Supposed Proof There Isn’t a God

The U.S. women’s soccer team is the most successful women's soccer team in history. They have won four Women's World Cup titles, four Olympic gold medals, and nine Confederation of North, Central American, and Caribbean Association Football Gold Cups. In fact, they have won every Women's World Cup and Olympic tournament in women's soccer except for the 2016 Olympic tournament and 2023 Women's World Cup – but even in those tournaments they medaled.

Megan Rapinoe is one of the best women’s soccer players to ever play the game. She played on the U.S. women’s soccer team from 2006 to 2023. In fact, she just recently announced her retirement from soccer and was playing in her final game on November 12 when she went down with an torn Achilles tendon. In her post-match press conference, she made a rather controversial statement. She said, “I’m not a religious person or anything, and if there was a God, like, this is proof that there isn’t.”

Over the years, Rapinoe has seemingly not spoken directly about her religious beliefs. She has, however, made no bones about the fact that she is gay, and she has been an extremely vocal gay rights advocate. In recent times, she has added advocacy for transgender females (not really females, but men who say they are women) to be allowed to play on women’s sports teams.

I wonder, though, how in the world she concludes that her injury is proof that God doesn’t exist? Maybe it is proof that God does exist and doesn’t like people mocking Him. Or maybe He exists and was just trying to get her attention to let her know.

Well, I wouldn’t necessarily conclude either of those things. I certainly don’t doubt the possibility of either one, but not everything that happens in the world is something God has done directly. God gets credit or blame for a lot of things that He did not do. Rapinoe was playing a game that puts people in a position to get injured, and it is not at all uncommon for it to happen. And we live in a fallen world where bad things sometimes do happen. What God will do, though, is to take things that happen to people and use them in their life to reveal Himself.

Many people personalize circumstances in this life in a way that does not reflect reality, and they draw conclusions from those things that are simply wrong. Many of the things that happen in this life are the result of human choice, not God’s.

Rapinoe seems to be implying by her statement that if God really existed, He would never let anything bad happen to anyone. If that were true, the laws of nature would have to be suspended. In that case, it would not be a problem to just jump off of a skyscraper, because God would suspend gravity so we wouldn’t die. We could drink poison and God would change its properties so it would not kill us. He would change the weather patterns and the movement of the tectonic plates inside the earth so hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and volcanos would cease to exist. And He would suddenly strengthen our bones and tendons so we could play professional soccer and never get injured – even if we made movements that should cause a tendon to snap.

If the God Rapinoe imagines existed, human free will would also have to be eliminated. If God controlled everything they way she seems to imply, He would stop people from taking fentanyl, would not allow people to engage in war, and would certainly not have allowed Rapinoe to make the movement she made on the field that blew out her Achilles.

People who think like Rapinoe simply do not understand the way reality is actually structured. Sin actually did enter the world at the Fall, and it had an objectively real affect on the material universe that can allow for injury to humans, and even death and destruction. It also had an affect on our human spirit in a way that inclines us to sin. It doesn’t make us sin, but we frequently do based on our own decisions, and those decisions affect both our physical and spiritual circumstances.

In spite of her comment, and in spite of the fact that God objectively does exist, Rapinoe’s injury was not direct evidence of either God’s existence or non-existence. She, and people who believe like she does, don’t have a handle on reality, and the result is that they say things that are simply not true without even realizing they are doing it. Might I suggest reading God’s revelation of Himself and His ways to get up to speed.

Freddy Davis is the president of MarketFaith Ministries. He is the author of numerous books entitled The Truth Mirage, Rules for Christians Radicals, Liberalism vs. Conservatism, and his latest book Shattering the Truth Mirage and has a background as an international missionary, pastor, radio host, worldview trainer, and entrepreneur. Freddy is a graduate of Florida State University with a BS in Communication, and holds MDiv and DMin degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is a popular speaker, particularly on the topic of worldview and its practical implications for the Christian life. He lives in Tallahassee, FL, with his wife Deborah.

You may also contact Freddy at Leadership Speakers Bureau to schedule him for speaking or leadership engagements.

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