Oxford professor, John Lennox, one of our time’s greatest Christian defenders, argues that precisely because there is evil in this world, we should strive to avoid it and choose that which is good.
Evils committed in the name of God does not negate God’s greatness as they represent the opposite of everything that God is.
John Lennox explains GOD: The debate between Christopher Hitchens, an atheist known for his critique of religion, and John Lennox, an Oxford mathematician and Christian apologist is worth watching. The debate centres on whether God is truly great, exploring themes of belief, scepticism, science, and faith.
What follows is a masterful exchange between emotion and intellect, belief and scepticism. But in the end, Lennox delivers a closing so powerful that the entire audience erupts in applause.
Professor Lennox adds that one of the most particular elements that has made Christianity the world’s largest religion with over 2 billion followers, while atheism still only has approximately 2 % followers of world population, is that belief in Christ brings a remarkable positive transformation, an inner peace that makes you feel an euphoria of deep joy when praying and an inner state of bliss that may be described as the closest to paradise we may come in this world.
Lennox draws a clear line between the God’s goodness and greatness and the evil misuse of religion by humans. He compares this to the misuse of science, where the brilliance of scientific discovery does not justify condemning science itself when it is used destructively. Lennox emphasizes that science cannot address questions like “Why are we here?” or “What is the meaning of life?” which remain in the domain of philosophy and theology.
While Hitchens voices scepticism, negativity and doubt, Lennox offers a reasoned, hopeful vision of a personal and loving God.
John Lennox explains GOD: Hitchens challenges the notion of a benevolent and competent creator by highlighting the immense suffering and extinction observed throughout earth’s history. He points out that 99.9% of species have died, often painfully, and for tens of thousands of years, humans endured extreme hardship—disease, violence, and fear—without any apparent divine intervention.
He questions the logic of a God who allows such suffering and then supposedly intervenes in ways he finds implausible, such as through the crucifixion of Jesus or the claims of religious figures in obscure locations.
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John Lennox explains GOD: Lennox argues that science and belief in God address different questions: science explains how the universe works, but it does not explain why the universe exists at all.
He emphasizes that many foundational scientists, including Newton and Maxwell, were motivated by their belief in a divine lawgiver. The idea that scientific progress diminishes God’s role is portrayed as a misunderstanding of the relationship between mechanism and agency.
Lennox points out the irony that atheists often criticize faith while themselves relying on faith – or belief without scientific evidence – in reason, science, and their cognitive faculties. When an atheist proports that it is nonsense that God exists, he relies on faith just as much as any religious person.
The atheist has not visited space nor outside of the scope of the universe in order to confirm that God is not out there. He simply cannot prove scientifically that there is no God, but relies on his personal beliefs, thinking that there is no God outside of the universe.
He asserts that faith is indispensable for scientific inquiry because it assumes the universe is intelligible and that human minds can grasp truth. Science, while powerful, cannot answer existential questions about purpose, morality, or aesthetics.
Lennox argues that atheism, by relying solely on science, defined as the academic discipline that examines the tangible-material world through hypothesis, this science diminishes human dignity and freedom, presenting a bleak worldview of purposeless existence governed by blind forces.
Beyond creation, Lennox highlights God’s grace and love, particularly through the incarnation of Jesus Christ. He presents Christ’s life, teachings, and sacrificial death as the ultimate demonstration of God’s greatness, addressing the moral separation between humans and God. The Biblical documentation of what happened when Jesus was alive constitutes a number of books that are first hand sources from the time period, that documents, describes and illustrates how Jesus lived.
The Bible is constituted of a number of historical books that are thousands of years old that confirm these stories from a variety of angles, proof of how Jesus lived and how he died. Since atheists simply discard the historical documents of the Bible, and claim these are not correct, they demonstrate blind faith since none are able to scientifically prove that the historical documents of the Bible are not the true stories of, for example, the life of Jesus.
None of these atheists have any shred of proof that the stories about Jesus are not true. Atheists simply believe through blind faith, and with no corresponding scientific proof, that the Bible is not a correct, historical document.
John Lennox explains GOD: Professor Lennox adds that one of the most particular elements that has made Christianity the world’s largest religion with over 2 billion followers, while atheism still only has approximately 2 % followers of world population, is that belief in Christ brings a remarkable positive transformation, an inner peace that makes you feel an euphoria of deep joy when praying and an inner state of bliss that may be described as the closest to paradise we may come in this world.
The belief in Christ also brings a tangible, immensely uplifting hope for tomorrow and hope for eternity, all of which atheism and its nihilist, pessimistic worldview completely lacks. While some mysteries, like Jesus’ resurrection, cannot be fully explained scientifically, as science is only able to prove elements in the tangible world, these are experienced through faith, offering transcendent purpose and meaning.
Suffering and evil in the world must be understood as a consequence of the presence of evil and the devils, it does not disprove a benevolent creator. Precisely God’s choice to send his own son Jesus into the world, is a compelling evidence of his goodness in the attempt to redeem the world to him and relieve the world from the grip of evil.
The misuse of religion by humans does not reflect on the God’s nature itself, but rather illustrates how the fallen man turns to evil rather than the benevolent God.
Scientific explanation of natural phenomena does not eliminate the need for a Creator, it explains how God created and the natural laws by which He did it. It can increase wonder and admiration for the design and order in the universe. Scientific pursuit depends on faith in the intelligibility of the universe and the reliability of human cognition. Atheism’s rejection of faith is self-contradictory because it relies on similar assumptions.
Without God, humans are reduced to products of accidental, mindless processes, undermining notions of freedom, purpose, and moral responsibility. The deep cultural depression and feeling of meaninglessness that now permeate the atheist West, is a reflection of the hopelessness that atheism creates. Chained to the material world as it only acknowledges reality as that which is seen by the human eye, atheism completely fails to explain that is beyond the material world.
Scientific materialism is the natural result of an atheist worldview, and materialism is not able to satisfy the innermost beings of the human soul. We are spiritual beings, and the heart needs spiritual solutions. Christianity explains that only through the connection to God, which happens as the human directs his internal thoughts directly towards the Creator – called prayer – are humans able to receive the inner peace so detrimental to our mental being.
Questions about meaning, morality, and hope are beyond science but are addressed within the Christian framework, particularly through the person and work of Jesus Christ. Science cannot address questions like “Why are we here?” or “What is the meaning of life?” which remain in the domain of philosophy and theology, and outside of the materialistic examinations and empirical studies of science. The connection to the Creator God becomes a lasting source of hope, meaning of life and the meaning of death, and moral grounding in contrast to the doubt, hopelessness and existential uncertainty expressed by atheism.
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