I remember back in my college days I had a professor that apparently did not believe in the existence of God. Whenever a student in the class would make a comment in class and use the word, "God," he would ask, "Whose god?" I think that he believed that God was a part of a person's imagination and not a real entity.
I had another professor in college that taught a course on the New Testament. On the very first day of class, he told everyone in the class, "God is just as real to me as you are."
I think that I share the same convictions about the existence of God that my New Testament professor did. For me, God is real. There really is a God that I can talk to and who hears my prayers.
There are various philosophical arguments for the existence of God. One such argument is called the cosmological argument. This argument states that since every event is caused by something else, there must have been Someone who caused the first event. The One who caused the first event is God. Then, there is Immanuel Kant's moral argument. He said that since there is a universal moral code inherent in all people, there must be an External Lawgiver. That Lawgiver is God. Another argument is the teleological argument. It says that since there is order and arrangement in the universe, there must be some Intelligent Being who is responsible for that order and arrangement. That Intelligent Being who is the fountainhead of order in the universe and is responsible for it is God. The ontological argument is another argument for the existence of God. Anselm of Canterbury used it to prove His existence. He said that since there are different degrees of perfection in nature, there must be Absolute Perfection. That which has absolute perfection is God.
Another argument that I learned while I was involved in an Evangelical Christian group during my college days is the incomplete knowledge argument. What a member of this group of Christians would do whenever he or she encountered someone who denied the existence of God was to ask that person if he or she knew all the knowledge that was in the universe. Of course, no one does. So, the atheist would have to answer no. Then the Evangelical Christian would ask, "Is it possible that somewhere within all of that knowledge that you do not know there is a God?" To any thinking person the answer would have to be yes. So now, the atheist is no longer an atheist, but an agnostic.
There are probably other philosophical arguments for the existence of God, but no one can discover God through philosophical reasoning. The only way to really know God is through personal encounter with Him.
Let us use an example here to illustrate a truth. There is a person named Nick who lives on such and such a street in such and such a place in Georgia. (I do not want to use actual examples. I just want to illustrate an idea.) I know this person, Nick, and have talked to him. He is very real to me. There are people who live in Minnesota who have never met Nick and they do not know that he actually does exist. They may even doubt that he actually does exist or say that he does not exist at all. Does their failure to know Nick negate his existence? No! Of course, not!
The same holds true for God. Someone might doubt the existence of God. They might even think that He does not exist at all, but that does not mean that He does not exist. It just simply means that they do not know Him.
The first step in getting to know God is to pray to Him. One must start treating Him as a Reality that can be known and not just merely the proof of some philosophical reasoning. St. James said:
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. (St. James 4:8)
The second step is to try to find out how He wants you to live your life and start trying to live the way He wants you to. St. John said:
And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him. (I John 2:3,4)
So, for someone who does not know for certain that there is a God, but would like to meet Him, I would say, "Try talking to Him on a daily basis and try finding out what kind of a life it is that pleases Him. Then, try as much as possible to live the kind of life He wants you to live." These are the very first steps in building a relationship with God.
I will write more on this subject of knowing God in some later blogs.
Steve
I had another professor in college that taught a course on the New Testament. On the very first day of class, he told everyone in the class, "God is just as real to me as you are."
I think that I share the same convictions about the existence of God that my New Testament professor did. For me, God is real. There really is a God that I can talk to and who hears my prayers.
There are various philosophical arguments for the existence of God. One such argument is called the cosmological argument. This argument states that since every event is caused by something else, there must have been Someone who caused the first event. The One who caused the first event is God. Then, there is Immanuel Kant's moral argument. He said that since there is a universal moral code inherent in all people, there must be an External Lawgiver. That Lawgiver is God. Another argument is the teleological argument. It says that since there is order and arrangement in the universe, there must be some Intelligent Being who is responsible for that order and arrangement. That Intelligent Being who is the fountainhead of order in the universe and is responsible for it is God. The ontological argument is another argument for the existence of God. Anselm of Canterbury used it to prove His existence. He said that since there are different degrees of perfection in nature, there must be Absolute Perfection. That which has absolute perfection is God.
Another argument that I learned while I was involved in an Evangelical Christian group during my college days is the incomplete knowledge argument. What a member of this group of Christians would do whenever he or she encountered someone who denied the existence of God was to ask that person if he or she knew all the knowledge that was in the universe. Of course, no one does. So, the atheist would have to answer no. Then the Evangelical Christian would ask, "Is it possible that somewhere within all of that knowledge that you do not know there is a God?" To any thinking person the answer would have to be yes. So now, the atheist is no longer an atheist, but an agnostic.
There are probably other philosophical arguments for the existence of God, but no one can discover God through philosophical reasoning. The only way to really know God is through personal encounter with Him.
Let us use an example here to illustrate a truth. There is a person named Nick who lives on such and such a street in such and such a place in Georgia. (I do not want to use actual examples. I just want to illustrate an idea.) I know this person, Nick, and have talked to him. He is very real to me. There are people who live in Minnesota who have never met Nick and they do not know that he actually does exist. They may even doubt that he actually does exist or say that he does not exist at all. Does their failure to know Nick negate his existence? No! Of course, not!
The same holds true for God. Someone might doubt the existence of God. They might even think that He does not exist at all, but that does not mean that He does not exist. It just simply means that they do not know Him.
The first step in getting to know God is to pray to Him. One must start treating Him as a Reality that can be known and not just merely the proof of some philosophical reasoning. St. James said:
Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you. (St. James 4:8)
The second step is to try to find out how He wants you to live your life and start trying to live the way He wants you to. St. John said:
And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, I know Him, and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him. (I John 2:3,4)
So, for someone who does not know for certain that there is a God, but would like to meet Him, I would say, "Try talking to Him on a daily basis and try finding out what kind of a life it is that pleases Him. Then, try as much as possible to live the kind of life He wants you to live." These are the very first steps in building a relationship with God.
I will write more on this subject of knowing God in some later blogs.
Steve
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