Are We All Born Atheists?

By: Rev. Joe Kramer

This is another interesting question. One in which I have some thoughts on from a Biblical Christian perspective. I was talking with an atheist friend of mine last week (yes I do have friends that are atheists) about this very supposition. I got to thinking about it and here are some thoughts on this subject.

An atheist will state that people are born without a concept of God. They believe that a belief in God is “brain washing” which causes children to believe in some kind of God. The question that I have is this; do they have any empirical proof? In other words how does the atheist know that this is a fact? A lot of people just believe in things and they don’t know why, they have never thought about it (not talking about God here just things in general). So this statement makes no sense because people naturally believe different things and don’t know where it comes from.

So if you were to ask an atheist to prove this statement using empirical evidence, they can’t do it. The atheist then is offering an opinion which they can’t prove/substantiate in any way (Of course on the flip-side Christians can’t prove it the other way either.). The atheist is seeking to base an argument on pure opinion, not evidence. Why does the atheist do this? They are trying to create an argument that atheism is natural and superior. What they are trying to prove is that those of us who believe in God are somehow inferior (at least this is my take on it, maybe I am wrong).

So let us just say that Atheism is the natural state of a human being, I don’t believe this to be the case I am just saying. Let us just say it is? Would it mean that there really isn’t a God? May I submit that the answer is a resounding NO! You see that is a different subject all together; if we are born atheistic (which they can’t prove) that does not prove that there is not a God.

Whether or not we are born atheistic in the argument of whether or not there is a God is a bait-and-switch tactic. Many atheists will say that is proof (of which they have no proof anyway), but really that is wrong. The two have nothing to do with each other. As a matter-of-fact, when looking at the existence of God, this has nothing to do with the topic of being born atheist, it is irrelevant.

So what do you do when an atheist says that we are born atheistic? Ask them to prove it, they can’t. Now, often they will try to ask you to prove the opposite. Just respond that the topic has nothing to do with whether or not there is a God. A true thinker will typically move on and continue in civilized conversation, but with most people (unlike my friend) the conversation will spiral down to name calling, at which point I usually walk away.

I hope that these thoughts have helped you in some way. Please use this as a basis for more research and study going forward.