Atheism and reason

If naturalism is true, then we ought not to trust our capacity for reason for the human brain would be a byproduct of blind/unintelligent natural forces. [2] Therefore, believing in naturalism is self-defeating.
In short, atheism/naturalism and reason are incompatible.[3] See also: Intelligent design and Evolution
Contents
- 1 C.S. Lewis's argument from reason and for the irrationality of materialism
- 2 Atheism and irrationality
- 3 Atheistic worldview cannot account for the laws of logic
- 4 Atheism and critical thinking
- 5 Irreligion and superstition
- 6 Atheist worldview cannot explain consciousness
- 7 Atheism and the brain
- 8 See also
- 9 External links
- 10 References
C.S. Lewis's argument from reason and for the irrationality of materialism
See also: Atheism and the brain and Atheism and free will and Atheism and personhood
Clive Staples Lewis, commonly referred to as C.S. Lewis, (b. November 29, 1898, Belfast - d. November 22, 1963, Oxford) was an Irish writer, novelist, essayist, moral mythologist and a world-acclaimed master of Christian apologetics.
Below are some resources on C.S. Lewis' argument from reason:
- C.S. Lewis' argument from reason
- C.S. Lewis and the Argument from Reason by Jay W. Richards, November 25, 2013
- C.S. Lewis and Materialism by John G. West
- C.S. Lewis On The Validity of Reasoning
- C.S. Lewis on Rationality and Materialism
- Atheism and the Inability to Think
- Book Review: C.S. Lewis's Dangerous Idea: In Defense of the Argument from Reason by Victor Reppert
The Christian apologetics website Bethinking.org declares:
“ | Bereft of the certainty of reason and truth that results from a godless worldview, it seems better for the atheist to seek an alternative. In his book C.S. Lewis’ Case for the Christian Faith, Richard Purtill offers the biblical perspective on reason and its origins:
Christianity offers that man is made in the image of God and from this we gather that our mind is formed in likeness to God’s mind. Thus, we have a reason for our reason which is Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe, Earth, and our mind. Indeed the apostle John describes how 'the Word' (Greek word logos, which can also be translated as 'reason') was with God in the beginning, how reason formed all of nature, and how the incarnate Word came to Earth.[4] |
” |
Atheism and irrationality
See also: Atheism and irrationality
A common and legitimate criticism of the atheist worldview is that atheism is irrational (see: Atheism and irrationality).[6] In short, atheism is a fundamentally incoherent worldview with a number of inconsistencies.[7] See also: Atheism and critical thinking
Atheistic worldview cannot account for the laws of logic
See also: Atheism and logic and Transcendental argument for the existence of God
The atheistic worldview cannot account for the laws of logic (See: Atheism and logic).[8]
Atheism and critical thinking
Atheists commonly fail to use critical thinking when it comes to their assumptions and when it comes to various atheistic ideologies (see: Atheism and critical thinking).
For example, many atheists are unfamiliar with the evidence and arguments against atheism and the evidence and arguments for theism/Christianity (See: Rebuttals to atheist arguments and Evidence for Christianity and Arguments for the existence of God).[9]
Irreligion and superstition

See also: Irreligion and superstition
Studies show that the irreligious are more likely to be superstitious than evangelical Christians (see: Irreligion and superstition).[11]
Furthermore, Rodney Stark wrote in his book The Triumph of Faith: Why the World is More Religious Than Ever about secular European countries and atheistic Japan:
“ | 35 percent of the French believe in astrology, 35 percent of the Swiss agree that 'some fortune tellers really can foretell the future'; and nearly everyone in Japan is careful to have a new car blessed by a Shinto priest.[12] | ” |
Atheist worldview cannot explain consciousness
See also: Atheism and consciousness and Argument from consciousness
The atheist worldview cannot explain the existence of consciousness either and the theistic worldview can offer a reasonable explanation.[13]
Advocates of mind uploading (Mind uploading is the notion that someday mankind may be able to scan and upload their minds to computer storage mediums) are generally strong advocates of cryonics as well.[14] Mind uploading is not a feasible hypothesis.[15] See also: Atheism and cryonics
Existence of consciousness
- The Argument from Consciousness for the Existence of God by John Piippo
- Consciousness: One of Atheism's Irresolvable Problems by John Piippo
- Difficulties for Atheism: What is Consciousness
- The enigmatic human brain
- The human brain: The most complex structure in the universe
Atheism and the brain
See also: Atheism and the brain and Atheism and intelligence
Study involving magnetism, brain function and the posterior medial frontal cortex
See also: Causes of atheism and Atheism and logic and Atheism and logical fallacies

The organization American Vision wrote about a University of York study involving magnetism and brain function:
“ | This has to be embarrassing . . . if you’re an atheist. A new study performed at the University of York used targeted magnetism to shut down part of the brain. The result: belief in God disappeared among more than 30 percent of participants.
That in itself may not seem so embarrassing, but consider that the specific part of the brain they frazzled was the posterior medial frontal cortex—the part associated with detecting and solving problems, i.e., reasoning and logic. In other words, when you shut down the part of the brain most associated with logic and reasoning, greater levels of atheism result.[19] |
” |
Religious individuals and thicker cerebral cortices
According to the Journal of the American Medical Association - Psychiatry people who place a high importance of religion in their lives have thicker cerebral cortices and may be better able to fight depression.[20][21] See: Atheism and depression
Thicker cerebral cortices in individuals is positively associated with higher intelligence.[22]
Religiosity and larger frontal lobes
See: Religiosity and larger frontal lobes
See also
External links
- Atheists don’t own reason by Tom Gilson
- Theism, Atheism, and Rationality by Alvin Plantinga
References
- ↑
- C.S. Lewis' argument from reason
- C.S. Lewis and the Argument from Reason by Jay W. Richards, November 25, 2013
- C.S. Lewis and Materialism by John G. West
- C.S. Lewis On The Validity of Reasoning
- C.S. Lewis on Rationality and Materialism
- Naturalism's Hot Water
- ↑
- C.S. Lewis' argument from reason
- C.S. Lewis and the Argument from Reason by Jay W. Richards, November 25, 2013
- C.S. Lewis and Materialism by John G. West
- C.S. Lewis On The Validity of Reasoning
- C.S. Lewis on Rationality and Materialism
- Naturalism's Hot Water
- ↑
- C.S. Lewis' argument from reason
- C.S. Lewis and the Argument from Reason by Jay W. Richards, November 25, 2013
- C.S. Lewis and Materialism by John G. West
- C.S. Lewis On The Validity of Reasoning
- C.S. Lewis on Rationality and Materialism
- Naturalism's Hot Water
- ↑ Reclaiming Reason from Atheism by Katie Galloway, Bethinking.org
- ↑ Atheism by Matt Slick
- Putting the Atheist on the Defensive by Kenneth R. Samples, Christian Research Institute Journal, Fall 1991, and Winter 1992, page 7.
- Atheists don’t own reason by Tom Gilson
- Why the Burden of Proof is on the Atheist by Professor Ralph McInerny
- Theism, Atheism, and Rationality by Alvin Plantinga
- The Irrational atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day, Benbella Books, Dallas, TX, 2008 , ISBN 1933771364; ISBN 978-1933771366
- ↑ Atheism by Matt Slick
- Putting the Atheist on the Defensive by Kenneth R. Samples, Christian Research Institute Journal, Fall 1991, and Winter 1992, page 7.
- Atheists don’t own reason by Tom Gilson
- Why the Burden of Proof is on the Atheist by Professor Ralph McInerny
- Theism, Atheism, and Rationality by Alvin Plantinga
- The Irrational atheist: Dissecting the Unholy Trinity of Dawkins, Harris, and Hitchens by Vox Day, Benbella Books, Dallas, TX, 2008 , ISBN 1933771364; ISBN 978-1933771366
- ↑
- 10 atheist inconsistencies
- William Lane Craig on Scientific Naturalism - video
- Why atheism is inconsistent by Dr. Scott Sullivan (podcast), August 19th, 2014
- The Summit Lecture Series: Scientific Naturalism Worldview with J.P. Moreland, part 1
- The Summit Lecture Series: Scientific Naturalism with J.P. Moreland, part 2
- The Summit Lecture Series: Scientific Naturalism with J.P. Moreland, part 3
- The Summit Lecture Series: Scientific Naturalism Worldview with J.P. Moreland, part 4
- The Incoherence of Atheism - video by Ravi Zacharias
- The incoherence of atheism
- More on inconsistent atheists
- The Atheist's Fatal Flaw: Exposing Conflicting Beliefs by Norman Geisler and Daniel J. McCoy, Baker Publishing Group, June 2014
- ↑
- Atheism: An irrational worldview by Dr. Jason Lisle on October 10, 2007
- The Christian Worldview, the Atheist Worldview, and Logic by Matt Slick
- Can Atheism Coherently Explain the Laws of Logic? by Answers for Hope
- The Great Debate: Does God Exist? (YouTube video) or "The Great Debate: Does God Exist?" - Dr. Greg Bahnsen versus Dr. Gordon Stein - Audio of a formal debate between Christian Greg Bahnsen and skeptic Gordon Stein at the University of California, Irvine.
- ↑ How atheism is being sold in America
- ↑ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html
- ↑ http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178219865054585.html
- ↑ The Triumph of Faith: Why the World is More Religious Than Ever by Rodney Stark, Introduction section of the book
- ↑ The Argument from Consciousness for the Existence of God by John Piippo, 3/20/2012
- Consciousness: One of Atheism's Irresolvable Problems by John Piippo, 4/14/2014
- ↑ Mind uploading - Thought experiments as knowledge
- ↑
- Against Naive Uploadism: Memory, Consciousness, and Synaptic Homeostasis, Seth Weisberg, H+ Magazine, May 6, 2011
- Why Transhumanism Won't Work, The New Atlantis, June 10, 2010
- Will we ever be able to upload our minds to a computer?
- You Might Never Upload Your Brain Into a Computer by George Dvorsky posted at 4/17/13 12:02pm at io9.com
- What's the Likelihood of the Singularity? Part Two: Uploading the Brain by Alex Knapp, Forbes, 6/24/2011
- ↑ The Human Body: God's Masterpiece
- ↑ The Enigmatic Human Brain by Wallace G. Smith
- ↑ The Most Complex Structure, Creation Moments
- ↑ Atheists embarrassed: study proves atheism uses less brain function
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ [3]