It’s true. The Bible actually instructs people on the exact way to test if a god is real. I give you, Isaiah 41:21 – 23:

21 Produce your cause, saith the Lord; bring forth your strong reasons, saith the King of Jacob.

22 Let them bring them forth, and shew us what shall happen: let them shew the former things, what they be, that we may consider them, and know the latter end of them; or declare us things for to come.

23 Shew the things that are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods: yea, do good, or do evil, that we may be dismayed, and behold it together.

To find out if a god is real, you test it and allow the evidence to inform your belief. The Biblical test you are commanded to use is that you see if your god will tell you what’s going to happen in the future. Additionally, your god should also suspend the laws of nature for your test by zapping a good or bad thing into existence.  In a surprising turn of events, the Bible and Christopher Hitchens actually seem to agree!

It seems to get worse for those who believe in a god on faith alone. If you find that your god didn’t give you the lotto numbers, you are an abomination! Isaiah 41:24:

24 Behold, ye are of nothing, and your work of nought: an abomination is he that chooseth you.

So, if your god won’t allow you to test it and you still believe in it, you are an abomination. Wow. I take it back. Maybe the Bible and Hitchens don’t actually agree. Hitchens was never this strident in his condemnation of belief without reason!

I’ve emphasized the word “seems” because the Bible – in an awesome do what I say, not what I do moment – gave one additional test rule that only applies to those who believe in the god Yahweh Elohim:

Luke 4:12 “… Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”¹

As Sam Harris would say, “This is how you play tennis without the net.”²

So, if you believe in Thor on faith alone, you are an abomination because your beliefs should be based in logic and reason and if you don’t believe in Yahweh Elohim because you find no compelling evidence to justify that belief you’re a sinner and a fool; you’re a corrupt, vile evildoer… and a cannibal… who has an anxiety disorder. ³

1.) Jesus is referring to Deuteronomy 6:16 – “Do not put the Lord your God to the test as you did at Massah.”

2.)“Nine million children die every year before reaching the age of five. Imagine the Asian tsunami of 2004 occurring every day, killing only children under five. Think of their parents. Most of them believe in God and are praying for their children. Their prayers will not be answered. According to Dr Craig, this is part of God’s plan. Most of these, Craig believes, are going to hell through no fault of their own, being born into the wrong culture. There are 1.2 billion in India who, according to Dr Craig, are doomed no matter how good they are, and will be tortured in hell for eternity. So God created the cultural isolation of the Hindus, and created the penalty for this ignorance, eternal conscious torment in fire. On the other hand, a run of the mill serial killer who rapes and kills children, need only come to Jesus on death row, and he will spend eternity in heaven. This vision of life has absolutely nothing to do with moral accountability. We’re told that God is loving and kind and just etc, but when people point out that God visits suffering on innocent people, we’re told that God is mysterious. This is how you play tennis without the net.”

 3.) Psalm 14:1 – 4 – 6 “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. ² The Lord looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. ³ All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. ⁴ Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on the Lord. ⁵ But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. ⁶ You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge.”