I'm not an atheist but I've always wondered why God doesn't just settle the issue and send some message...?

Question

loud and clear to silence the atheists forever? Doesn't He want us to believe? Doesn't He want the world to turn to Him? When a Friedrich Nietzche or a Charles Darwin shakes his fist at heaven and says, "There is no God," why doesn't God zap him with a bit of heavenly reality? When I read the story of Job in the Bible, I'm sometimes amazed that he didn't finally become an atheist.

Answer 1

That's a great question.

Imagine you have a child and you tell the child never to lie and why lying causes problems. The child may understand to some extent, but if the child experiences what happens when lying destroys trust in a relationship, they are far more likely to really understand, and perhaps even gain some trust in their parents.

Prior to birth we lived as spirit children of our Heavenly Father. In order for us to better grow and develop, he prepared this earth and set up conditions where people would make all kinds of good and bad choices. If God were to appear, show some power, and tell us what's right, some of us would obey, but mostly because someone with power was telling us what to do and not because we understood the principles or trusted him.

Although many pieces of this understanding of the purpose of life have survived in the Bible, we have a much better understanding because the Church of Jesus Christ has been restored, complete with prophets and apostles to help us understand this and many other things.

Answer 2

Most likely because he isn't there.

I hear people, even right here answering to this question, that scoff at this and say "that's why it's called faith." To them, I say:

Yes, stupid, I know that's why it's called faith. That doesn't make it any more probable. What IS probable, however, is that this whole idea of "you need faith" is merely a con, a deception...just think about this for just a moment with a rational mind:

If someone tells you that there is a book on a table, and you look and see no book, and the person insists that you have to have faith in order to be able to see it, what would you think of this person? Surely you would think this person to be insane.

And yet, what is the difference between that and what we call "faith" in a god? Does one not constantly hear believers claiming that "evidence for God is all around you, you just need to have faith to see/perceive it" when you ask them why no god makes him or herself known? Why is there a double standard, that makes it fine to call the 'invisible book guy' described above a looney, yet makes it somehow "disrespectful" to say the same of someone who makes the 'invisible book' claim except on a much grander (indeed, the grandest imaginable) scale? It's hypocrisy of the highest order.

Answer 3

God does not force His way into anyones life. He proved His love by sending His Son. Someone like Darwin, who is no longer alive knows that there is a God, however, it is too late for Him. God answers the calls of those who seek Him- when a person's heart is hardened and does not even question His existence, God allows that heart to remain hardened. God does not ignore a seeking heart, but He does not force Himself on someone that continues to say He does not exist.

Answer 4

He did..... Creation first of all shows there is a God.

Romans 1:20 says:
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 men are WITHOUT EXUSE.

He gives us His Word, the Bible.

Answer 5

They're just going to say that belief is supposed to be based on faith. There is no historical or Biblical precedent for believing that we're supposed to believe in God based on faith ALONE. In the Bible, God supposedly showed Himself ALL THE TIME. He was always smiting and condemning and punishing--people almost couldn't get AWAY from Him. And He showed Himself for the PURPOSE of letting people know He existed. (Supposedly.)
Then came education, and science. And science was able to explain how the things that used to be attributed to "God" actually were worldly things that had perfectly rational explanations. We began to understand mental illness, and schizophrenia, and physical illness, so the idea of people being possessed by demons, and "speaking" with "God" went by the wayside, as they were shown to be in the person's HEAD. They weren't actually talking to "God." As the "evidence" of "God" was slowly being proven to not be about "God" at all, people had to change their ideas from believing that God interacted very physically with us, to saying that He hides Himself because we're not supposed to actually see or hear Him, but just "have faith" that He's there. Now "miracles" have downgraded from smiting entire cities with fire and brimestone, to Jesus's image being burned onto a piece of toast.

Answer 6

There were lots of miracles performed while Jesus was physically present on the earth. Even after he left, his apostles continued to perform irrefutable miracles in his name. There is even a significant body of neutral eye-witness accounts that are recorded in non-religious historical records.

Basically, if Charles Darwin was struck by lightening, you would wright it off as a freak of nature and a coincidence, because you're determined NOT to believe.

No evidence will ever be sufficient for people who have chosen to believe otherwise.

Answer 7

According to the bible Moses and the prophets are supposed to be an adequate message. (Luke 16:31)

Alternately, the appearance of the universe is supposed to be an adequate clue. (Romans 1:18ff)

If those aren't convincing we atheists are, it seems, doomed.

Answer 8

Some would say because that would defeat the purpose of having faith.

I recently heard that because God created the world out of nothing...there is nothing to see.

I personally get very confused by my faith sometimes but I look around me and see the many wonderful things and cannot fathem there NOT being a higher being.

Answer 9

Well God has given us a free will and it is up to us to accept him or to refuse Him. All mankind has sinned, but God is such a loving God that He even loves the people that hate him most. I don't think God should have to prove anything to us because we are to be proving ourselves to Him. I know it's a hard topic and I am still struggling myself but if you pray hard about it you will find the power of prayer you just have to be patient and try not to expect something just incredible because you can find it in the little things so don't be looking for the big things becasue if you do you'll miss something incredible.

Answer 10

He did send us many messages and many messengers.

The many plagues on the Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, manna from heaven for ? how many years in the desert?

We would not hear, we would not see.

He sent his Son.

We still would not hear.

The next message is Judgement Day.

Can you hear me now?