atheism must be truth, for theism to exist

Hello vi_spex. Thanks for extending this invitation to debate with you. I am certain that it will be enjoyable for the both of us. To begin, I will reference two sections of the Bible in which Paul addresses this question. Although it is a religious text, I hope you will have an open mind. Section #1 - Acts 17: 22-28: 22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship"and this is what I am going to proclaim to you. 24 "The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 "For in him we live and move and have our being."[a] As some of your own poets have said, "We are his offspring."[b] Reference: https://www.biblegateway.com... Section #2 - Romans 1:18-28 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For 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. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator"who is forever praised. Amen. 26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. Reference: http://biblehub.com... In both passages, Paul eloquently makes the point that atheism exists not because mankind is ignorant of God's existence, but rather because he "exchanged the truth about God for a lie" for reason that "they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God." Therefore, it is mankind's rejection of this innate knowledge ('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.'), rather than a lack of information. The Bible clearly supports the claim, then, that theism can exist without mankind rejecting God (atheism). But because mankind has rejected God, atheism abounds in the modern world. This truth is reflected in what Friedrich Nietzsche famously wrote: "But that I may reveal my heart entirely to you, my friends: if there were gods, how could I endure it to be no God! Therefore there are no gods." Reference: Page 70 of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" - http://nationalvanguard.org... Nietzsche has been philosophically praised over his claim that the idea of God had died in Western society. However, when taken in context, his belief was actually one of blatant rebellion to any notion of God. In its truest form, therefore, he rejected the idea of God, not because the idea had died, but rather because he could not be God. This statement provides further evidence for the claim that mankind rejects the innate knowledge of God, rather than disbelief derived from ignorance. When examined fully, the evidence clearly points to the truth that theism could exist without atheism. Therefore, atheism exists due to "free will," or the ability of people to choose one truth-claim over another. I appreciate your taking the time to analyze my argument, and eagerly await your response. Let the debate begin!