An Open Email Response to My Atheist Friend - PART 1

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Friend,
Thank you for getting back to me. I did have some additional thoughts. To respect your time I will too try to be succinct. 

You clearly possess the ability to communicate, to think logically and you value truth. I have always thought you were intelligent! I remember laughing when you legit corrected Mrs. Smith once, haha!!! My thought first goes to the value of reason. If we are all simply molecules in motion brought about by an unguided process, why deem our thoughts as worthy of being expressed? Would they not be the result of physical impulses?

CS Lewis puts it in a better way: “Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It’s like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can’t trust my own thinking, of course I can’t trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.”

Secondly, I disagree about right and wrong. There is evil that is not nuanced in any way. (People who call themselves Christians have not been exempt of this) People of sound mind categorically agree that say, torturing babies or rape is objectively wrong. Objective evil implies objective moral values. Objective moral values point to a higher-than-human-authority. I'm not saying people need God to be moral or make good choices. But, I am saying without a moral law giver, there is no basis for right and wrong. It's simply a matter of opinion.

Also, if there were no objective morality, there would be no need for justice. Justice requires a standard of good. Or equality, human rights etc.  The very idea of human rights assumes that there is something different and inherently valuable about human beings from animals.

So I realize we have not addressed this part but it is a very compelling line of evidence.  I have been convinced of the historical evidence of Jesus' life and death.

Please understand that I am not trying to come across as condescending. If Christianity is evidentially true then it would be illogical and wrong for me not to say what is next. God loves you. Do the hard work of searching for truth as you said and do so by looking into the historical evidence for the resurrection. Not in the Bible. If there was no bible, people could still make a sound case that the tomb was empty.* I think historians have carefully reconstructed what has happened. 
“It was the evidence from science and history that prompted me to abandon my atheism and become a Christian.” - Lee Strobel, The Case for Christ

 I lose my mind when my youngest girl says I don't love her. (She does this a-lot) This is after I have fed her, played board games with her and told her I loved her. The evidence per say. It's up to her to believe that. If she doesn't believe it, it's still true. I would sacrifice everything and die for her if needed. 

I am wholly confident that God views you that way Friend. 
Take care and thanks again for being willing to discuss!
Megan

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