Atheism vs Theism and the Burden of Proof

Something I hear atheists say a lot is along the lines of "I don't have to prove that God doesn't exist. The burden of proof is on the theist to prove that God does exist." This phrase "burden of proof" is a technical one from the field of philosophy. According to Wikipedia:

When two parties are in a discussion and one makes a claim that the other disputes, the one who makes the claim typically has a burden of proof to justify or substantiate that claim especially when it challenges a perceived status quo.

Wikipedia continues...

Philosophical debate can devolve into arguing about who has the burden of proof about a particular claim.

There is actually nothing intrinsic about a claim that puts the burden of proof on the one who's making it. All in all, this is semantics and rhetoric which are used to avoid the issue. But we don't actually need to worry too much about who, technically, has the burden of proof; or whether it even makes sense to assign a burden of proof to either side in the case of atheism vs theism. Atheists say "the burden of proof is on the theist, so I don't have to do anything," and then they sit back and wait for the theist to try to convince them of something. But let's consider the following analogy...

Imagine you're born on an island in a tribe who has never seen any other land. When they look out to sea, there are no other coastlines to be seen. It's just horizon in every direction. And no one has ever traveled far enough in their canoe to see other land. And so one day you have a philosophical discussion with a friend. You say "I believe that if we could swim far enough we would find other lands." Your friend says "I see no evidence of that. I don't believe there are other lands at all." Of these two claims, who has the burden of proof? I'm going to say, "Who cares?" If we argue about who has the burden of proof and finally decide who, indeed, has the burden of proof, does that change who's right about the question of whether other lands exist?

Now, let's imagine that the answer to this question matters to these people. Let's imagine that some disaster happens on this island... a hurricane which causes so much damage that most of the crops and most of the livestock and most of the people's property are destroyed. Survival on this island is now in peril. So you say to your friend, "I want to get in this canoe and travel further than anyone has before to see if we can find another land where there may be resources to bring back and help our people survive. But I need your help." Because your friend doesn't believe that there are other lands, he says "No, you can't take the canoe; one of the few we have left. There's nothing out there." So you go on your own anyway. And you do find land, and you bring back food and other resources. You're the hero of the people. Now, what value was there to your friend having said "The burden of proof is on you..." All it meant was that he was unwilling to participate in the search for truth, even when it mattered. He was quite sure of himself, but he didn't really know that there were no other lands. Lucky for him, in this tale all that he suffered was a bruised ego. I'm sure he'll get over it.

For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
Romans 1:20

Is The Coronavirus Crisis to Introduce The Mark of the Beast?

Social media, in these days of coronavirus lockdown, is full of conspiracy theories about a New World Order and the Mark of the Beast. People see the current coronavirus pandemic as something created by world powers in order to impose upon the world a single government and introduce something which people identify as “The Mark of the Beast”, which is something spoken of in Revelation chapter 13 of the Bible. Now, why would people make this connection? What is this conspiracy theory, and does it hold up to logical analysis?

Let me give a brief overview of what the Mark of the Beast is, for the uninitiated. Here’s the reference to it in the Bible:

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon.
...
Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.
Revelation 13:11,16-18

So, some background information to give this some context. At the start of the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John is told to write down what he sees in a vision. This vision appears to speak of “things to come”. That is, events in John’s future. How far into John’s future is one of those questions that is debated amongst Christians, and it’s possible that some of the events described refer to things that were in John’s future but are in our past. Nevertheless, we get to this part of the vision in chapter 13 which speaks of two beasts. Earlier in the chapter there is a first beast which almost certainly represents a world leader. The reason we think it represents a world leader is because similar imagery is used in the book of Daniel to describe world leaders which have gone before. In Daniel these world leaders are quite identifiable as leaders past; people like Alexander the Great. Sticking to the context of Revelation alone, it is evident that this is a world leader because it says “And authority was given it over every tribe and people and language and nation”. And hence people believe that there will one day be a single leader for the entire world. That is, a “one world government”.

So after the establishment of this one world government the vision suggests that there will be a system put in place where the second beast, having equal authority to the first, causes all “to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark”.

Now, what does any of this have to do with the coronavirus? From what I understand, the conspiracy theory is that the coronavirus was deliberately engineered in a lab and released on the population in order to create a situation in which, once the crisis is over, the powers that be will be able to mandate global tracking of individuals for the purpose of better managing future pandemics, allegedly using a technology which involves a microchip literally injected into the hand.

Now, I believe that all of the panic around this is unfounded. I remember, over 20 years ago, a preacher telling us that credit cards were the mark of the beast. After all, they are directly related to our ability to buy and sell. Actually, more related to our ability to buy… your bank account number is probably more related to your ability to sell, and we’ve had those since the first bank ever opened its doors for business. At just about any time throughout history a government has had the power to limit people’s ability to buy and sell. But microchip technology is no different to the technology which currently exists. All of our banking data and identification is currently in the form of data on servers, accessible from our mobile phones. I, personally, haven't used cash to pay for anything in years. The idea that a microchip can be embedded in the hand is simply something which triggers an association to this mark of the beast, though the technology itself is ultimately no different to owning a bank account and carrying a checkbook and a driver's license.

Let’s also not forget the panic that surrounded 9/11. If ever there was a time to set up global tracking of individuals under some pretext, it was then. So if it didn’t happen under that more ideal condition, why the panic now?

As regards the pandemic we’re experiencing; let’s not forget that this isn’t the first pandemic that has ever hit the world. The Spanish Flu and the Black Death to name some famous ones. And more recently, SARS threatened to be a serious problem too. Recently there was an event known as “Event 201” in which major businesses and other organizations discussed what would happen in the event of a global pandemic. They discussed a hypothetical pandemic of, say, a novel coronavirus. Now, conspiracy theorists look at this event and claim that this was clearly preparation for what they knew was coming. But this makes no logical sense. Why would they make this event public if they were plotting something secret? You can, in fact, go to the website and view footage from the event. The fact that they used a novel coronavirus in their hypothetical makes perfect sense as well, being that SARS (also a coronavirus) was quite recent, and would be the most likely type of virus to affect us on a global scale.

What I believe is most likely to be at play with all of this is simply human psychology. People who have already been exposed to these ideas of a one world government and a mark of the beast apply those beliefs to understanding what’s going on in the world. People who hold such beliefs are always looking for any irregularities in the world which may validate their beliefs. There is also another common conspiracy theory that there aren’t, in fact, any sick people at all and that the World Health Organization are making up the figures. This, too, makes no sense since local hospitals and clinics are also releasing their own case figures based on their own testing and the cases that come in. The same principles of human psychology that lead to witch trials and lynch mobs, where all the community are convinced of something irrational, will very much be influencing many of us; and not just weak minded people. The effect of dramatic change to our daily routines is well documented and studied, and we are all susceptible to this kind of thing. I’ve been following the “quarantine project” of a certain psychologist online, who is also an actor. He put together an online production depicting all of the different kinds of psychological responses people have at a time like this, and shows them coping mechanisms from psychology to deal with this situation. Some of his characters became obsessed with germs and cleanliness, some became depressed and despairing, and some make sense of it all through the lens of the conspiracy theories they have been exposed to. He created this production precisely because he's sensitive to how it can affect everyone. According to the news, people's belief in conspiracy theories have taken them as far as burning down 5G cell towers and abusing 5G technicians, as part of their view is that the rollout of 5G has something to do with all of this as well. This, too, is illogical. I've heard some say that the coronavirus symptoms are caused by 5G, and others say the effects of 5G are to weaken the immune system so that you get the virus. But neither of these hypotheses make sense. If 5G gave us coronavirus symptoms, a test designed to detect a virus would not test positive for those who have the symptoms. And if 5G were making our immune system weak, we'd be getting sick for all kinds of reasons, not just coronavirus. I even witnessed a conversation between two people where one explained that their elderly relative had coronavirus but lived nowhere near 5G, and the other insisted; absolutely insisted, that this elderly person must have travelled to a 5G area. From fighting over toilet paper in the aisles to torching 5G towers, people evidently struggle to cope with such an upheaval to their world. But we all know this is true of human nature.

But let’s get back to focusing on the Bible and what it says about the mark of the beast… Why is this mark of concern to people? Firstly, because without it, the Bible says you won’t be able to buy or sell, and that’s a horrible persecution to suffer. But later, in chapter 14, it says:

And another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink the wine of God's wrath, poured full strength into the cup of his anger, and he will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever, and they have no rest, day or night, these worshipers of the beast and its image, and whoever receives the mark of its name.” Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.
Revelation 14:9-12

So the real fear around the mark of the beast relates to the fact that once you have it (and the assumption is that receiving it is permanent and irrevocable), your fate is sealed and you’ll go to hell. Now, I really want to explain this to everyone reading, because this is vitally important... You can’t read this passage and come to conclusions which simply ignore the very fundamentals of the Bible’s teaching. Salvation from hell is through faith in Christ Jesus. This is the only means of salvation that there is. It always has been, even in the days of Abraham. This is precisely the point that the Apostle Paul makes when speaking of salvation by faith… that even Abraham was saved by faith. And it always will be the only way because there is no other way. Therefore, being given an ID number (which is what modern interpreters claim the mark of the beast to be) cannot change your faith. If you have a physical mark on your body which you cannot remove, this does not and cannot change what you believe by faith. This very passage is just as explicit about this. It says “If anyone worships the beast…” as opposed to “those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” What consigns you to hell is not the mark. It's what you believe; just as it always has been and is the case in this present day. This mark, if it is a literal mark, is something you receive willingly as a sign of worship of "the beast". It is not something you can inadvertently accept so that you inadvertently consign yourself to hell. It is akin to a Nazi getting a tattoo of a swastika because of what he supports and believes in. Ideas of a universal ID system simply do not fit the description of the mark of the beast at all.

The Book of Revelation is full of references to the rest of Scripture. When, for example, we speak of beasts representing world leaders, we know that’s what they represent because we look back to the Book of Daniel where it is unambiguously clear that this is what they represent. Likewise, this idea of a mark or a seal comes from Ezekiel. In the Book of Ezekiel, in a vision, God commands an angel to go out and mark those who are His followers so that they might be spared from the judgment to come upon Israel.

And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it. … Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark.
Ezekiel 9:4,6

The mark is not a literal one. God is telling us that He knows who are His followers and who are not, and He makes a distinction between them and His enemies. Earlier in the Book of Revelation we see this same idea of a mark used to mark those who belong to God…

They were told not to harm the grass of the earth or any green plant or any tree, but only those people who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.
Revelation 9:4

The mark of the beast, as we saw in Revelation 14, identifies those who worship the beast. That is, those who are not God’s people. Those who are not God’s people persecute God’s people. And it has been that way since the days of the Apostles when Revelation was written. There have been persecutions of Christians at all times throughout the centuries. Jesus doesn’t deny that we will be persecuted. He assures us that we will. The passage in Revelation 14 concludes with “Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.” This is actually the theme of the entire Book of Revelation, for all Christians at all times throughout history. Revelation begins with letters to the churches of the time, each one telling them “To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life.” That is, in Biblical terms, essentially synonymous with “To the one who keeps their faith” or “endures”. Again, we cannot set aside fundamental Biblical teaching. We do not endure or keep our faith through our own ability. It is Christ who enables us to endure, and who keeps us to the end...

Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?
Galatians 3:3

...looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith
Hebrews 12:2

The message of Revelation is to all Christians at all times. It was equally relevant to the Christians at the time of John’s writing as it is to us now. They faced the persecutions of the Roman emperors, (and even their ability to buy and sell were affected because of their faith, seeing that conducting business often meant participating in the worship of Roman gods and emperors.) The people of John’s time didn’t know how far into the future the events of Revelation would be, and we don’t know how far into our future they might be. That’s because it doesn’t matter; neither to them nor to us. We understand, as did they, that whatever persecution lays ahead of us, (and in some countries that persecution is very active and real right now), the message of Revelation is not to escape such persecution by renouncing our faith.

If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
John 15:19-20