Why Atheists Refuse to Accept Evidence for God

My first debate with an atheist took place during a church youth activity when I was only 14 or 15.  One of the girls in our church had invited a young man to come with her, and at some point in the evening, he told us that Christians were silly for believing in God in the first place.
 

I accepted his challenge and started an amiable conversation in which I presented several evidences for the existence of God.  He rejected all of the evidences that I presented without really addressing them, and made a comment that I've heard from many, many atheists since then.
 
"If there really was a God, then He would be able to give me such overwhelming evidence that I wouldn't be able to reject it."

I hear this from atheists all the time.  In fact, I listened to a couple of Matt Dillahunty's debates just yesterday, and he made an almost identical statement in both of them.  This is probably the single most often repeated claim made by the atheists of our day, but it is totally and completely false.

My response to atheists making this claim today is the same as my response to that young man nearly thirty years ago.  I looked him dead in the eye said, "The evidence has nothing to do with it.  You would still reject God no matter what evidence He gave you."  Of course, he denied this, so I quoted Luke 16:31.

"If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead."

I then asked him what kind of evidence he would find convincing enough to believe in God, and he suggested that God could have engraved a message on the surface of the moon so that everyone could see it and know of His existence.  I gave a derisive snort and said, "You wouldn't believe that.  You would say that it was the work of aliens who wanted to keep the primitive humans from overcoming their superstitions."

He paused for a moment, and then admitted that I was right.  He wouldn't really find that to be compelling evidence for the existence of God.

That was as far as our conversation went that evening, and to my knowledge, I've never met the young man again.  I hope that he eventually realized his need for a savior and accepted Christ, but I've never forgotten our discussion, and I've had the same conversation with many other atheists in the years since then.  

No matter how much evidence we may have which proves the existence of God and the truth of the Bible, there will still be people who reject it.  Those who refuse to believe in God are capable of deceiving themselves so much that they would deny reality itself just to avoid admitting that God exists.