I’ve heard plenty of arguments for atheism over the years—some thoughtful, some clever, and some… well, let’s just say I used to rattle off the worst of them back when I was an angsty 17-year-old agnostic.

Today I want to look at 7 terrible arguments for atheism—the kind that sound good at first but fall apart when you give them more than five seconds of thought.

1. "Who created God?"

This question misunderstands what Christians (and classical theists) mean by “God.” God, by definition, is uncaused—the necessary, self-existent being who causes everything else. Asking “Who created God?” is like asking “What’s north of the North Pole?” or “If your brother is a bachelor, what’s his wife’s name?” It’s a category mistake. The question only makes sense if God were a contingent being—just one more thing in the universe that needed a cause. But He isn’t. He’s the reason anything exists at all.

2. "I just believe in one less god than you."

This is clever-sounding but logically shallow. The difference between atheism and theism isn’t about the number of gods one believes in—it’s about the kind of being we’re talking about. Christians reject all finite, tribal, man-made gods too. The Christian claim is not that God is just one more being among many, but that God is Being Itself—the necessary, uncaused source of all reality. Saying, “I just believe in one less god than you,” is like saying, “I contend we’re both bachelors—I just have one less wife.” The difference between one and none isn’t minor—it’s everything. Atheism isn’t a slight variation on theism; it’s a rejection of the entire foundation of existence.

3. "Science has disproven God."

Last night I had the honor of interviewing Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, the Provincial Superior of the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception—the order entrusted with promoting the Divine Mercy message. During our conversation, he directed me to a powerful entry in the Divine Mercy Diary where Our Lord gives St. Faustina direct and practical guidance for spiritual warfare.

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The following 25 aphorisms are drawn from that revelation, recorded in entry 1760 of Diary: Divine Mercy in My Soul. Jesus begins, “My daughter, I want to teach you about spiritual warfare,” and proceeds to offer clear, concrete instructions—commands, warnings, and consolations—meant to strengthen her soul for battle. These words, though given to St. Faustina, speak to all who seek holiness in the midst of trial.

1. Never trust in yourself, but abandon yourself totally to My will.

2. In desolation, darkness, and various doubts, have recourse to Me and to your spiritual director.

3. He will always answer you in My name.

4. Do not bargain with any temptation; lock yourself immediately in My Heart.

5. At the first opportunity, reveal the temptation to the confessor.

6. Put your self-love in the last place, so that it does not taint your deeds.

7. Bear with yourself with great patience.

8. Do not neglect interior mortifications.

9. Always justify to yourself the opinions of your superiors and of your confessor.

10. Shun murmurers like a plague.

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In our age of constant productivity and distraction, it is easy to view recreation as either a waste of time or a shallow indulgence. We swing between overwork and habits that numb us—doomscrolling, binge-watching, or consuming endless content that leaves us more exhausted than refreshed. But for St. Thomas Aquinas, leisure—when rightly ordered—is not only necessary; it is virtuous. In the Summa Theologiae, Aquinas dedicates thoughtful attention to the role of play in the moral life and argues that, far from being opposed to holiness, appropriate recreation supports it.

He begins by drawing an analogy between the needs of the body and the needs of the soul. Just as the body, being finite, requires rest after labor, so too does the soul require a kind of rest after the efforts of rational activity.

“Just as man needs bodily rest for the body's refreshment, because he cannot always be at work… so too is it with his soul, whose power is also finite and equal to a fixed amount of work.”