🧠 To My Atheist Friends: A Reasoned Case for Faith – Part Two

💥 From Nothing… and It Exploded?

In the beginning was nothing. And it exploded.

That’s the atheist’s starting point. Picture it — a vast, endless void, a bucket filled with “nothing,” and then — boom! — everything we see today simply sprang into existence. The atheist narrative insists that this explosion of “nothing” became everything: the planets, the galaxies, the solar systems, the Earth with its mountains and oceans, its intricate ecosystems, and ultimately, life itself — plant life, animal life, and human life — all supposedly emerging without design, without purpose, without a Creator.

Seriously? You want me to believe that everything that ever was, is, or will be is the accidental byproduct of a naturalistic process over billions of years — a cosmic roll of the dice? That the breathtaking order and complexity all around us somehow self-assembled from… nothing?

If you’re curious, just look at the image of the old man laughing at an empty bucket. It perfectly captures the atheist claim in one hilarious snapshot. Because, honestly, here’s what atheism boils down to:

“In the beginning, there was nothing. And nothing happened to nothing. Then, somehow, for no reason whatsoever, nothing magically exploded — creating everything. And after that, this bunch of everything magically rearranged itself, again for no reason whatsoever, into self-replicating bits, which then turned into dinosaurs, plants, animals, and eventually, humans.”

Makes perfect sense… if you forget to bring reason along.

The truth is, no matter how loud or bright the explosion, if you start with nothing, you still have nothing. The atheist story asks us to accept miracles without a miracle worker, design without a designer, order without an organizer.

This is the irony of the atheist worldview — it demands belief in the impossible while dismissing the only reasonable explanation: a purposeful Creator who spoke all things into existence.

🛵The Vespa in the Desert

Let’s use a little common sense for a moment. Imagine you’re trudging across the endless Sahara Desert, the scorching sun beating down on you, the sand stretching out in every direction. Suddenly, you stumble upon a bright red Piaggio Vespa scooter, gleaming as if just parked.

Would you seriously believe that centuries of wind, sandstorms, and erosion somehow sculpted that scooter out of the desert itself? Not a chance! Your mind instantly jumps to design. That scooter’s sleek frame, the curves of its body, the precise mechanics—none of it could possibly be the result of random chance. It screams designer.

This is the same logic that applies when we look at the universe. The more intricate the design, the more extraordinary the designer must be. The universe is the most extraordinary design imaginable: finely tuned constants that allow stars to burn, planets to orbit, and life to flourish; vast galaxies arranged in patterns that defy randomness; and our own Earth, perfectly positioned to sustain the delicate balance of life.

Even the simplest lifeforms are staggeringly complex. Take the human brain, for instance — a network of roughly 86 billion neurons, capable of processing and storing information far beyond what our most advanced supercomputers can match. It’s a masterpiece of design and engineering, with adaptability and complexity that defy naturalistic explanation. The idea that such intricacy happened by accident is simply absurd.

As the old saying goes, “A watch implies a watchmaker.” The universe itself shouts the same truth: behind this magnificent, orderly cosmos is a wise, powerful Creator. The psalmist wrote it centuries ago, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Psalm 19:1).

So when someone tries to convince you that this all came about by blind chance — remember the Vespa in the desert. Design demands a Designer. The cosmos demands a Creator. And nothing less than God fits the bill.

📚 The Experts Speak

For all the talk about “settled science” and “no need for God,” some of the most accomplished scientific minds have admitted what’s obvious to anyone willing to think it through—life is far too complex, precise, and fine-tuned to have sprung up by blind accident.

💬 “The statistical probability that organic structures and the most precisely harmonized reactions that typify living organisms would be generated by accident, is zero.”
— Ilya Prigogine, chemist-physicist, recipient of two Nobel Prizes in chemistry

Zero doesn’t mean “unlikely.” It means no chance. Life did not—and could not—happen by accident.

💬 “An honest man, armed with all the knowledge available to us now, could only state that in some sense, the origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.”
— Professor Francis Crick, awarded the Nobel Prize for the discovery of DNA

A miracle. And who performs miracles? Only God.

💬 “If the universe has a purpose or meaning, this must be reflected in its structure and functioning, and hence in science.”
— Charles H. Townes, Nobel Prize in Physics, Christian scientist

Purpose is woven into the very laws and constants of the universe—gravity, electromagnetism, atomic structure—so perfectly calibrated that even slight variations would make life impossible. This is not random chance; it is intentional craftsmanship.

And long before these Nobel laureates spoke, Scripture had already given the verdict:

📖 “For 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 people are without excuse.”
— Romans 1:20

Probability rejects chance. Reason demands design. And the heavens themselves proclaim the glory of their Creator.

Despite the overwhelming evidence from both science and Scripture, the question remains: how does this truth impact real lives? It’s one thing to acknowledge God’s hand in creation intellectually, but quite another to experience His transformative power personally. This reality became clear to me during my years working in the steel mill, where I witnessed firsthand how reasoned faith meets everyday struggles. There, among sparks flying from molten steel and the hum of the electric arc furnace, I saw God’s truth come alive—not just in scientific facts but in changed hearts and lives. My friend Larry, a humble and devoted Christian, and Dr. Dave, a brilliant atheist and scientist, embodied this collision of ideas and faith. Their story reminds us that faith isn’t merely about proving God exists; it’s about encountering Him in the midst of life’s heat and pressure. 

⚙️ Doctor Dave and the Electric Arc Furnace

Many years ago, I worked on the electric arc furnaces at a steel mill. Our crew was tasked by the Research and Development Department to run trial melts of new steel grades—combining steel and other alloys to create improved products for our customers. A man we simply called Dr. Dave, from Research and Development, would direct these trials. Dr. Dave held a doctorate in metallurgy; he was a scientist who studied metals—and he was also an atheist.

When I learned Dr. Dave would be with us for about a week, I was excited. As a Christian and an amateur apologist, I enjoyed our debates. I liked Dr. Dave—he was a good conversationalist, respectful, and smart. To prepare, I bought a book titled Defeating Darwinism and brushed up on my arguments. I worked alongside another Christian, whom I’ll call Larry. Larry was a wonderful man—a deeply committed Christian with a humble spirit, a deacon in his church. We were close friends and often prayed together.

When Dr. Dave arrived, I opened a discussion about Darwinism. Dr. Dave was sharp; he shared his opinions, and I responded with points I’d learned from the book. Every argument he made, I had a rebuttal—though I admit, I frequently referred to my book without letting on. After about four days of debates, however, we were no closer to convincing Dr. Dave that God exists, much less leading him to Christ.