“Is God Real?”
A student asked me this question last week. The issue was apparently brought up in his philosophy class. I’m not sure if the young man was struggling with the answer or just wanted to hear my answer (or maybe a combination of both). Regardless, I found his honesty refreshing. There was not a hint of anger, antagonism, or hostility in his voice—he (and his friends) just wanted an answer.
“Sure, He is,” I responded. “You cannot scientifically prove or disprove the existence of God. But you can look around at the evidence. For me, the evidence of God is overwhelming.”
“If I tried to convince you my wristwatch just appeared out of thin air, you would never believe me—you know someone made it. Even at the cellular level, life is amazingly complex. One living cell is more intricate than the entire city of Manila. The idea that life could happen by accident, in my opinion, is simply absurd.”
I challenged the young men to relentlessly pursue the answer to this question.
The heavens declare the glory of God;
the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
-Psalm 19:1
“A little philosophy inclineth man’s mind to atheism, but depth in philosophy bringeth men’s minds about to religion.”
-Francis Bacon
I like how you answer the question it is simple yet straight to the point and easy to understand especially to young minds..
I really like this post, since the question ‘Is God Real’ is very real to me!
I’m reading a lot trying to find an answer, and I like your answer, because it’s so straightforward.
I was just wondering: just wrote ‘the evidence of God is overwhelming’. Could you tell me what the evidence ís for you?
Well, what I meant in this particular answer was creation itself. Creation, especially life, is evidence that there is a Creator.
What kind of stuff are you reading? Maybe I can recommend some books.
I just finished watching the movie Expelled – No Intelligence Allowed by Ben Stein. It talks about the idea of Creationism and Intelligent Design as a rational explanation regarding the origin of life.
I made a blogpost about it here:
http://www.eronerd.com/2008/11/ben-steins-expelled-no-intelligence.html
I agree with you. This world, and even the whole universe itself – its complexity, beauty, and uniqueness are the things that can actually prove God’s existence.
Personally, I find it very hard to believe that all things, living and non-living, just came to existence by chance.
From the movie Expelled, you can see that even science itself can prove that there’s an Intelligent Design in everything.
Is anything real? Or are we living in the imagination of a tiny creature dreaming of a strange and dangerous world?
Ummm . . . the students didn’t ask that question. If they did, I’d probably tell them to stop using weed.
To Karen,
That sounds like an overdose of the movie “Matrix”.
I know he exists because in Eastwood there’s a billboard stating that he wants to talk.
Karen – that thought actually has its roots in the work of French philosopher Rene Descartes. His premise was to begin from doubt…to doubt everything and work up to certainty from there. He began with the famous statement, “I think, therefore I am.” That was his beginning point.
But the method of doubt was completely arbitrary and had no real foundational principle. Why not, as Ben Wiker has pointed out, start from an assumption of certainty? Assume all you see and believe is true and then test your certainties to see if they are viable.
But people really liked Descartes, and so today folks ask many strange questions about the nature of reality. Personally, if I were uncertain that anything was real, the last thing I’d be doing is asking others (are they real) a question (am I real) through the computer (is it real). I’d have bigger fish to fry, trying to nail my own existence down before asking potential imaginary figures about the nature of an uncertain reality.
So, the words of the apostle Paul ring true: “See to it that you are not taken captive by hollow and deceptive philosophy.” Or in this case, nonsensical philosophy.
The thing that convinces me most about the reality of God is all of the things I do not know, such as, how the earth stays suspended in space? Why it rotates at a certain speed for thousands of years and doesn’t slow down or stop? How the sun burns constantly and never runs out of fuel? How mankind on earth seems to be the only human life in existence? Where are to boundaries for outer space? Plus there is all of the evidence of God’s existence in creation. Mankind can create nothing, because they have to use someting created in order to make anything. Yet God created everything created from nothing. I can’t see God, But I know He exists. I can’t see the wind or know from where it starts, but I know it exists because of the effects of it. I’ve seen so much evidence of God in my lifetime, that I’m no longer a doubter. I’ve believed in the existence of God since I was about 5 years old. I hope you will find the reality of God also. Jerry
When I say God speaks to me, people think I am a card carrying nutcase. I was recently ridiculed by someone who was suppose to be a friend. She also told me to stop telling people I work for God,(I am a fulltime volunteer). That very night, I had a coughing spell and got up and started reading a Christian Fiction book. At the end of the book were all these scriptures about being God’s person and doing His will and spreading His name. My son is taking World Religions in college. I have a hard time with the words I need to make people understand how real God is except that the more I devote to Him the more I know that I am not talking to myself!!!! You want evidence then there is only one way to get it. Just go to the source. Seems to me that most people do not believe in God, because they they relate it to organized religion. I spent 20 years without a church but never without a God. When I joined the church, I told God I would do His work if, he would look after my son in the Navy. Now I do it because I love God.
Sorry, I took up your time. Keep seeking, but remember God was seeking you before your birth.