Jesus Confronts Materialists

Atheists think that Biblical writers lack credibility simply because they lived a long time ago. This, as though “Truth” has a best-before-date, or that materialists and their philosophies haven't always been around as well.

As it is today, when Jesus walked the earth, materialists and those who thought like materialists came in many different forms.

Like atheists today, “The Pharisees objected, “All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to believe.”

Jesus replied, “You’re right that you only have My word. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don’t make judgements out of the NARROWNESS OF MY EXPERIENCE but in the largeness of the One who sent Me, the Creator, Father God. You are tied down to the mundane; I’m in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I’m living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. If you won’t believe I Am who I say I Am, you’re at a dead end in terms of learning.” John 8:14-18, 23,24.

The Bible ("written by bronze-age goat herders") has many, many verses whereby the authors record their dealing with those in their community who were materialists. These authors are trying to explain, both from evidence and from experience that there is much more to life than what meets the eye, or any of the other senses for that matter. 

For example:
Romans 1:1 . . . since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - His eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

Hebrews 11:3 - “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

2nd Corinthians 5:12 - “We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again . . . so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart.”

2nd Corinthians 4:18 - “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”