Do you think that education is the solution? In other words, would people agree with your view if they just had more knowledge? Is the problem basically one of ignorance?

Atheist View

The Atheist Perspective

Yes. Ignorance is the problem. For most people. A few people are simply insane. No amount of knowledge will convince them to believe anything other than what they have deluded themselves into believing. They need psychological treatment before they can escape their delusion. But most people will believe what's true if they have enough information.

The required information comes in two respects: people must not only have more information, they must know how to reason from that information coherently (without fallacies or errors of thought). The latter is itself a body of information, namely information on how to reason coherently, how to prevent or detect and correct errors of thought, and why. It comes in the form of studying logic, psychology, and empirical method.

The human mind is actually built erroneously, it errs in a number of well-documented ways, which we can explain as byproducts of a blind process of evolution, but which we still must overcome by learning and developing the skills necessary to catch those errors and avoid or overcome them. Once we've done that, then we can start gathering more and more information (from science, history, and personal experience) to test the claims of different worldviews, and then, armed with those skills for avoiding error, we will be able to discern which worldview is most probably true.

The end result of this process will be the discovery that only atheistic naturalism has any credible probability of being true.

The Fallacy Files

Atheist view Christian view

Christian View

The Christian Perspective


Education is not the solution because ignorance is not the problem. Sin is the problem; pride, selfishness, self-centeredness, self-glorification, and the like are what lead people to reject the God who made them. Rejection of God's commands leads to a world of pain, famine, disease, war, and ultimately death.

Learning more facts will never solve the problem of "I want", or the problem of "Me, me, me". The only hope for permanent change in the area of human sin and selfishness is the work of God on the individual's heart.

The Bible makes it clear that everyone already knows that God exists (Romans 1:20; Psalm 14:1), that we ought to obey Him (Acts 17:30; Romans 1:32, 2:15), that we don't obey Him (Romans 3:23; Galatians 3:22), and that this is a problem for us (Genesis 3:14-19; Romans 6:23). It is further fairly self-evident that God Himself is the only possible solution to the problem.

So if we all know all this stuff already, why isn't everyone turning to Him? Why isn't everyone relying on Him and Him alone? Why hasn't everyone become a Christian?


We don't want to.

We prefer our own self-indulgent sin over the indisputable facts (Romans 1:18, 1:25).

Look at almost any infant... infants know that stealing is wrong -- just try taking something from them and listen as they scream bloody murder. They know stealing is wrong, but they won't complain if they are the ones who benefit.

Sin is the problem. Not stupidity.

But there is a solution! The God who made us does change hearts (Ezekiel 36:26; Deuteronomy 30:6). He regenerates people (Titus 3:5; Romans 6:6). He makes us born-again (John 3:3, 3:7; 1 Peter 1:3, 1:23).

If you yourself want God's regenerating power in your life, He has promised each of us that if we trust Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Christ's work in His substitutionary life and death in our place, we can be forgiven for our sins and given the undeserved gift of everlasting life (Matthew 10:32; John 3:16-17, 14:6; Romans 6:23, 8:11, 10:9-10, 10:13; Acts 16:31).

As created beings, you and I owe our lives to our Creator. But we don't give Him His due. This means we are in debt. Christ, because He is the Son of God, is eternal and uncreated. Because of this, He doesn't owe His life to anyone! However, He has offered His life to our Creator, His Father (Revelation 4:11), to pay our debt, in our place, as our substitute!

Education is not the solution.

Trusting Christ is.

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