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How can anyone be certain that God exists?
They can't! Atheists and Christians alike can agree that nothing in the
realm of human experience can be proven with absolute certainty. That's
why in a legal court, someone can only be found guilty 'beyond
reasonable doubt'. As human beings, this is about as confident as we
can be about anything. So while we cannot prove God's existence beyond
all possible doubt, for those who are prepared to look, the evidence
for God is certainly beyond reasonable doubt.
Some people argue that they cannot believe in God if they cannot see or
touch Him. Yet many things in our world are beyond our five senses. You
cannot see the microwaves in the microwave oven, but we know they cook
our food. We cannot touch the television waves coming through the air,
but your TV testifies to their existence. Even something as vital as
love is impossible to touch, taste, see, smell or hear - yet there are
very few people who deny the existence of love or how crucial is it to
humans.
God is also beyond our five senses - but that does not mean He does not
exist. “Yes,” the skeptics say, “but this is all
touchy feely stuff. Give me hard evidence for the existence of
God.” OK, here’s four arguments to consider
1. The Cosmos: The fact that there is ‘something’ rather than
‘nothing’. There has to be a cause for every effect: This
world is a cause, so something must have caused it. By definition, God
is not an effect because he is eternal. Matter on the other hand is
dependent, changeable and has to have a beginning.
“By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created,
people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can't see:
Eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So
nobody has a good excuse.” Romans 1:20 (The Message).
2. Design: The complex nature of the universe implies that there must have
been a designer behind its structure. A watch needs a watchmaker. The
universe shows order, purpose and design - it needs a designer.
“God's glory is on tour in the skies, God--craft on exhibit
across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor
Night lectures each evening. Their words aren't heard, their voices
aren't recorded, But their silence fills the earth: Unspoken truth is
spoken everywhere.” Psalm 19:1-4 (The Message)
3. Morals: One thing that unites everyone on the planet is a conscience.
There are differences between cultures and timeframes, but a basic
understanding of right and wrong is always there. The best explanation
for this universal trait is a moral creator, who placed this standard
in all humans.
“When outsiders who have never heard of God's law follow it more
or less by instinct, they confirm its truth by their obedience. They
show that God's law is not something alien, imposed on us from without,
but woven into the very fabric of our creation. There is something deep
within them that echoes God's yes and no, right and wrong.”
Romans 2:14-15 (The Message)
4. Experience: Countless people who are in every way reasonable believe in
God. They say He answers their prayers, comforts them at times of
distress and brings joy to their lives. Why would these rational people
say that God has changed their lives and made a radical difference to
how they behave. Can they all be making it up?
“Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with
the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a
new life burgeons!* Look at it!” - 2 Corinthians 5:17 - (The Message).
Final thought…
“God is dead.” The German philosopher Nietzsche.
“Nietzsche and I are about to have a long talk.” God, on the day that Nietzsche died. |
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Adapted
from “Tough questions” volume 1 by Garry Poole and Judson
Poling. * vert: uitkomen, uitbotten, knoppen. |
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