The Nature of Revelation

As previously mentioned, many theists assert that God has conveyed His intentions through divine revelation. Nevertheless, I have yet to discover a single instance of such revelation that cannot be explained through natural means.

Take, for instance, the Bible, which is often regarded as Christianity's most esteemed text. If God truly loves humanity across all cultures and eras, it seems improbable that He would choose to unveil His intentions through a limited, ancient group, in their local tongue, on a fragile material like papyrus, and via a fallible method such as hand-copying.

Moreover, these ancient documents are indistinguishable from other religious writings from that era. Theologians may refer to this as 'contextualization,' yet this term essentially concedes that the authors were bound by their human limitations, unable to produce content that transcended their own time.

Many Christians argue that the Bible contains fulfilled prophecies as evidence of divine origin, but most examples they provide do not meet the criteria of genuine prophecy. An omniscient God would surely recognize that His revelations, presented in this manner, would leave most of humanity throughout history with little to no access to them. Only a select few would ever come across copies of copies of the original texts, which have been handed down through generations.

These individuals would then face the daunting challenge of discerning which texts truly embody divine revelation and which are simply human creations. There was no celestial list of approved texts; humans had to establish their own criteria.

They would also need to navigate the authenticity of textual variations among manuscripts and identify which elements may have been embellished or miswritten by later scribes.

God could have anticipated all these complications, right? Yet, many Christians continue to believe that this is how their all-knowing God opted to reveal Himself. It is hardly surprising that throughout history, many people have been unaware of this God, and even those who have access to the Bible face numerous versions, leading to conflicting interpretations and countless faith traditions.

This situation is quite irrational.

Why couldn't God communicate with humanity directly, as we do when we seek understanding? Such an approach would facilitate a broader comprehension of His intentions, minimizing reliance on human intermediaries who debate over who best represents Him.

However, this confusion makes sense if God is either absent or silent, and if the Bible is merely a human construct, akin to any other ancient myth or sacred text.

Religious Experiences

Many Christians claim that God has revealed Himself to them through visions, dreams, and other personal experiences. While these encounters may feel profoundly real to those who experience them, significant issues arise with this type of revelation.

Firstly, it is common for followers of evidently false religions to also assert spiritual experiences with their deities. If personal experiences were deemed reliable sources of spiritual truth, it would suggest that mutually exclusive beliefs, such as monotheism and polytheism, could both hold validity. Logically, this is impossible.

Secondly, neuroscience and psychology reveal that our brains are capable of generating imagery and sounds that are not present in reality. For instance, the vivid dreams we experience at night are entirely produced by our brains—a fact we acknowledge.

Additionally, medications or chemical imbalances can distort our perceptions. By consuming specific substances, we can experience hallucinations as intense as any spiritual encounter.

Thirdly, such spiritual experiences are not verifiable through objective means. Some Christians argue that God can communicate through psychedelic experiences, but if that were the case, how do we differentiate which elements of the experience are genuinely from God and which are merely the effects of intoxication?

If God's direct communication is confined to experiences that cannot be objectively validated and cannot be reliably distinguished from sensations caused by neural misfires—experiences that could occur without any divine involvement—doesn't this imply that God is an unnecessary explanation for them?

One would assume that if God truly intended to make His presence known, He would utilize methods that unmistakably indicate His existence and cannot be easily rationalized away.

Miraculous Events

What of accounts of divine intervention and extraordinary events? Almost invariably, a natural explanation exists.

For example, healing cases often face scrutiny to exclude placebo effects or other variables. When a cancer patient's tumor disappears without any medical treatment after intense prayers, some Christians attribute the healing to God's intervention. However, spontaneous remission, while rare, is well-documented, and scientists continue to investigate the mechanisms behind it.

The mere fact that our understanding is limited does not imply that God intervened to miraculously cure certain patients while allowing others to suffer. If Christians assert that cancer remissions result from prayers, they bear the responsibility to demonstrate that individuals prayed for exhibit a higher remission rate than those who are not.

Moreover, if God is truly all-powerful, we should expect to witness miraculous healings that defy natural explanation—such as limbs regenerating in moments. Yet, it appears God only heals conditions that can be understood through natural means.

Christians often dismiss healings in other religious contexts, attributing them to demonic influences attempting to mislead individuals. However, they rarely explain how they can be certain that healings among their fellow believers derive from God rather than from other deities, demons, or non-physical entities.

Even if we concede the possibility of demons and ghosts possessing supernatural influence over the material world, wouldn't we expect an all-loving, all-powerful God to act more decisively? We should observe significantly more instances of healing among Christians—or ideally, fewer cases of illness among Christians, due to the divine blessings from their true God.

Yet, does this align with our current reality? Not in the least. Christian children face similar risks of developing cancer as non-Christian children. In fact, it appears that this all-loving God does not intervene in the suffering experienced by people globally. Diseases and natural disasters claim millions of lives every year, presenting a profound challenge to the concept of an all-loving and all-powerful God.

The Silence of God

All the indicators one would expect if an omnipotent and benevolent God were present are conspicuously absent from our world. The ongoing debates regarding God's existence seriously undermine theism.

Christians may engage in mental gymnastics to rationalize God's lack of clear revelation, but the reality remains: this world resembles one where an all-powerful and all-loving God does not exist.

To Christians, God operates in mysterious ways, but for atheists, there is no mystery. The absence of such a deity effectively explains the phenomena we observe in the world.

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