Atheism thrives on a small god

Originally posted on December 12, 2025 – by Andre Piet

One of the key themes of the message on GoedBericht.nl is that everything begins with the acknowledgment of “God as God” (Romans 1:21). Where this is abandoned, thinking inevitably goes astray. For if God truly is God, then He is all-knowing: nothing ever takes Him by surprise. Then He is also almighty: nothing hinders Him from achieving what He has purposed. If that foundation disappears, what remains is merely a little god who resembles man: limited in knowledge, dependent in power, and with good intentions that often fail. It is exactly this image that has become dominant within Christendom. And it is that caricature which atheists target.

how Christians supply atheists with ammunition

Atheists, then, are not primarily people who deny the one true GOD, but rather people who cannot believe in the god-image that has been presented to them. Ironically, they often share the same assumptions as many Christians: a god who wants but cannot, or a god who can but apparently does not want to. And thus, the world remains unaware of the GOD who reveals Himself in Scripture: the One “Who is operating all in accord with the counsel of His will” (Ephesians 1:11). Who is also “the happy God” (1 Tim. 1:11), because everything He intends, succeeds.

On one of the posters on an atheist platform, the question is posed:

How can an all-knowing God create a being whom He already knew would become His adversary?

The poster suggests a dilemma: either God didn’t know that this creature (Satan) would become an adversary — in which case He is not all-knowing, or He did know — in which case He deliberately created a failure.

I fully understand why this question feels pressing. But the problem does not lie in the question itself — the problem lies in the underlying concept of God. For Scripture never teaches that the role of the adversary was a failure. On the contrary: everything God makes serves a purpose.

YHWH has made everything for its own pertinent end,
Even the wicked for the day of evil.
— Proverbs 16:4

This verse is revolutionary in its simplicity. Evil in the world is not a glitch in the system, but a feature of the design. God did not acquire an adversary against His will; He made an adversary because He needs him — not as a competitor but as an instrument.

Evil, sin, suffering, and death form the dark backdrop against which God’s glory, love, and salvation become visible. The presence of evil does not point to a failing god, but to a GOD whose work is not yet finished. Just as an alchemist transforms base matter into pure gold, so He turns evil into good. Where Christendom has kept silent about this elementary truth, it has handed atheists the ammunition to discredit God.

Another poster posed the question:

When God placed the Tree of Knowledge in the centre of the garden, did He know what would happen?
If He did, He set us up for failure.
If He didn’t, He is not all-knowing.

Again, the same dilemma appears — rooted in the same misunderstanding: that God’s intention was for man to remain in innocence. But that is never stated anywhere. Scripture, in fact, shows that the eating of the fruit was no surprise, but a step in a larger plan.

Paul writes:

For God locks up all together in stubbornness, that He should be merciful to all.
— Romans 11:32

Disobedience is not disconnected from God’s purpose — it is part of it. Humanity was not “set up for failure,” but placed on a path that is necessary in order to come to the knowledge of both good and evil — and thereby to the knowledge of God Himself. The evangel reveals that the way to life runs through death, and that salvation is only truly salvation when there is something to be saved from.

God knew exactly what would happen in the garden. Not because He merely foresaw the outcome, but because He determines the outcome. His plan does not fail — it unfolds.

the real issue…

The atheist posters ask good questions — questions that deserve honest answers. But the answer is not to be found in defending a little god who is a victim of his own creation, surprised by events, and dependent on human cooperation. That kind of being truly does not exist. The answer lies in recognizing the one GOD who arranges everything before anything happens — who is never caught off guard, who does not permit evil but deliberately assigns it a place in His plan, and who in the end sets all things right and brings all to their intended goal. Whoever sees this, will understand that the existence of evil is not a mystery beside God’s omnipotence, but a component of His wisdom.

conclusion

Atheism thrives where Christendom has reduced God. But the Word reveals a GOD who is truly God. No failures, no improvisations, no disappointments. Everything has its place in the grand design that leads to reconciliation, restoration, and glory. Only this GOD is truly worthy to be called “GOD.”

Delen: