Brazilian Pastor, Atheist Debate God's Existence, Evolution
A Brazilian economist and evangelical pastor has been engaging atheists since challenging them to prove scientifically that God does not exist.
This week, Dr. Rubens Teixeira responded to one atheist's video recorded argument that it is essentially futile to provide such proof.
The atheist contended, "Atheists don't see a reason to believe in God and so there is no reason to prove that God does not exist."
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"There is no way to prove the nonexistence of God, just as it is not possible to prove the nonexistence of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny."
Teixeira responded, saying only children debate in such a way.
So far, he says he has not heard any convincing arguments on the atheist side.
In his response, he made note that many people have testified of their experiences with God and to reject that as false is unrealistic.
"If a person says she really had such an experience, then how can a third party say she did or did not have it? There are many people; can we say that they all became crazy?"
He emphasized that people who receive Jesus Christ in their lives are transformed through their faith.
"So how can I say that that person did not get affected in his faith, that God did not do anything in his life?"
The Brazilian pastor also defended Scripture, maintaining that the Bible and science are not contradictory. In fact, the Bible contains rich information related to physics, chemistry, geology and history. Moreover, what science discovered later was already revealed in the Bible, he contended.
For example, it was once a commonly held belief that the Earth was flat. While science later proved that the Earth was round, the Bible had already revealed the concept of a spherical Earth in Isaiah 22, where it says: "God sitteth upon the circle of the earth."
The atheist criticized Teixeira for often making reference to his credentials and education when engaging in debate, as if he was using that to leverage his arguments.
But the evangelical noted that part of the reason he does so is because people tend to insinuate that pastors don't have any academic knowledge or research backing them.
Responding to another criticism that "theology is not science," Teixeira mentioned that creationism is taught at universities in Brazil and in other countries as well.
"The Ministry of Education recognizes theology as a science. So it is at this level of graduation," he said, citing universities such as Pontifical Catholic University and Mackenzie Presbyterian University, which are among the largest universities in Brazil after the public universities.
However, the atheist argued that creationism is not science and that it can't be proven and therefore should not be included in school.
Pushing back, the pastor asserted, "There is no adequate proof that man came from monkey. So, I think we must open up space for debate regarding creationism …"
"Creationism is a conviction with the understanding that God created all things as they are," he explained. "An animal did not become another animal."
"Certainly, evolution has been happening and it is still happening," he confessed, "but I do not believe that one being originated from another … I believe God created man as he is."
In the end, he challenged atheists to continue to debate and investigate whether God exists or not.
"So continue to meditate because Jesus said, 'Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free'" (John 8: 32).
