Do atheists have doubts?

I have just finished reading Surprised by Doubt by Joshua Chatraw and Jack Carson as part of my morning devotions. It is a very good, honest look at how most Christians will struggle with doubts at some time in their lives. The authors draw a lot from the writings of C. S. Lewis and their own experiences of struggling at times to understand God and what He was doing in their lives. Probably most of us have had times in our Christian lives when we thought that "this isn't what I thought being a Christian would be like." At times like those is when doubts can begin to creep in. Certainly, I've had such times in my own life, and I appreciated how the authors addressed those doubts and offered practices to help overcome them.

From that book I began reading Why God Makes Sense in a World that Doesn't by Gavin Ortlund. I'm still in the early pages, but as the author addresses some of the beliefs of the New Atheists the question came to mind as to whether atheists ever doubt their atheism? Over the years I have read a number of apologetical books that do an excellent job of defending Christian beliefs against those offered by atheists. I am not of a philosophical mind so I am amazed at easily these Christian writers tear apart the alternative theories proposed by the New Atheists such as Dawkins, Krauss, Harris and others. I'm also amazed at how shallow those theories are especially as they are being offered by persons with such high academic standing.

So the question came to me: do these individuals ever begin to question that perhaps they are wrong, that God does exist and is the creator of all the universe? With so much evidence to disprove their points, how could they not have doubts? Perhaps they cannot afford to have doubts. After all, their books are selling well, and that would change if they decided that they were wrong and became Christians. Of course, Jesus challenged that way of thinking when He said, "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? (Mt. 16: 26)"

Psalm 111: 10 tells us "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." Being atheists I would assume they have no fear of God, but how can anyone push any possibility of the existence of God out of their minds? Paschal's Wager is that if there is even a 51% possibility that God exists a person would be a fool to reject Him. While the arguments for God cannot absolutely prove the existence of God, they certainly take us well beyond the 51% threshold.

Yes, Christians can have times of doubt in their lives, but most of us will not let those doubts take us away from belief in God. We use those times to grow in our faith and find Christ to be even more real. And, yes atheists can have doubts as well, and sometimes those doubts lead them to faith in Jesus Christ. Among some notable atheists who came to believe in God are Antony Flew, Alister McGrath, Francis Collins and many more.

When you are talking to someone who expresses the belief that there is no God, do not give up on that person. He or she may be struggling with doubts you do not know. If not then, perhaps later. Keep praying for those individuals, keep sharing your faith as opportunities present themselves, and keep believing that God will break through their doubts and lead them to see that Christianity is true.