Belief in God, Part Two

Faith and Evidence: Considering God's Existence

Let me begin with a bold statement: "All of us have beliefs about God."

Do you disagree? Whether you do or not, consider the following:

• • Some of us believe in God and call Him by different names.
• • Some of us boldly proclaim He doesn't exist.
• • Some of us aren't sure whether we believe in Him or not.
• • Some of us don't care if He exists—because such thoughts rarely cross our minds.

Everyone reading this article falls into one of these four broad categories.

The Chocolate Analogy

Several years ago, I was in a discussion with an individual on religion and the idea of proving God's existence. The gentleman asked, "Can you prove God's existence to me?" Here was my response:

"The short answer is, 'No, I cannot prove to you that God exists.' However, while I can't prove to you that God exists, it is also not possible for you to PROVE to me that chocolate tastes sweet!"

The gentleman smiled and said, "That's easy! All I have to do is give you a piece of chocolate, have you put it in your mouth, and taste the sweetness."

I replied, "No, I can't let you do that. See, that's the Christian way!" He asked what I meant. I replied, "For several millennia now, Believers have tried to get non-believers to come to the house of God and pray with us—so you could experience God for yourselves. But instead, you told us to prove His existence first… and then you would come. Well, now I'm going to request that you PROVE TO ME that chocolate is sweet by referring to the scientific data that you've personally tested—so that I can then potentially turn my back on the mountain of information you've collected and say, 'I don't believe that!'"

"Here's my point: No one can PROVE anything to anyone who's unwilling to take a small step of faith and consider the words spoken by someone else! You could present a stack of scientific papers twenty feet high that prove chocolate is sweet. If I was unwilling to take a small step of faith toward your position, I could simply walk past that mountain of paperwork and state that I don't believe your findings."

The gentleman was silent for several seconds before stating, "I've never thought of it that way."

When it comes to proving anything to anyone, both parties must be willing to consider and ponder what the other person has stated. And this can be one of the hardest things to do—because so often, people close themselves off to ideas they don't want to believe in.

Why This Matters

Some people don't want to believe in God because of what it might mean for them and their current lifestyle.

Closing Thoughts

For me, I accept people for who they are and whatever they choose to believe. However, because of all that I've learned and experienced by trusting in Christ (I've gone far beyond "simple belief" or "mental assent"), I share Him as a real-life alternative to unhappiness, loneliness, bitterness, emptiness, anger, and feelings of being lost and unfulfilled. I'm not talking about the religion of Christianity. I'm talking about a real relationship with the Creator of the universe.

If you're the kind of person who needs a certain amount of "PROOF" before making a decision, here are five books I encourage you to read and study:

• • I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Norman L. Geisler and Frank Turek
• • Evidence That Demands a Verdict by Josh and Sean McDowell
• • On the Resurrection, Volume 1: Evidences by Gary Habermas
• • On the Resurrection, Volume 2: Refutations by Gary Habermas
• • On the Resurrection, Volume 3: Scholarly Perspectives by Gary Habermas

These 4,288 pages will give you enough evidence to make an informed decision about Christ!

As always, if you have questions or comments, email me here, and let's chat.

In His Service,

Roy