“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” – Psalm 19:1
God is central to discussions about existence, morality, and meaning, yet some atheists misunderstand or misrepresent His nature and attributes. Below are 15 common misconceptions about God and why these errors fail to undermine theism.
1. God is a Human Invention
Critics often claim that God is merely a product of human imagination, invented to explain natural phenomena. However, this argument overlooks the historical and philosophical depth of theistic belief.
C.S. Lewis argued, “If a man’s craving for God were merely wish-fulfillment, it is odd that it often produces something quite other than satisfaction.”¹ Belief in God transcends cultural boundaries, appearing independently across civilizations, suggesting it is more than a psychological construct.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “God was invented to explain what ancient people didn’t understand.”
- Response: While ancient cultures attributed natural events to divine action, belief in God extends beyond gaps in knowledge, addressing questions of meaning, purpose, and morality.
¹ C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain (New York: HarperOne, 1940).
2. God is Just a ‘Sky Daddy’
Some atheists reduce God to an anthropomorphic caricature, often dismissing Him as a “sky daddy.” This misrepresentation ignores the nuanced theological understanding of God as infinite, transcendent, and personal.
Philosopher Alvin Plantinga explains, “God is not a ‘person’ in the sense of being a finite human but is a personal being with intellect, will, and relational capacity.”²
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “The idea of God is just an outdated anthropomorphism.”
- Response: Classical theism describes God as the ultimate ground of being, far beyond any human-like depiction.
² Alvin Plantinga, Warranted Christian Belief (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).
3. God is a Moral Monster
Some atheists argue that the God of the Bible is cruel and unjust, pointing to events like the conquest of Canaan. However, these critiques often fail to consider the context of divine justice and human sin.
Paul Copan writes, “God’s judgments in the Old Testament must be understood within the broader narrative of His redemptive purposes.”³ The biblical God balances justice with mercy, offering opportunities for repentance (Jonah 3).
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “The God of the Bible commands genocide and endorses immorality.”
- Response: Biblical accounts of divine judgment are specific, purposeful, and tied to eradicating systemic evil, not arbitrary acts of violence.
³ Paul Copan, Is God a Moral Monster? (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011).
4. God is an Unnecessary Hypothesis
Some claim that God is unnecessary because natural processes can explain the universe. However, this view conflates secondary causes (natural laws) with primary causes (ultimate origins).
Philosopher Richard Swinburne argues, “God provides the simplest and most comprehensive explanation for why there is something rather than nothing.”⁴ Natural laws require an explanation for their existence, pointing to a transcendent cause.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “Science eliminates the need for God.”
- Response: Science explains how processes work within the universe but cannot explain why the universe exists or why its laws are finely tuned for life.
⁴ Richard Swinburne, The Existence of God (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 2004).
5. God is Limited by Time and Space
Atheists sometimes argue that God cannot exist because He would need a location or origin. This misunderstanding overlooks the classical theistic view of God as eternal and omnipresent.
Psalm 90:2 declares, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.” God transcends time and space, existing necessarily and without cause.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “If God exists, where is He?”
- Response: God is not bound by physical dimensions. As the Creator, He exists beyond the limitations of space and time.
6. God is Just a Projection of Human Morality
Some atheists claim that God reflects human morality rather than shaping it. However, this fails to explain why moral principles are universal and objective.
Alister McGrath writes, “God is not merely a projection of our ideals but the source of moral truth that transcends human subjectivity.”⁵
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “Morality evolved; God wasn’t needed to create it.”
- Response: Evolutionary theories of morality cannot account for objective moral values and duties, which point to a transcendent source.
⁵ Alister McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism (New York: Doubleday, 2004).
7. God Cannot Be Good if Evil Exists
Atheists often argue that the existence of evil disproves an all-good, all-powerful God. However, this critique presupposes a standard of goodness, which atheism cannot account for.
C.S. Lewis observed, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line.”⁶
The Bible acknowledges the reality of evil while pointing to God’s ultimate justice and redemption (Romans 8:28).
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “An all-good God would eliminate evil.”
- Response: God allows evil temporarily to achieve greater goods, such as free will, moral growth, and the ultimate restoration of creation (Revelation 21:4).
⁶ C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperOne, 1952).
8. Prayer is Pointless if God is Omniscient
Critics argue that if God knows everything, including the future, prayer is meaningless. However, this misunderstands the relational purpose of prayer.
Tim Keller writes, “Prayer is not so much about changing God’s mind as it is about changing our hearts and aligning them with His will.”⁷ Scripture encourages believers to pray (Philippians 4:6) because it fosters dependence on God and communion with Him.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “If God already knows what will happen, prayer changes nothing.”
- Response: Prayer is both relational and instrumental. While God’s knowledge is perfect, He invites believers to participate in His plans through prayer.
⁷ Timothy Keller, Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God (New York: Penguin Books, 2014).
9. God’s Omnipotence Means He Can Do Anything, Even the Illogical
Some atheists misunderstand omnipotence, claiming that if God cannot create a rock so heavy He cannot lift it, He is not omnipotent. However, omnipotence does not mean God can do the logically impossible.
Philosopher Norman Geisler clarifies, “Omnipotence means God can do all things that are possible, not things that are self-contradictory.”⁸ For example, God cannot create a square circle because such a thing is inherently nonsensical.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “If God can’t do everything, He’s not omnipotent.”
- Response: Omnipotence means God can do all that is logically possible and consistent with His nature, such as creating and sustaining the universe.
⁸ Norman Geisler, Systematic Theology, Volume 2: God, Creation (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2003).
10. God’s Omniscience Eliminates Free Will
Some critics argue that if God knows the future, humans cannot have free will. This misunderstands the relationship between foreknowledge and human choice.
Philosopher William Lane Craig explains, “God’s knowledge of the future is like an infallible barometer. It doesn’t cause the weather; it simply reflects it.”⁹ God’s omniscience includes knowing what free creatures will freely choose.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “If God knows my choices, I can’t be free to choose.”
- Response: God’s foreknowledge does not determine your choices; it simply observes them from an eternal perspective.
⁹ William Lane Craig, The Only Wise God: The Compatibility of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Freedom (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1987).
11. God is Just an Impersonal Force
Some atheists reject the idea of a personal God, arguing instead for an impersonal force or principle behind the universe. However, the Bible reveals God as personal, relational, and loving.
John 3:16 declares, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son.” Unlike impersonal forces, God engages with humanity, revealing Himself through Scripture, creation, and ultimately, Jesus Christ.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “If God exists, He’s more like a force of nature than a personal being.”
- Response: The evidence of design, moral law, and personal interaction in history points to a God who is not only powerful but relational.
12. God is Not Necessary for Meaning or Purpose
Atheists often claim that life can have meaning and purpose without God. However, without an ultimate source of value, purpose becomes entirely subjective.
Philosopher William Lane Craig notes, “If there is no God, then man’s life becomes absurd. It means that life is without ultimate significance, value, or purpose.”¹⁰ Theism provides a transcendent foundation for purpose that atheism cannot.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “We can create our own meaning without God.”
- Response: Self-constructed meaning lacks ultimate significance. Theism offers a purpose that transcends individual existence and connects to eternal truths.
¹⁰ William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith: Christian Truth and Apologetics (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008).
13. Belief in God is Based on Fear, Not Evidence
Some atheists argue that belief in God is rooted in fear of the unknown or death, rather than rational evidence. This claim ignores the wealth of philosophical, historical, and experiential reasons people believe in God.
Blaise Pascal remarked, “The heart has its reasons of which reason knows nothing… It is the heart that experiences God, and not the reason.”¹¹ Faith is often a response to evidence, not a retreat from it.
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “People believe in God because they’re afraid of death.”
- Response: While belief in God offers hope, it is also grounded in rational arguments, historical evidence for the resurrection, and personal experiences of transformation.
¹¹ Blaise Pascal, Pensées.
14. God is Irrelevant in a Secular Age
Critics often claim that belief in God is no longer relevant in modern, secular societies. However, the persistence of religious faith worldwide demonstrates its enduring significance.
Alister McGrath writes, “Atheism has failed to explain the persistence of belief in God, which continues to shape cultures and inspire personal transformation.”¹²
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “Religion is outdated in an age of science and reason.”
- Response: Far from being outdated, belief in God addresses questions of morality, meaning, and existence that secularism often leaves unanswered.
¹² Alister McGrath, The Twilight of Atheism (New York: Doubleday, 2004).
15. God is a God of Gaps
Some atheists accuse theists of invoking God to explain what science has not yet discovered. However, theistic arguments like the cosmological and moral arguments are not based on gaps in knowledge but on positive evidence for God.
Philosopher John Lennox states, “The God of the Bible is not a God of the gaps, but the Creator of the whole show—who sustains the universe and provides the reason why there is something rather than nothing.”¹³
Anticipating Objection:
- Objection: “Theism only thrives in areas science hasn’t yet explained.”
- Response: Theism is not about filling gaps but providing the ultimate explanation for existence, morality, and purpose.
¹³ John Lennox, God’s Undertaker: Has Science Buried God? (Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2009).
A Final Challenge to Misunderstandings About God
Misconceptions about God often arise from caricatures or incomplete understandings of His nature. Yet, the classical theistic view of God as the ultimate foundation of existence, morality, and meaning remains intellectually robust and deeply satisfying. Could it be that the God some atheists reject is not the true God but a distortion? If so, the challenge is not just to reconsider His existence but to explore His true character.
Tom's Theology Blog 
Leave a comment