It is said over and over (and over and over again) by atheists that religious people make claims but offer no evidence to support them. In their defense, this is very often true. But this is hardly the exclusive problem of the religious. In fact, most people are used to making lots of assertions without ever offering any kind of evidence or sound reasoning to support their claims. We live in the generation of “just shout louder and that will make you in the right.”
But, while it is true that many religious and non-religious people are guilty of making assertions without offering evidence, it is patently untrue to say what many atheists do, namely, that there is no evidence for God or Christianity. This statement is either ignorant (which is at least excusable as we are all ignorant about many things) or it is dishonest (which should not be excused as lightly). If the former is the case then this post should be enough to disabuse anyone of saying there is “no evidence for God or Christianity.” If the latter is the case, well, what can I say? Grow a backbone and become an intellectually honest person. Until you do so you aren’t worth anyone’s time.
Theism in general (the belief in the existence of a personal creator God who is over all things) and Christianity in particular (The personal Creator God is Yahweh, the God of the Bible, and he exists as one God in three persons and has revealed himself in nature and especially in the incarnation of Jesus and the written Scriptures) both actually have an abundance of evidence to offer.
Evidence. We should really define that term. Evidence refers to anything offered in order to compel belief in a proposition. Propositions are statement which are either true or false (e.g. “That man is a murderer” or “God exists” or “Jesus rose bodily from the dead” or “It is 73 degrees outside.”). Evidence comes in many forms. Evidence can be purely philosophical/logical argumentation (i.e. the use of pure reason), or it can come in the form of written historical documents, historical artifacts (i.e. archaeological finds), eye-witness testimony, scientific inquiry and laboratory testing, etc. Not all evidence is necessarily of equal weight, nor is every kind of evidence equally appropriate to the determining of the truth in every particular situation. Evidence comes in many forms and it is always appropriate to ask people to offer some of it in favor of any proposition they want you to believe.
When it come to Theism in general the evidence has historically been the sort that comes by pure reason. Logical argumentation.
Take for instance the Moral Argument:
If objective moral values exist then God exists.
Objective moral values exist.
Therefore, God exists.
Or the Cosmological argument:
Everything that begins to exist has a cause.
The universe began to exist.
Therefore, the universe has a cause.
Or the Teleological Argument:
The appearance of design is best explained by the existence of a designer.
The universe and biological life appear to be designed.
The universe and biological life are best explained by the existence of a designer.
More examples could be given such as the Argument from Desire, the Ontological Argument, etc. All of the above stated arguments are actually just simple sample arguments of their kind. There is really a whole family of arguments underneath the titles of “Moral,” “Teleological,” and “Ontological” arguments etc. Much more could be said about them, their premises could be attacked and defended by further reasoning or by reference to other kinds of evidence (such as empirical data). Nonetheless, they are arguments that many have been persuaded by over the years. They are evidence.
Christian theism offers even more evidence (not contrary but in addition) to the above kind of argument. Christianity offers people the 66 historical documents which we usually call “the Bible” today. These books and their contents add many claims and also justification for those claims.
Christianity is unique among the religions of the world in that it is historical in its orientation. Most religious texts are very light on historical claims. Read the Koran, the Hindu Vedas, Buddhism’s Eightfold Path, etc., and you will find very few historical claims or markers and none of them will tie the truth of their religion to an even in history. Christianity, however, (along with our Jewish roots) relates all of the unfolding of our faith in time and space. Their are people, places, and events all over the Bible which invite us to look into them. Extra-biblical texts and archaeological finds have done much to substantiate what is recorded therein.
The most central tenet of the Christian faith, however, is the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. One of Christianity’s leading proponents in the first century, Saul (Paul) of tarsus actually stakes the entirety of Christianity’s truth on whether or not Jesus rose bodily from the dead in history. He even pleads people to look into it for themselves and talk to eye-witnesses who saw Jesus crucified, dead, and alive again.
1 Corinthians 15:1-9 (ESV)
Now I make-known to you, brothers, the good-news which I announced-as-good-news to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 through which you also are being saved— if you are holding-on in that message I announced-as-good-news to you, unless you believed in-vain. 3 For I delivered to you among the first things what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He has been raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to over five-hundred brothers at-one-time, of whom the majority are remaining until now. But some fell-asleep. 7 After that He appeared toJames, then to all the apostles. 8 And last of all, as-if-indeed to the untimely-born one, He appeared to me also. 9 For I am the least of the apostles— who am not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
What is Paul doing here? He is offering evidence. Rather bold evidence when you are writing to people living within the same lifetime of those events. Later in the same text he will even add that if the resurrection never happened then there is no point in being a Christian. It all hinges on an even which can be investigated (and which it is encouraged to investigate).
Some will, of course, say that this doesn’t count as evidence. Why? Because he believes what he says is true. We are told that you cannot accept evidence from sources which are not impartial. This is, of course, the most blitheringly idiotic thing a person could say. People do say it though (very often in fact). Imagine if we applied this standard equally. “You cannot believe in Darwinian evolution!” says one. “Why not?” Says another. “Because Darwin believed the conclusions he drew were true!” Foolishness of the highest order. What? Would you rather only accept evidence in favor of something if the person presenting it to you is firmly unconvinced by it? You can accept or deny the evidence based upon its own merit but not because of the convictions of the one presenting it.
People do say some of the dumbest things.
Listen, this is not a detailed exposition of the evidence of theism or Christianity. Much more can be said, has been said, and ought to be looked into by those who haven’t. This post serves one simple purpose, that of obliterating the idea “there is no evidence for God’s existence or the truth of Christianity.” Balderdash.
Say more sensible things. You might say, “I didn’t know there was evidence.” God bless you, keep learning more. You might say, “I don’t find the evidence persuasive.” I can respect that even if I think you are coming to the wrong conclusion. But don’t say, “there is no evidence.” You want to be taken seriously, don’t you?