Would Atheists Believe Even If Christianity Were True?

Like most people, I sometimes get trapped in the loop of short, yet to the point, clips on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Recently (at least for me), two clips jumped out at me for their clarity and precision. These two short clips demonstrate that, regardless of all the bluster from atheists against Christianity, most would not believe even if convinced of its truth claims. Furthermore, many would not believe even if Jesus presented Himself before them in all His glory, attributing it to some kind of hallucination.

For this article, I make the “anecdotal” case based on two sources that, when push comes to shove, atheists do not want to believe and would not believe even if convinced of Christianity’s truth claims. Now, I may be wrong. Therefore, I request that any atheist who wishes to correct me, to do so in the comments section.

If Proven True…

In the above YouTube short, the Christian speaker asks:

If historic orthodox Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?

The questioner (whom I assume is a skeptic/atheist/agnostic/non-Christian of some kind) answers:

Define Christian?

In response, the Christian speaker gets very specific:

Following Jesus and trusting Him for your salvation. Jesus said if you love Me, you’ll keep My commandments.

The skeptic/atheist/agnostic/non-Christian replies:

I would need more information.

The Christian:

If it were true?

The skeptic/atheist/agnostic/non-Christian:

Then it would depend on what His commands are and whether I agreed with them.

The Christian:

So, you’re saying if God existed and you disagreed with His commands, you wouldn’t…

The skeptic/atheist/agnostic/non-Christian:

Yes, of course.

Yes, of Course…

First off, kudos to the guy for his honesty. Moreover, out of curiosity, I did a Google search on this question and found the question asked on the forum at atheistrepublic.com. From what I read, the consensus falls squarely in the NO camp. It seems that many atheists, at least on that site, maintain severe prejudice against the God of Christianity’s morality. I found only one affirmative, and this one gave it begrudgingly (out of fear of hell).

They state:

Have to state upfront that I believe it to be d**n near impossible that any version of Christianity is correct.

Then, given the question of whether I would follow it if true, I make the assumptions then that eternal heaven and hell are in play as they exist in my head, hell being eternal torment and heaven being eternal worship of this God. My rational choice at that point would be to avoid the eternal torment although the eternal worship is only moderately more enticing.

Yes, I would swallow my moral outrage at the monster that is the Christian god in order to avoid eternal burning.

Interesting take…

Revelation or Hallucination?

Furthermore, another clip shows popular Christian apologist William Lane Craig challenging an atheist’s denial that “no amount of evidence would convince me of these extraordinary claims,” In the claim, Parson states:

If suddenly there was an earthquake and a silvery light shown from the sky, and the leaves dropped from the trees. And I dashed outside, and there towering over us, like a hundred Everests, was a giant figure with lightening playing around a Michael Angeloid face… And He pointed down saying “Be assured Keith M. Parsons, I do exist and I am sick of your logic chopping… Dr. Craig, I would join you in the pew of the church the next Sunday.

In response, Craig retorts, and I think most atheists would agree:

You don’t think that you would have said, “boy, I was having a hallucination.

Atheist Richard Dawkins confirms Craig’s claims that any sort of “religious experience” is tantamount to a hallucination. Therefore, even a direct experience of God proves ineffective to the atheist unwilling to believe any sort of God exists.

Final Thoughts…

In conclusion, as someone who pursues truth, I hope that if I am ever presented with undeniable (at least to me) evidence that the God of Christianity does not (or could not) exist, I would follow the evidence and adjust my views accordingly. Would I, in a fit of rage, shake my fist at the indifferent sky above me? Would I lament at the meaninglessness and ultimate hopelessness of life? Perhaps… Regardless, I hope that I would not come up with excuses or refuse to believe it because “it just doesn’t sit right with me.”

What are your thoughts?