The Superficial Theology of Atheism

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this,” Says the LORD of hosts, “If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you such blessing That there will not be room enough to receive it.

(Malachi 3:10) NKJV

There has been an interesting discussion on Twitter today. I challenged the ASTs (atheist science trolls) with a way to get the proof of God that they have been demanding. I actually put it in terms of a testable hypothesis for the existence of God. The basis of the test is Malachi 3:10:

There are actually 2 testable hypotheses that are possible from this starting point:

1. I offered to start a GoFundMe campaign so that any AST who wants proof of God can tithe their income to it and see the proof of God for themselves as he works in their life to bring about blessings that are so great they won’t be able to contain them. However, I definitely don’t want any ASTs to give me money so my recommendation is to find a local church in your area, preferably in a economically depressed neighborhood, and give the money to them. Watch the miracles that will happen in your life and the life of the community.
2. None of the ASTs are going to tithe their income because they don’t really want proof of God, it’s just rhetoric that they use to make themselves feel superior. In this case the test will show that:
   1. Science is not about truth.
   2. Atheism depends on willful ignorance.

A Tactical Pivot

And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

(Luke 4:12) KJV

So as a way to pivot away from the rather stark reality of the proposition one of the ASTs immediately brought up another passage of scripture that, they claim, is a contradiction to Malachi 3:10, in this case, Luke 4:12. It is fascinating to see the convoluted way that ASTs interact with the Bible. They will happily use it whenever it suits them, particularly when it appears to be a demonstration that their knowledge of it is greater than that of a believer.

The other common theme is the application of superficiality in their understanding of context and nuance. There are significant differences in the application of the concept of testing God between Malachi 3:10 and Luke 4:12, but these will be conveniently ignored because it suits their momentary and fleeting purpose of posting a triumphant tweet. For example: In Malachi 3:10 The phrase “and prove me” is the Hebrew word bachan.

And prove me: וּבְחָנ֤וּנִי – bachan

• Examine, prove, tempt, try trial
• A primitive root;
  • to test (especially metals);
  • generally and figuratively, to investigate — examine, prove, tempt, try (trial).

The context here is that the fruit of obedience (tithing) will be a blessing from God that will confirm the goodness of His character. The metaphor is of assaying Gold or other precious metals to see how pure it is. God is promising to reward conduct that demonstrates faith in His character. On the other hand, the context of Luke 4:12 is very different. The word “tempt” is the Greek word “ekpeiraseis“.

Tempt: ἐκπειράσεις – ekpeiraseis

• ekpeirázō (from 1537 /ek, “out from and to” and 3985 /peirázō, “tempt”)
  • properly, test out, i.e. with the outcome of testing to an extreme (unwarranted) degree;
  • “hyper-test,” going to improper measures which exceed appropriate boundaries and pushing the one tested beyond reasonable (proper) limits.

The context here is that Satan has taken Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple in Jerusalem and challenged him to throw himself off the top of the building in order to have God intervene to prevent any injury or death. This is clearly going to extreme measures in order to provoke a response from God, which is not going to produce the desired result.

It’s not even so subtle a difference as to be nuanced. The former describes the rewards of faithful service, the latter is a warning against dangerous or self-destructive behavior.

Another Example of Atheist Superficiality

But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me

(Psalm 22:19) KJV

In response to my post of this passage A troll posted:

And he left them, and went out of the city into Bethany; and he lodged there.

(Matthew 21:17) KJV

So Jesus spent a night without his entourage in Bethany and a troll uses that as an example of a contradiction in scripture. Jesus saw his disciples the next morning. Psalm 22 was written before the incarnation of God as Jesus Christ, and is referring to the Spirit of God.