Pastor Became Atheist. Why? | The Institute for Creation Research

Pastor Became Atheist. Why?

Teresa McBain ministered in the Methodist church for twenty years. She formerly pastored at Lake Jackson United Methodist Church in Tallahassee, Florida, but today she ministers as the public relations director of the American Atheists.1 She says that she used to believe in the God of the Bible, but she recently changed her mind: "I know it's a lie. I know it's false."2 Why has she rejected God?

She explained her reasons to the Christian Post, saying, "One [reason] was the contradictory nature of the Bible; the lack of scientific or historical foundation or accuracy, which took me a very, very long time to come to terms with."3

It makes sense to reject the God of the Bible if the Bible contained errors and lacked scientific or historical foundation. But it doesn't. Analyzing and teaching the amazing ways that true science confirms Scripture is what motivates the ministry of ICR—evidence for the veracity of science and Scripture abounds.

While McBain may represent those who are unfamiliar with or reject the truth of Scripture, scientific and historical confirmations of the Bible exist in abundance. A summary of ICR News reports during the month of June 2012, a small sampling of evidence, provides just a snapshot of recent examples:

  • Gene control regions are protected from tampering, which means that assuming that evolution tampers with them is a faulty conclusion.4
  • Evolutionists turned a blind eye to original dinosaur red blood cells when they claimed that Otzi the Iceman's red blood cells were the oldest preserved. Red blood cells in dinosaur fossils fit with the biblical young world.5
  • A clay seal with the oldest inscription of the word "Bethlehem" confirms that it had been a village before Micah prophesied that the Lord would be born there.6
  • Squid ink, made of original, unmineralized biochemical melanin, cannot possibly be as old as its 160-million-year age assignment, confirming the Bible's historical time line as well as its account of the great Flood.7
  • The precisely arranged body parts of rorqual whales were all required to coexist simultaneously for them to eat and survive, confounding whale evolution and confirming Genesis 1:21.8
  • Whoever arranged the molecular machines that perform plant photosynthesis understood quantum mechanics far better than any physicist.9
  • A 1984 Bible-based model for the origin of planets predicted that Mercury's crust would contain remanent magnetism from its recent creation. This was confirmed by MESSENGER's most recent survey in 2012.10
  • The newly published bonobo genome has a hallmark of special creation—its gene sequences do not match any evolutionary tree, but comprise a well-integrated mosaic of gene systems.11

The idea that the Bible has contradictions and lacks scientific or historical confirmation is popular, but it is wrong.

In a dramatic moment at the 2012 Annual Convention of American Atheists in Bethesda, Maryland, MacBain apologized to her new atheist friends for having been one of those "crazy fundamentalists."12 Believing in the fundamentals of the Bible would be crazy if the Bible were not internally, scientifically, and historically reliable.13 But because its verifications are so overwhelming, refusing to believe it is crazy.

References

  1. Former Pastor Teresa MacBain New Public Relations Director. American Atheists. Posted on atheists.org July 3, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  2. Hagerty, B. From Minister To Atheist: A Story Of Losing Faith. National Public Radio. Posted on npr.org April 30, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  3. Zaimov, S. Ex-Pastor Turned American Atheist Director Tells How She Lost Faith. Christian Post. Posted on christianpost.com July 11, 2012.
  4. Tomkins, J. Gene Control Regions Are Protected—Negating Evolution. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 11, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  5. Thomas, B. Are Iceman Blood Cells Really the Oldest? ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 13, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  6. Thomas, B. Artifact Confirms Ancient Bethlehem. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 18, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  7. Thomas, B. Fresh Fossil Squid Ink 160 Million Years Old? ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 20, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  8. Thomas, B. Organ Discovery Shows Why Whales Didn't Evolve. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 22, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  9. Thomas, B. Photosynthesis Uses Quantum Physics. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 25, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  10. Thomas, B. Mercury's Magnetic Crust Fulfills Creation Prediction. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 29, accessed July 23, 2012.
  11. Tomkins, J. Anti-Evolutionary Secrets of the Bonobo Genome. ICR News. Posted on icr.org June 29, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  12. Teresa MacBain - coming out - American Atheists Conf. March 26, 2012. You Tube. Posted on youtube.com March 29, 2012, accessed July 23, 2012.
  13. For hundreds of articles that confirm the Bible in every major discipline, see Evidence for Creation. Institute for Creation Research. Posted on icr.org. 

* Mr. Thomas is Science Writer at the Institute for Creation Research.

Article posted on August 8, 2012.

The Latest
NEWS
The Resurrection and the Origin of Life
At Easter time we focus on the cardinal Christian doctrine of the Resurrection. Without the Resurrection, Christianity is a sham. The truth that Jesus...

NEWS
Is an Ancient Extinct Tree-Dweller Our Relative?
Human evolution has always been hazy with seemingly as many attempted explanations for how we evolved from animals as there are paleoanthropologists. Evolutionists...

NEWS
The Return of the Dire Wolf?
There’s been much recent excitement about the birth of three dire wolf (Aenocyon dirus) puppies by a Dallas-based biotech company: Colossal Bioscience....

CREATION PODCAST
Cracks in the Layers: Lake Suigetsu and the Old Earth Illusion...
Welcome to the third episode in a series called “The Failures of Old Earth Creationism.” Many Christians attempt to fit old earth...

NEWS
Fish Fossil Vomit
A rather unsavory news story recently appeared regarding fossilized vomit. Although it’s hardly dinner table conversation, it nonetheless supports...

NEWS
Dino Footprints Down Under
Dinosaur trackways1 are once again making the news. Australia is the setting of a remarkable series of dinosaur tracks attributed to ornithischian...

NEWS
April 2025 ICR Wallpaper
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things...

NEWS
Human Evolution and the Inner Ear
The vain attempt by evolutionists to make an evolutionary connection between people and ape-like ancestors continues. This time, it is in regard to...

CREATION PODCAST
Defending the Faith with a Rocket Scientist | Creation.Live Podcast:...
How do engineering principles, biological complexity, and a solid understanding of apologetics work together to further the cause of Christ? Why...

NEWS
Aerobic and Anaerobic Hot Spring Bacteria
God designed a domain of prokaryotes called Archaea that thrive in harsh and extreme environments. In 1969, two microbiologists, Thomas Brock and Hudson...