Alright, let me attempt to get back into the swing of things by challenging our resident Theists!
So, the problem of non-belief is something that goes like this:
Within the Christian framework, it is believed that God exists, and that there are propositions p,q,r...z that are *necessary* for us to believe in order to be saved. One of these might be the belief that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that confessing this (amongst other possible things) is our way to eternally being saved.
Now, this is the 'divine plan' according to a loving God, whose will is to be in relationship with us, hopefully for eternity. The problem though, is that this plan doesn't seem to be getting fulfilled very effectively. The state of affairs in this world is such that a huge proportion of souls are being thrown into the pits of hell for simply being mistaken about the existence of God i.e. their failure to confess the necessary propositions to be saved.
And I think it's fair enough to see why: the claims made by Christianity seem just as plausible as any other religion that has made it this far. There doesn't seem to be anything intrinsic about Christianity that would absolutely settle the matter, obviously, judging by the diversity of belief in today's world, and the never-ending disputes between the religious.
So in essence, we have people going through this life, doing the best they can to get by, and potentially ending up suffering for eternity for something they may not have been aware was even going on - *ever* for some.
So here's the conclusion: this is something that can very easily be avoided by God himself if only he would undeniably reveal himself as the God of Christianity. He has the power to do so, and the will to act by. Yet, here we are, in silence, with the only reasonable explanation being that God is actually evil or non-existent.
I think this is one of the strongest arguments out there, because if you noticed, the premises are things which I think are quite acceptable under a Christian worldview. This problem of non-belief is something entirely built upon, essentially, a Christian way of thinking. And it's something that desperately needs accounting for.
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Possible counter-argument: free will.
This will not do, as free will is actually not related to this issue at all. For within the Christian framework we actually have very clear examples of people who directly witnessed God in His almighty presence and yet, freely chose to rebel.
Example 1: Adam & Eve.
They had full knowledge of God's existence, yet they went against his wishes in the Garden, despite this knowledge.
Example 2: Lucifer and the fallen angels.
They were literally in the same 'space' as God, and yet they had no problems whatsoever choosing the other side, and rebelling against God, despite this knowledge.
Conclusion: knowledge about something doesn't affect our free will. In this case, knowledge about God wouldn't negate our ability to choose for ourselves what we do.
So, the problem of non-belief is something that goes like this:
Within the Christian framework, it is believed that God exists, and that there are propositions p,q,r...z that are *necessary* for us to believe in order to be saved. One of these might be the belief that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, and that confessing this (amongst other possible things) is our way to eternally being saved.
Now, this is the 'divine plan' according to a loving God, whose will is to be in relationship with us, hopefully for eternity. The problem though, is that this plan doesn't seem to be getting fulfilled very effectively. The state of affairs in this world is such that a huge proportion of souls are being thrown into the pits of hell for simply being mistaken about the existence of God i.e. their failure to confess the necessary propositions to be saved.
And I think it's fair enough to see why: the claims made by Christianity seem just as plausible as any other religion that has made it this far. There doesn't seem to be anything intrinsic about Christianity that would absolutely settle the matter, obviously, judging by the diversity of belief in today's world, and the never-ending disputes between the religious.
So in essence, we have people going through this life, doing the best they can to get by, and potentially ending up suffering for eternity for something they may not have been aware was even going on - *ever* for some.
So here's the conclusion: this is something that can very easily be avoided by God himself if only he would undeniably reveal himself as the God of Christianity. He has the power to do so, and the will to act by. Yet, here we are, in silence, with the only reasonable explanation being that God is actually evil or non-existent.
I think this is one of the strongest arguments out there, because if you noticed, the premises are things which I think are quite acceptable under a Christian worldview. This problem of non-belief is something entirely built upon, essentially, a Christian way of thinking. And it's something that desperately needs accounting for.
**********
Possible counter-argument: free will.
This will not do, as free will is actually not related to this issue at all. For within the Christian framework we actually have very clear examples of people who directly witnessed God in His almighty presence and yet, freely chose to rebel.
Example 1: Adam & Eve.
They had full knowledge of God's existence, yet they went against his wishes in the Garden, despite this knowledge.
Example 2: Lucifer and the fallen angels.
They were literally in the same 'space' as God, and yet they had no problems whatsoever choosing the other side, and rebelling against God, despite this knowledge.
Conclusion: knowledge about something doesn't affect our free will. In this case, knowledge about God wouldn't negate our ability to choose for ourselves what we do.
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it" ~ Aristotle
