Does God Exist?
Jesus Christ is never quoted as saying, “I am God.” It takes spiritual revelation that comes from relationship to know it as a truth. Since He is the combination of both God and man, it is our relationship with Him that truly gives us an understanding that we can comprehend of the nature of our Creator. The bible never defends the existence of God. It just states it as a matter of fact. The very first words of the Bible are: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1. While the Bible doesn’t seek to explain the existence of God, it does clearly state God’s view of those who would deny His existence. “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” Psalm 14:1; fool meaning ‘one who is morally deficient’ – so it is a desire to be relieved of moral accountability that drives such a statement. The consequences as found in the following verses is ‘…there is no one who does good, not even one.’
For this reason, this could be called the Big Question. For if God does not exist the only perspective for life is found within the confines of human society. But if God does exist the ideas we hold are measured against a divine absolute and the actions we commit must take God into account. There is in human existence no more profound question demanding and answer. ‘Is there a God?’ is the question that must be answered by every human being, and the answer is far reaching in its implications for every individual.
The reason for our hope is our belief in the existence and rewarding nature of God. Not only believe in Him but believe that He cares enough to respond to those who seek Him. And He wants us to communicate this hope to everyone who demands an answer. Remember that not every atheist is ‘morally deficient.’ There are two kinds: those who have rejected a belief in God for moral reasons – because they desire to be loosed from the moral restraint that come from a belief in God; and those who have rejected a belief in God for emotional reasons – because they have made the decision not to believe in God using the excuse of emotional trauma, an encounter with suffering or loss or hypocrisy or evil actions of other Christians. Atheism is a rational framework that is built on a moral or emotional decision. The arguments may be intellectual, but the root of atheism is not.
Give your thinking a quick refresher here and ask yourself in what kind of God you believe. Here are some ‘isms’ to consider: Theism – ‘belief in a personal God capable of making Himself known by supernatural revelation’ also known as monotheism – one and only God; Deism – one God and creator, but not personal with no divine revelation or intervention; Pantheism – everything is a manifestation of God; Polytheism – multiple gods; Animism – ‘all objects, even inanimate things, possess life and are endowed with souls,’; Atheism – denies the existence of God and antitheism is the propagation of this disbelief; Agnosticism – it is impossible to know if God exists; Dualism – two divine forces, equal and opposing; Demiurgism – intelligence evolving so highly as to be indistinguishable from nature; ‘backward causation’ is the idea that such super-intelligence would then travel back in time and set off the process of creation in a massive ‘causal loop’ so that man turns out to be God. Once you can define what you REALLY think about God it is possible to address some of the hard questions you have about Him.
The hardest question posed by man is - is it possible to PROVE that God exists? Well, not by using the scientific method. God is beyond the scope of science – the measure of measurable things – so external proof (outside the Bible) based on logic that cannot be denied is what a skeptic demands. There are many that use reason rather than revelation, but the simplest and best are the: common belief principle – anthropology has shown that among even the most remote and primitive peoples there is a universal belief in the existence of God; causation principle – the universe’s creation and existence depend on something outside itself. Tracing back in the chain of cause and effect you reach that before which there is no cause. This causeless cause is the First Cause – God; design principle – wherever we look in the universe there is evidence of design. And where there is design, there must be a designer. And you may not know the designer, but the designer can be deduced by the design. And most scientists believe in a god, a designer of the universe. The signs are there for those who would look but many will never believe despite convincing evidence in every discipline of scientific study. You, your changed life, your personal testimony as a believer is proof of God’s existence. For you share not just the reason for the hope, but the hope itself.
Without hope and without God, the inescapable fact is that atheism is a belief of despair and futility that is bankrupt as a philosophy and lifestyle. Famous atheists described it as cruel, dreadful, and maddening. ‘The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless,” said the great theoretical physicist, Nobel laureate, and prolific author Steven Weinberg. This might be a reason why the rate of suicide is higher for atheists than those who have faith in a creator. Consider the 2011 documentary file ‘Happy’ wherein ‘leading experts on the science of happiness’ and people in communities around the world are interviewed about the measurable level of their happiness. Those deemed the ‘happiest’ had a strong faith and a family/community that works together for the support of all.
The question does God exist? cannot be scientifically disproven nor logically refuted. The counter challenge is then: are you willing to reach out, to seek God with all your heart and soul and strength, to find out for yourself if He really exists? I promise you this - if you are, you will find Him. The Bible tells me so!
Next week we are going to talk about whether the Bible is truly God’s Word. Be blessed today.
