If the Christian God exists, where the hell is he? The entire debate between Christians and atheists boils down to this one problem. If God exists, why is there no proof that he exists? I’m not talking about “logical proofs” that merely define God into existence, “scientific proofs” that make ad hoc assumptions, or “emotional proofs” that can easily be explained by psychology. I’m talking about empirical evidence that all laymen can understand and all scientists can agree on (like the proof that gravity exists). But apparently God won’t allow that. He is everywhere, yet he chooses to remain invisible, intangible, and inaudible. A little suspicious, don’t you think?
I want to know why God can’t appear next to me as I write this–standing there with his long white beard, dressed in robes that shine like the sun–and say in a thunderous voice, “Here I am.” I just looked around the room. Nope, nothing.
Imagine how much better the world would be if God revealed himself to everyone in such a manner. All the fighting over which religion is true would end, criminals would be afraid to commit crimes, and when disasters occurred God could actually help people. So why doesn’t God reveal his existence?
The most common response is, “Because of free will.” The idea is that God can’t appear to everyone because then people would have no choice but to worship him. Christians hold this defense up like a shield, completely unaware that it’s as flimsy as a handkerchief. This apologetic fails for 4 reasons:
1. The Bible is filled with examples of God revealing himself without violating anyone’s free will.
According to Revelation 12, there was a great war in Heaven where Michael and two thirds of the angels fought against Lucifer and one third of the angels. The angels that rebelled had more than enough proof that God exists, yet they had free will to rebel.
Then there’s Genesis 3. According to this chapter, God spoke directly to Adam and Eve. Despite this first hand evidence of God’s existence, Adam and Eve freely chose to disobey him and eat from the forbidden tree.
Throughout the Bible, God speaks to many people including Cain, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon, Job, Jonah, Elijah (who was taken directly to Heaven), and several others. And I haven’t even mentioned the countless people who witnessed miracles such as the ten plagues of Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, fire raining down from Heaven, and hundreds of other miracles. It seems in Bible times God had no problem providing amazing evidence of his existence without violating people’s free will. What changed?
2. God would be able to tell the true followers from the ones who only want to avoid Hell.
The free will apologetic claims that if people knew God exists, they would have to love him because the only alternative would be eternal Hell. Since God wants followers who love him for him and not because they want to avoid Hell, he has to hide himself.
Let’s go back to my hypothetical world where everyone knows God exists. In this world, God appears to everyone almost everyday. When people need advice, God speaks to them just as he spoke to people in Bible times. If God were kind and loving, most people would love him in return. However, there would also be people who didn’t love him (perhaps because he disapproves of things they want to do). They would pretend to love him for fear of going to Hell, but they would secretly resent him. If God were omniscient, he would know which people loved him and which were only pretending. So why not choose who goes to Heaven on that basis?
As I said before, this world would be enormously better than the one we live in. There would be only one religion, and there would be far less crime, war, and suffering. Plus, people could still choose to receive the free gift of redemption through Jesus Christ. God would simply sort those who were grateful from those who weren’t. Instead, God is apparently hiding in the shadows while people kill each other over which god is real.
3. A relationship with a being that provides no evidence of its existence is impossible.
Even if I accepted the idea that God must remain hidden, how am I supposed to have a relationship with a being I can’t be certain exists? (By certain, I mean having undeniable proof that others could verify.)
Let’s say one day my mom tells me I have a long lost brother who wants a relationship with me.
“Wow!” I say. “When can I meet him?”
“Well, he’s not ready to meet yet. But you’ll meet him someday.”
“Do you have any pictures of him?”
“No, there aren’t any pictures or videos of him. But he’s out there.”
“Can I have his phone number?”
“No, he doesn’t have a phone.”
“Oh. What about a Facebook profile?”
“No, he’s not on any social media networks.”
“Then how do I get in touch with him?”
“I’ll give you his email address, but he’s not going to write back.”
“Why not?”
“What’s with all these questions? Your long lost brother loves you and wants a relationship with you. Can’t you just take my word for it? Don’t you love him?”
At this point I would suspect she is lying, and rightly so.
Many Christians like to say, “It’s not a religion, it’s a relationship.” But all they have to do is open the dictionary to find out the opposite is true. In a real relationship there is give and take.
When I was a Christian and had a “relationship” with God, I found that no matter how much I prayed, he never did anything more than confer warm feelings and put thoughts into my head that were difficult to distinguish from my own. It wasn’t much of a relationship. Probably because he wasn’t even there.
4. A just God would not reward people for believing without evidence and punish people for being unconvinced.
If the free will apologetic is true, it means God has set up a system where people who embrace dogma are rewarded and people who ask questions are punished. Put another way, people who are arrogant enough to claim they know the ultimate truth of the universe go to Heaven, and people who are humble enough to admit they don’t know go to Hell.
If that’s how it works then I guess I’m going to Hell because I refuse to play an impossible game where I’m expected to “know” which religion is true without any solid evidence. God giving us free will to choose the right religion (out of thousands) when there’s no way to prove which religion is right makes no sense.
The whole “because of free will” defense seems pretty strong at first. But like every other apologetic, when you take a closer look it falls apart. So why is God the hide and seek world champion? Perhaps because he isn’t there to be found.
What if the answer is a bit more nuanced? What if the Christian God is literally the “thought software” or “linguistic mind virus” that is transmitted from parents to children when they teach the stories. It’s a kind of “intangible life form” similar to an advanced computer virus, but instead of computer code it’s human language that does the infection. It’s a life form that exists not in the neural substrate of a single brain like ourselves, but as a super-consciousness across many brains. What if this is a real, actual, living creature that responds to stimuli and *thinks*, like, for real? And what if you could do tests to confirm this kind of creature really exists, and exists at the root of pretty much every major belief system? Wouldn’t that be a trip? 🙂
There may be a God, a real, honest to goodness “Christian God”, but who isn’t the creator of any physical universe, just the creator of a kind of holographic universe that lives fractally across the minds of all it’s followers. Dwell on that a bit and then, just for fun, look at whatever hatemail you’ve received from Christians recently and see if you can spot the alien parasite buried in their words, lashing out at you.
I have heard many Christians talk about predestination and Calvinism. In fact a lot of apologists use this argument that god creates some to live for him but the majority to burn in hell for his “good pleasure”. They use several verses for this including the parable of the potter and the clay in Romans. I was a Christian for around 30 years and was raised by a Christian mother. I recently after years of questioning, research, studying, and reading became an atheist. Many Christians now say that I was never a Christian and that god predestined me for hell. That he simply creates some for himself and others for destruction. What are your thoughts on Calvinism or the concept of this ideology? I know we don’t believe in god but if there were a god what would this say about his character and his idea of love?
One thing I’ll say about Calvinists: At least they’re consistent. In the past I’ve made the case that if the Bible were true, it would mean that God enjoys sending people to Hell. If he didn’t, why would he create the universe knowing billions would go there? It doesn’t make sense. But Calvinists say, “Well, he Does want some people to go to Hell.” Okay…
This is why I usually don’t even bother conversing with Calvinists. Why would you worship a god who sends the majority of people to Hell “for his good pleasure”? Wouldn’t you hate God for that? Or are the Calvinists just afraid of God and kissing his ass in hopes that they won’t go to Hell, too? But if that’s the case, then they don’t have a loving relationship with God; they’re just slaves. Also, they’re traitors to the human race (“Yes, Lord! Go ahead and kill the others! But save me!”) If that’s what God is, then he doesn’t understand love.
In the future I may write a post about Calvinism and expand on some of these thoughts.
Thank you for your response. I would very much like to hear more of your thoughts on “god” and predestination. I have been reading a lot of your articles and I really have enjoyed them so far. I have read all of your “Letters to My Former Self”. Your life mirrors mine a lot. I was a Christian for over 30 years. I had a devote Christian mother. I struggled with my faith for years before becoming an atheist. Now at 39 years old I’m starting to worry about “god” and “hell” less and less. Although I find the fear sometimes trying to creep back in; but when you’ve had as much indoctrination as I have I think that would be normal.
One of two options: 1.) “God” is a sadistic, tyrannical, inscrutable, hiding, self-conflicted, self-negating, mysterious A-hole, or 2.) “God” doesn’t exist.
Since option 1. is utterly untenable and reprehensible, I go with option 2.: “God” doesn’t exist. And I move on.
God does exist. However, he’s the biggest mother***** sadist in the universe and loves to watch people suffer.