possible. Now we know that it is oxygen.
8. It wasn’t until Galileo that we discarded the notion that heavier objects fall faster than lighter ones.
9. Alchemy: turning lead into gold
10. Piltdown man (the missing link)
11. Archaeoraptor-the missing link b/w reptiles and birds (a forgery)
12. In 18th-century England, Mary Toft convinced doctors she had given birth to 16 rabbits. A Short Narrative of an Extraordinary Delivery of Rabbets was written by King George's surgeon about her case. People stopped serving rabbit stew.
13. The Fiji Mermaid: This artifact in P.T. Barnum's museum was advertised as a gorgeous topless siren, but was actually the mummified corpse of an ape sewn to a fish.
14. Alien autopsy: English cameraman Ray Santilli claimed to own footage of an alien autopsy performed after the 1947 Roswell Incident. Fox aired a portion of it, but in 2006, Santilli 'fessed up to the hoax. All the alien innards in the film were actually sheep brains, raspberry jam and chicken entrails.
15. In 1995, British fake news show Brass Eye conducted an "investigative report" on a street drug they invented called "cake," claiming it affected an area of the brain called "Shatner's Bassoon." Members of the media lashed out against cake, and the British government even took the matter to Parliament. Whoops!
16. The disappearing blond gene: 2002 when news organizations from the BBC to CNN quoted what they believed to be a World Health Organization report that blonds would disappear within 200 years, because blondness was caused by a recessive gene that was dying out. Turns out the WHO had never done such a study.
17. The Nacirema were supposedly a tribe of people living in North America, as described by Horace Miner in his anthropological paper, published in 1956.The tribe Miner described had many odd rituals including "scraping and lacerating the surface of the face with a sharp instrument" and another ritual that "consists of inserting a small bundle of hog hairs into the mouth, along with certain magical powders, and then moving the bundle in a highly formalized series of gestures." It was actually a satire of everyday American life. "Nacirema" is "American" spelled backward.
2. We wouldn’t believe anyway
a. How many of the 10 lepers changed their life?
b. Why was Jesus all alone when he was being tried? Where was the multitude that were fed with the fish and loaves. Where were all the sick/lame/blind that he healed?
c. This is not limited to the Bible.
i. 61% do not believe Oswald killed Kennedy
ii. Measles vaccine causes Autism. 2000 parents were given literature from 4 different agencies such as the CDC. None of the parents changed their mind.
3. We have already been given proofs
Romans 1:19 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
• I was at a home Friday and admired a painting. I asked, “who painted this?”
4. It doesn’t matter whether we believe or not, he exists anyway.
a. In Columbus’ day people didn’t believe in an undiscovered land. That didn’t mean it didn’t exist. Even Columbus didn’t believe it.
b. One day, there will not be any atheists or agnostics
Revelation 1:7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
Conclusion:
1. Most people have their mind made up and no amount of logic will change their mind.
2. A few will change their mind, the Lord is asking us to change our mind today.
