Reader: You claim to prove the existence of God?
Author: No, I do not claim to prove the existence of God. I only claim that choosing God makes the most sense. I say that there is enough evidence to suggest plausibility for belief in God.
Reader: So, what you’re telling me is that this God-thing is not definite? You cannot be sure?
Author: Can you be sure of anything, really and truly down to the core? Of course not. We get to a certain point within our human reason where there is a given, something granted by its very nature. We take that on faith.
Reader: Faith. Curious you should use that term concerning the most important belief which defines your whole human existence. People have faith in a lot of things: in school systems, politicians, Santa Claus, or in workout exercises. Faith in God is silly—shouldn’t your most innate belief/desire revolve around something that is 100% certain or sure?
Author: Again I answer, when is everything certain? Even certain scientific principles grant degrees of uncertainty or variability.
Reader: True. But science does not define your religion—your God does. Where does your God exist? Surely, we cannot see Him, touch Him, or hear Him.
Author: Well of course you cannot see Him, touch Him, or hear Him. He exists outside of the universe.
Reader: Then there’s no evidence for Him! Ha! Proved your entire premise wrong!
Author: Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence. Take this for example: In a painting, do you see the painter? No. Well, not usually. But, in a painting, you do see the effects of the painter—the painter’s brush strokes, the color the painter used, the design of the painter’s mind. God is the painter; He has created the world, and you can find the effects of God in the world.
Reader: Really? So the effects… such as… pain, suffering, evil, hatred, envy, spite, war, holocausts, fighting, and the likes are the effects of God. I don’t want to believe in a God that creates such an evil world. I mean, who would?
Author: Ahhh the old problem of evil. I’m quite surprised you brought that point up so early in our conversation. Your question of how can God exist and still allow evil in the world—two words: Free Will.
Reader: Free Will? Wait a minute… are you blaming human beings for the reason that evil exists in the world?
Author: Actually, yes. We are the reason there is evil in the world—it began in the Bible, the Holy Book Catholics believe in, where man chose to not choose God—by choosing evil.
Reader: OK. But I don’t believe in the Catholic Bible.
Author: Fair enough, but you did ask how I can believe in God. Well, how about someone you can trust.
Reader: Who? I’m well read in philosophy.
Author: How about G.K. Chesterton?
Reader: Well, I know he’s smart, but that’s all…
Author: The London Times had asked a number of writers for essays on the topic “What’s Wrong with the World?” Chesterton’s reply is the shortest and most to the point:
Dear Sirs,
I am.
Sincerely Yours,
G.K. Chesterson
Reader: Hmmm so what you’re suggesting is that I’m the one to blame for the world’s evil?
Author: Precisely. We all are. Collectively as a human race.
Reader: Ok. Well that’s all nice and good, but what about us believing in God because He is just some nice concept. We are comforted by the thought of a God, of eternal life, easing our consciences. Isn’t belief in God something that we ought to have grown out of before or during adolescence—like belief in Santa. As we get older, we don’t need a nice thought to comfort us unless we are immature in thought. I won’t believe in a God that is just some nice thought created by us at a young age to comfort us. Just like Santa, belief should dissipate.
Author: Gee it seems like you just keep bashing belief in Santa Claus. Neither here nor there, belief in God as a nice projection of the mind sounds oddly like a thought directly from Ludwig Feuerbach. He believed that mankind ought to “grow up” and realize that saying, “God is love” merely projects man’s desire to love; saying “God is morally perfect” merely projects man’s desire to be moral.
Reader: Yeah, actually, I told you I did a lot of reading. Feuerbach’s critique of Christianity rings true!
Author: Dare I ask if you’ve heard of C.S. Lewis?
Reader: Ah, yes. I’ve read all of his Chronicles of Narnia series. He is quite the engaging author.
Author: Well, Lewis believed that all natural desires of man corresponded to something real. Let me read you a bit of it from his work entitled Mere Christianity:
Creatures are not born with desires unless satisfaction for these desires exists. A baby feels hunger; well, there is such a thing as food. A duckling wants to swim; well, there is such a thing as water. Men feel sexual desire; well, there is such a thing as sex. If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.
Reader: So, what you’re saying is…
Author: Yes, that’s right. The natural desire and longing within the depths of your heart resides from the fact that you were created to be filled by God—and nothing else can fill that void.
Reader: But, what about the desire to be a supermodel? Or the desire to fight aliens? Or the desire to be Superman? How about those desires? Obviously those cannot be easily fulfilled.
Author: And you are exactly correct! Those cannot be easily fulfilled because they are not natural. Every human being during every time has hungered—thus food; thirst—drink; sexual desire—well, there’s sexual experiences. Every man during every day and age has believed in some sort of “higher power.” Whether they believe it or not, human beings desire God. The desire to be Superman, to fight aliens or to be a supermodel are not, wholly, natural desires shared by the prevalence of humanity.
Reader: But I don’t desire God!
Author: Ah, question for you, this time: What is most important to you? What would you be willing to give your life for?
Reader: Well, I think, honestly, in the depths of my heart, believe that I am the most important person. All of which is good depends on whether or not it is good to me.
Author: Then, my friend, you proved my point. You do desire God—but the god in your life is yourself. The thing which you value above all is You. You keep telling me about how you are depressed, saddened, and having your “mid-life crisis” – no wonder! Your desire for God is fulfilled by desiring only things of yourself.
Reader: Maybe I’m just a miserable person. Life has its ups and downs. You cannot make me believe that your God is the one to believe in.
Author: And you know what? You’re right. I cannot make you believe. Belief is a choice. That’s the beauty of free will. You choose. As Kreeft says, “God gives you just enough light to see if you want; enough light to not see if you want to; it comes down to whether you want to see Him.” Searching for God is easy if you want to find Him.
Reader: But that means nothing. One of my favorite philosophers, Bertrand Russell, who was asked on his deathbed what he would say if he met God once he died, replied, “I would ask Him: Sir, why didn’t you give us more evidence!?” Obviously for Russell, God, even if He did exist, gave no good evidence to suggest so.
Author: By claiming to be an atheist, one who rejects God, you must claim that you are one of the .1% most enlightened and arrogant people on the face of the planet because you have rejected the most basic desire—to honor and believe in the existence of some deity…
Reader: But I want PROOF!
Author: You will have proof only when you open yourself wholly for the search of God and finding His will. Allow Him to give you the ultimate proof of His existence: A Direct Interior Experience.
Reader: But…but… how are you so sure that it will work?
Author: I am not sure. I have faith. I have faith that when Jesus Christ said, “Ask and you shall receive; seek and you shall find”, He wasn’t blowing` smoke. I have faith because I have experienced the awesome power of God myself. I know that God exists because He has touched my life. The God I believe in is the sort of God who is kind and loving.
Reader: Why, then, doesn’t God reveal Himself to everyone to induce belief?
Author: Because He desires for us to freely love Him. What good is love if it isn’t free?
Reader: True… But I…
Author: I need to end the paper. I would love to chat with you more in the future! Let me know how finding God goes for you! Keep in touch. Oh, and please, call me J.A. It’s a title of friends.
