The Atheist Alliance Convention in the Washington, D.C. area is over. The event was held this past Friday through Sunday, and sold out (with a 600-person waiting list). Speakers included Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion and Christopher Hitchens, whose god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything has seemingly gotten him an interview in every newsmagazine in the world. Sam Harris, author of Letter to a Christian Nation and philosopher Daniel Dennett spoke as well. Each has published books topping recent bestseller lists.

Many of you have asked me to comment on the "aggressive atheism" phenomenon. There was a day when books blaming humanity's problems on organized religion would have been scorned. Now they sell millions of copies. The number of Americans who say they do not believe God exists has doubled in recent years. If someone were to ask you why you believe in God, what would you say?

A church billboard recently caught my eye: "Since I don't believe in atheists, atheists don't exist." Growing up in Houston, Texas, the issue was pretty much that simple for me. Believing in God was like believing in the solar system--it must be there, since everyone says it is. I've never seen my brain, but I hope it exists. I was 26 years old and pastoring my first church when I met the first person who denied the existence of God. I wasn't sure how to respond.

Most people who believe in God are probably where I was. So let's think about the question this week. It would clearly be hard to want a growing relationship with God if you're not sure he exists. It would be difficult to convince others that he exists if you're not convinced yourself. And it would be tough to explain your faith in God if you can't think of good reasons why you believe in him.

We cannot have a real relationship with people who do not exist except in our minds. We can have a dream, or hallucination, or fantasy about them, but we'd be schizophrenic to spend much time worshiping or serving our imaginary friends. This is precisely what atheists claim--that God exists only as a dream, hallucination, or fantasy, a belief which cannot be proven or even defended rationally.

So, what can we say to those who wonder why we believe in the existence of God? What can I say to you or someone you know who's asking that question? Let's begin addressing this crucial challenge tomorrow.

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