"God Is …" or is Not
Hebrews 11:6
"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him"
The Road to Salvation Begins with the Proposition, "God Is …"
During my life time I have never met a true atheist (one who believes that there is no deity). However I have met a number of agnostics (one who is not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God or a god). Even those that I have met that believe God is, do not have any real convictions concerning Him. The response is somewhat like a shrug of, "Yes I believe God exist, but so what." Is this apathy or do they really have no concern either way and why? There are many questions to ask if God is NOT, along with questions to ask if, God is. So let’s examine this question.
During one of Paul’s missionary journeys, as recorded in Acts 17:19–30 the writer, Luke, writes, "For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation; That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead" .
Even the Greek scholars with whom Paul’s preaching in Athens had perked instrest in the God he spoke of and asked to hear more. The above was Paul’s response. These Greeks recognized that there was another God, an unknown God, superior to their man-made gods. But is there any proof of His existence? Much of the proof has to be accepted on faith (a firm belief for something for which there is no proof) just as much as science is. There are no absolutes to scientific theories or hypothesis, just as there is no absolute proof that God is. However .................
There Is Ample Proof for the Existence of God––
The Argument from Creation (Romans 1:20 "God's eternal power and character cannot be seen. But from the beginning of creation, God has shown what these are like by all he has made. That's why those people don't have any excuse."; Hebrews 3:4 "Of course, every house is built by someone, and God is really the one who built everything." )
The Argument from Beauty
(Psalms 19:1–6 "The heavens keep telling the wonders of God, and the skies declare what he has done. Each day informs the following day; each night announces to the next. They don't speak a word, and there is never the sound of a voice. Yet their message reaches all the earth, and it travels around the world. In the heavens a tent is set up for the sun. It rises like a bridegroom and gets ready like a hero eager to run a race. It travels all the way across the sky. Nothing hides from its heat." )
The Argument from Life,
Intelligence and Will (Genesis 1:26 "God said, "Now we will make humans, and they will be like us. We will let them rule the fish, the birds, and all other living creatures." ; Psalms 94:9–11 "God gave us ears and eyes! Can't he hear and see? God instructs the nations and gives knowledge to us all. Won't he also correct us? The LORD knows how useless our plans really are.")
The Argument from Morality
(Genesis 20:9 "Abimelech then called in Abraham and said: Look what you've done to us! What have I ever done to you? Why did you make me and my nation guilty of such a terrible sin?")
The Argument from Man’s Spiritual Nature
(Acts 17:23 "As I was going through your city and looking at the things you worship, I found an altar with the words, "To an Unknown God." You worship this God, but you don't really know him. So I want to tell you about him.", 27–29 "God has done all this, so that we will look for him and reach out and find him. He isn't far from any of us, and he gives us the power to live, to move, and to be who we are. "We are his children," just as some of your poets have said. Since we are God's children, we must not think that he is like an idol made out of gold or silver or stone. He isn't like anything that humans have thought up and made.")
Now I ask, what’s to argue. We can find God in the creation. Science says otherwise. Are scientist not mere men/women using limited human intelligence to explain how the universe, earth and all that is on earth came from. The one thing that always intrigued me was their explanations bring order out of chaos. This does not happen by chance. It takes intelligence in order do that. Where did the intelligence come from. Look around yourself at nature. Look at the heavens. Everyday the sun is there, the moon follows predictable cycles, the stars can be used to navigate oceans. All creatures reproduce after their own kind. Is this by chance or by intelligent order and design. Humans are the only species that can use logical reasoning and intelligent communication. All of our moral values did not come about by chance. One would have had to escaped and returned to earth not to recognize the moral decline in the world today as many are following or being taught in public education that that morality is philisophical and relative. This eliminates fixed standards. Therefore as the times and the secular thinking changes morality changes.
Man also has a spiritual nature that longs for the same conditions as the Garden of Eden where God placed mankind, or the way heaven is described and we long for it here on earth. We desire our own utopia. People with money spend a lot of it to create it. Now, I ask again, where is the argument.
Our Conviction Determines Our Conduct––
The unbeliever, the atheist or agnostic, does not order his conduct to please God (Psalms 10:3–11 "The wicked brag about their deepest desires. Those greedy people hate and curse you, LORD. The wicked are too proud to turn to you or even think about you. They are always successful, though they can't understand your teachings, and they keep sneering at their enemies. In their hearts they say, "Nothing can hurt us! We'll always be happy and free from trouble." They curse and tell lies, and all they talk about is how to be cruel or how to do wrong. They hide outside villages, waiting to strike and murder some innocent victim. They are hungry lions hiding in the bushes, hoping to catch some helpless passerby. They trap the poor in nets and drag them away. They crouch down and wait to grab a victim. They say, "God can't see! He's got on a blindfold."). Is this not very visible in our society today?
It is possible for the believer to become an unbeliever when they set aside their convictions or loose their belief (Hebrews 3:12 "My friends, watch out! Don't let evil thoughts or doubts make any of you turn from the living God.", 19 "We see that those people did not enter the place of rest because they did not have faith." ).
The former believer may deny that "God is" by his conduct ( Jude 12 "These people are filthy minded, and by their shameful and selfish actions they spoil the meals you eat together. They are like clouds blown along by the wind, but never bringing any rain. They are like leafless trees, uprooted and dead, and unable to produce fruit.", "without fear;" see also: 2 Peter 2:10, 21, 22; 2 Timothy 3:1–8)
Questions that Need to Be Asked
What belief do hold? What is the driving force behind your convictions? Are you willing to believe what comes from the mind of another person or are you willing to put your trust in a higher intelligence and that we are here for a purpose? Are you willing to be taught and learn more?
