Wrong Ideas Concerning God

I.                 Atheism

a. This theory denies the existence of God

b.                        Atheism finds its roots in a person’s ethics

c. An individual may become an atheist because of:

                                                           i.      Another individual

                                                       ii.      He/She wants to free themselves of God’s sanctions on their life which attempt to make them holy

d.                        Atheism is a negative outlook that puts man in bondage to his/her passions

e.Theoretical atheism consists of those who openly profess that there is no God

f.   Practical atheism consists of those who live and speak as if there is no God

                                                           i.      Deliberately excludes God from all aspects of his conscious behavior and thinking

                                                       ii.      This person may use hypocrisy and immoral behavior of religious people as an argument

g. Virtual atheism has the spiritual, moral, and theological outcomes of atheism but supposes something began all of this (IE Cosmic energy, ultimate cause, universal intelligence).

II.            Agnosticism

a. This theory denies the possibility of knowing whether or not there is a God.

b.                        It is a religion of doubt.

c. It states that our most lofty insights are relative and personal.

d.                        This person determines “I will not believe.”

e.It lacks any comfort or solace for the human mind.

f.   It closes its mind to information and contemplation.

III.        Pantheism

a. This theory states that God is not a personality but that all laws, forces, manifestations, etc. of the self-existing universe constitute God.

b.                        God is everything and everything is God.

c. Everything in nature is part or manifestations of God (IE birds, trees, the earth, the sun, animals, etc.).

d.                        It dethrones the conscience, nullifies moral law, and destroys all moral standards.

e.It states that all things of all types that exist in the universe are in some way aspects or manifestations of deity.

f.   It denies the personality of god and all divine moral standards.

IV.       Polytheism

a. Is the belief in or worship of many gods.

b.                        It is the practice of certain non-Christian religions.

c. Certain things are set up as gods (IE birds, fish, the sun, moon, and etc.)

d.                        The deities of polytheism are often local and limited without world relationships.

e.This is usually the religion of primitive cultures.

V.           Dualism

a. This is the belief in two co-existent, equal, eternal forces, or principles, good and evil.

b.                        These two are then at constant war with each other.

c. They argue that god (good) is finite and evil and must exist outside of his capabilities or he would defeat it.

d.                        Some may not profess dualism but they can be known by their statement, “You have to sin a little every day.”

VI.       Deism

a.  This is the belief that the universe is a self-sustained mechanism from which God withdrew as soon as he created it.

b.                        It portrays an absentee god sitting idle ever since the first Sabbath.

c. They deny revelation, miracles, and providence.

VII.   Skepticism and Infidelity

a. This the doubt or disbelief in the existence of God, especially rejecting the idea of any divine revelation

b.                        Skepticism denies the possibility of human knowledge of truth.

c. To a degree, it questions the belief in anything.

VIII.           Materialism

a. This is the belief that the universe constitutes all the God there is.

b.                        It is another form of atheism

c. Naturalism states that the scientific method is the only reliable means to explain nature.

IX.        Monotheism

X.            The belief in one God, Who is Ruler, Creator, and Sustainer.