our sceptical present day society there are many who regard religion as untrue and irrelevant. The wise are right to see religion as false because it is an attempt to reach God or god(s) using man made ideas and efforts. If there is a God or god, by definition this being could only be known to the extent that They wish to reveal Themself.
Blaise Pascal said, “Men never commit evil so fully and joyfully as when they do it for religious convictions”. This has been true in many instances from the Crusades and the Spanish Inquisition to Oliver Cromwell. Jesus gave a very simple test: “by their fruits you will know them” and “a good tree will not bear bad fruits”. The chief fruit for a true believer is love and there is no way that these and similar hateful (ie love-less) acts could be called love. People have used religion as leverage for their own evil agendas.
Epicurus (341–270 B.C.) had a classic and very challenging argument for the non-existence of God: “Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?”
This reasoning by Epicurus is very compelling. His logic is impeccable. He clearly believes unequivocally that there is no God and sets to prove his belief. Is this rational though? It is not rational if there is reasonable doubt. We only have to look around at the world with an open mind to have reasonable doubt. Romans 1 verse 20 says, “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are
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