Reasons for unbelief?

Thus when a believer is asked: Why do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? he can only answer: Why should I not believe, since Jesus confronts me as the Christ, when He meets me in the story and the witness of the Apostles as the Christ? It is not the believer who needs to give reasons, but the unbeliever; for the believer appeals quite simply to the historical reality which the New Testament reveals. The Jesus of the New Testament is no other than the Christ of faith. The historical picture of Jesus agrees with the apostolic witness to Christ. It is not the one who accepts this claim of Jesus, and obeys it, who has to give “reasons” for his faith; on the contrary, those who do not accept this claim ought to state the “reasons” for their decision; as a rule, these “reasons” are never purely intellectual, but are due to the unbeliever’s general outlook on life.—Emil Brunner, The Christian Doctrine of Creation and Redemption, 255

<idle musing>
"as a rule, these 'reasons' are never purely intellectual, but are due to the unbeliever’s general outlook on life." Yep. That's been my experience. Generally, they don't want to give up the illusion that they are in control of their life. Or the delusion that their life is fine. Or, they want to dabble in that little bauble that distracts them from real love. Or, and this is especially true among scholars, pride won't allow them to acknowledge that God is bigger than they are.

Oh, the webs we weave for ourselves to hide the truth of our finiteness and desperate need for real love.
</idle musing>