THE ANGRY ATHEIST. 1. How would you answer someone who says he s an atheist because children are dying in the streets and people have cancer?

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1 STUDY GUIDE

2 THE ANGRY ATHEIST 1. How would you answer someone who says he s an atheist because children are dying in the streets and people have cancer? 2. Why do people hate the Bible? 3. How would you answer somebody who said that the Bible is made up of fairytales? (See Luke 10:21 and 1 Corinthians 1:27.) 4. What could you say to someone who claims that the Bible says God promotes the raping of women? 5. How could you answer the accusation that God commanded the genocide of people multiple times in the Bible? (See Ezekiel 18:4; Genesis 6:5 7.) 6. How many people die every 24 hours? How should that affect us in our witness for Christ? 7. Is witchcraft neutral, according to God s Word? (See Isaiah 8:19 and Leviticus 19:31.) 8. What could you say to somebody who thought God was happy with their godless lifestyle? (See John 3:36 and Romans 2:5.) 9. How would you describe the biblical revelation of God s character and nature? 10. Why is idolatry (making up your own version of God) so attractive to sinful humanity? 11. Can you be a good person without being a Christian? If so, explain. 12. What is the biblical definition of the word good? (See Mark 10:18.) 2 LIVINGWATERS.COM

3 13. Using a courtroom illustration, explain how good works are irrelevant when it comes to our crimes against God. 14. Why does the world hate the Jesus revealed in Scripture? (See John 7:7.) 15. Explain why it s true that there is a lot of hypocrisy within the church. (See Matthew 13:24 30.) 16. Explain why it is good that biblical texts don t evolve over time. 17. Explain the biblical stance on slavery. (See Exodus 21:16.) 18. What percentage of wars (according to The Encyclopedia of Wars) can be attributed to religion? 19. How many deaths have been caused by atheist leaders throughout history? 20. Explain why it s not true that a rapist must marry his victim, according to the Bible. (See Deuteronomy 22:23 28.) 21. Why shouldn t an atheist use the phrase creation of the universe? 22. Why can t the universe be eternal? 23. Explain why nature could not have made itself. 24. How do we know that there is a Creator? Expound Romans 1: What did Jesus say to the young man in Mark 10:17 who wanted to know how he could inherit everlasting life? 26. What is it that is addressed when the Ten Commandments are introduced? (See Romans 2:15.) 27. Explain Romans 8: If we throw out God and the Ten Commandments, how do we define good and evil? THE ANGRY ATHEIST 3

4 29. What does it mean to put someone up the river Niagara without a paddle? 30. Explain what Jesus was saying on the cross when He said, It is finished! (John 19:30). 31. Explain what it means to remove our sins as far as the east is from the west. 32. What is the meaning of Ignorance of the law is no excuse? 33. What does the word just mean? 34. Why can t an atheist truthfully say that anything is good or evil? 35. Name three fearful judgments of God recorded in the Bible. 36. How would you describe the difference between André (the atheist) and the young man who bowed in prayer at the end of the video? Suggested Answers 1. Someone would lack the ability to be logical if they concluded that a plane had no maker just because it struck severe turbulence that left people injured. It is more sensible to conclude that something went wrong on the plane. It is illogical to come to the conclusion that there is no God because of the issue of suffering. Death, disease, and suffering exist because we live in a fallen creation, due to man s sin; they re actually evidence that God s Word is true. 2. People hate the Bible because it reveals the character of a God who demands moral responsibility. It is the ultimate wet blanket for those who love darkness rather than light. 3. God has deliberately chosen foolish things to confound the wise. The Bible is full of childishsounding stories that anyone with any social standing or intellectual prowess would never stoop to believe. Jesus said that these things have been hidden from the wise and prudent and revealed to babes. The door of salvation is set very low so that only the humble may enter. Such is the wisdom of God. 4. Ask where in Scripture this statement is found. The person won t be able to locate it because it isn t there. 5. God has proclaimed the death sentence upon the whole of humanity because of sin. 6. Approximately 150,000 people die every 24 hours. That should give every Christian a sense of urgency to bring the gospel to those who sit in the shadow of death. 7. Witchcraft is condemned by God as being evil. It is not neutral. The penalty for practicing witchcraft under the Mosaic Law was death (see Exodus 22:18; Leviticus 20:27). 8. His wrath abides on them because of their sin, and every time they sin they are storing up God s wrath that will be revealed on the Day of Judgment. 9. God is morally perfect, absolutely just, and fearfully holy. 4 LIVINGWATERS.COM

5 10. When we make up our own version of God, that god usually has no moral dictate. He doesn t require truth in the inward parts, or tell us that adultery, fornication, pornography, or any sin for that matter, is wrong. We gravitate to idolatry as a moth does to a flame, with a similar result. 11. To be a good person we just have to come up with our own definition of the word good. A sinner will, with a straight face, admit to lying, stealing, blasphemy, fornication, and adultery of the heart, and still maintain that he is a good person. Such is the delusion of self-righteousness. This traces itself back to the stubborn root of idolatry, which must be destroyed by the sharp ax of God s Law. 12. The biblical definition of good is seen in the character of God. He is morally perfect in thought, word, and deed. 13. The good works of a criminal are irrelevant to his crime. The judge will only judge on the evidence of his guilt. 14. The world hates Jesus because He testifies of their crimes against God. He calls their works evil. 15. Parables like the wheat and the tares (as well as the good fish and the bad fish, the wise and the foolish virgins, and others) show how the true and false converts are together in the Church. There they will remain until the Day of Judgment, when God sorts them out. 16. Man s truths often change. New evidence often shows today s beliefs to be wrong. But the Scriptures never change and they can therefore be relied upon as truth. 17. People often think of horrific images of the cruel African slave trade, but Scripture condemns kidnapping and selling people. The Bible also talks about different types of slavery, such as when individuals work off a debt as a slave or servant, or are taken as war prisoners and are used as laborers instead of being killed. 18. Around 9 percent. Most of these were caused by Islam. 19. Over 100 million human beings have been slaughtered because of the godless philosophy of atheistic communism. 20. These verses make it clear that a rapist was to be put to death, so he obviously can t marry his victim. Also, the phrase if they are found out indicates it was consensual. 21. The word creation denotes a Creator. Atheists usually defer to the word nature because of this connotation. 22. According to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, everything runs down and wears out. If the earth were eternal, if would have turned to dust billions of years ago. Scientists today acknowledge that the universe had a beginning. 23. For nature to have created itself, it would have had to be pre-existent to make itself before it made itself, which is scientifically ludicrous. 24. Everything that has been made shows us that there is a Maker, leaving us without excuse. 25. Jesus corrected the man s understanding of the word good, and then He gave him five of the Ten Commandments, to bring the knowledge of sin. THE ANGRY ATHEIST 5

6 26. The sinner s conscience, which affirms the truth of the Commandments. For further teaching on this subject, freely listen to Hell s Best Kept Secret on the bottom of the home page at Livingwaters.com. 27. The sinner s carnal mind is in a state of hostility toward God, particularly toward the moral Law. He doesn t like being told what to do morally. 28. Without a universal standard that applies to all, we can define good and evil according to our sinful desires. Every man does what is right in his own eyes, if the Law of God is forsaken. 29. By putting them up the river Niagara without a paddle, we re attempting to remove their false hope and show them they desperately need a Savior. 30. He was saying that the sin debt had been paid. The Law was satisfied with the blood of His sacrifice. 31. God has removed our sins from us an infinite distance. 32. We may drive through a town at 90 mph, ignorant of the fact that the law states that 50 mph is the maximum speed. Ignorance of the law cannot be used as a legitimate defense for the transgression. 33. It means to be based on or behaving according to what is morally right and fair. 34. This is because he has no unchanging absolute moral standard upon which to base his judgments ) God s judgment upon the sin of Adam. 2) His judgment upon Noah s generation. 3) His wrath upon Jerusalem in 70 AD. 36. The atheist was proud, arrogant, and self-righteous. The young man was humble of heart and therefore teachable. SUGGESTED RESOURCES How to Know God Exists: This book will convince you that belief in God is reasonable and rational; you can know that He exists. (book) The Atheist Delusion: This DVD pulls back the curtain and reveals what is going on in the mind of those who deny the obvious. (DVD) 6 LIVINGWATERS.COM