The Three Things That Would Make Me a Christian
What would change this atheist’s mind?
In my last article, I laid out my story of how I arrived at self-identifying as an atheist, despite being raised in a church-going family who went to a welcoming church. At this point, with everything I’ve experienced (or have not experienced) in my life, I’m pretty confident in my position that Christianity is not worth my time to follow.
On the other hand, it is important to go through life with an open mind, and ask yourself what sort of evidence it would take to change your stance on certain issues (religion and politics especially). So for any Christians who are wondering what it would take to win me over to their side, here are the three things I would need to see before changing my mind — things that should be no problem for an omnipotent Heavenly Father:
#1: Get In Touch
First things first: I would like to have a direct, face-to-face, real-time conversation with this deity. Prayer as I have known it is not good enough; I should not have to feel like I’m talking to myself, or having to supply both sides of the interaction.
This conversation needs to happen by means that I can clearly understand to be supernatural. It cannot be through worldly methods that have any chance of there being a human on the other end. So that rules out phone, text, e-mail, and social media (i.e. no “God Friended Me” scenarios).
Also, at least one of these discussions must occur in the presence of another person, who could confirm what is happening (including the deity’s words) in real time. Meaning that it can’t happen inside a dream (which I’m honestly terrible at remembering anyway).
The Bible shows a precedent for this kind of direct contact. Adam and Eve spoke to God in the Garden of Eden. Moses had a two-way conversation with God when he encountered the burning bush. So presumably, it can be done.
#2: Perform a Miracle
Even after this deity has made contact with me, I may not be entirely convinced that it wasn’t hallucinated. The next step is for the deity to demonstrate their omnipotence with one or more scientifically impossible acts that can only be described as supernatural.
The Bible gives multiple precedents for this as well. Examples include the burning bush, turning a river from water to blood, parting a body of water, turning water into wine, or having a man walk on water.
Another suggestion for this miracle might be an act of healing, such as restoring an amputee’s lost limb. This act would have to be something that can happen in plain sight, however; curing a body of cancer or restoring a blind person’s sight could only be verified by laboratory documents and the word of other people, which have the possibility (however unlikely) of being falsified.
Again, this supernatural act should be performed in a way that other people could verify, through direct eyewitness and by recorded documentation (e.g. video).
#3: Prove when Adam and Eve were alive
So, now we can grant that a supernatural deity exists, that they are able and willing to communicate with me personally, and that they have divine power with which to intervene in humans’ lives.
All of this would make me a theist, but still not quite a Christian. After all, a deity can say that their name is Yahweh, but how can I be sure that they’re telling the truth? My solution is that if the Bible really is as infallible and trustworthy as Christians say it is, then it can confirm our deity’s existence in a way that aligns perfectly with our knowledge of the world.
Let’s look at Adam and Eve, whom we are told were the first Homo sapiens, and the ones responsible for the original sin that necessitated Jesus’s sacrifice. When did they live? Where do we place them in real space and time?
Genesis explicitly outlines the genealogy from Adam to Cush (Noah’s grandson), who built the city of Nineveh. Less than 1,600 years separate Adam’s creation from (Cush’s father) Ham’s birth. Meanwhile, the land that would become Nineveh wasn’t settled until roughly 6,000 BCE.
The problem? Modern Homo sapiens arose at least 40,000 years ago — and that’s being incredibly generous, since most estimates are closer to 100,000 years or more. Where, then, do we place Adam and Eve in real history? I simply don’t think we can.
Conclusion
Christians will likely object to the criteria that I’ve described. They may say that it’s not my place to make demands, or that “God doesn’t work that way” — to which I would say that if he really wants my devotion (after apparent absence for all 37 years of my life so far), he’s going to have to work that way.
They may argue that my demands are unfair, since they and I both know that God won’t act in a way that satisfies them. We can agree on that, even if it’s for different reasons; the Christian would say that, again, it’s “not God’s way,” while I would say that it’s because he doesn’t exist.
Here’s the thing: if Christianity is going to dictate how I spend my money and my Sunday mornings, who and how I marry, the art that I consume, the words that I can say, my political positions, and much more, the least it can do is provide the evidence that will convince me that its claims are true. I’ve laid out exactly what it would take to persuade me. The ball is in their court now.
