I think it was Pascal or Plato who voiced dismay that there was too much evidence to deny God’s existence but not enough evidence to totally affirm His existence. The apostle Paul disagreed and claimed with confidence that all Creation provides enough evidence to justly pronounce people guilty of rejecting God.
Of course there are those among us who propose that there isn’t ANY evidence of God. They frequently emit the plaintive cry, “If God wants me to believe in Him, then He should just show Himself to me?” In a strange twist of logic, this group, atheists to a person demand of God (the God they don’t believe in - remember) that He force them to their knees in intellectual and spiritual submission. They claim to want God to take away the very thing they hold most dear, intellectual / scientific exploration.
Of course that isn’t what they really want. If that is what they really wanted then:
. Jesus’ miracles wouldn’t be casually explained away.
. Jesus’ post resurrection sightings wouldn’t be considered hallucinations.
. Eye witness accounts wouldn’t be called lies or a vast conspiracy.
. The fact of our existence wouldn’t be explained in ever increasingly complicated suppositions.
. Portions of history wouldn’t be arbitrarily and capriciously declared to be non history.
Before you protest too loudly remember this. These same people accept that whatever brought time and the laws of physics into being operated from outside the laws of physics. That is a working definition of a miracle and if that miracle happened then all bets are off regarding the signs that Jesus performed while He was on earth.
All this evidence happens before their very eyes and then they say “I want irrefutable proof.” Ya - Right. Despite the atheist’s crocodile tears, God has actually stooped to cater to those who hate Him the most. God has presented to atheists, at least to the intelligent ones, evidence that plays to their strong suit. God HAS shown Himself in a way we can’t ignore. The questions we are forced to ask are:
. Why is the universe designed with mathematical precision?
. Why are we designed to comprehend, propose and predict cosmological events; events that CAN be comprehended, predicted and propose based on that mathematical certainty?
If there is a God who exists and who created us, it stands to reason that He would want to make Himself known to us. Only a certain type of mind would be able to discern this connection. Monkeys can't. Cows can't. Dolphins can't. We can. This connection, this coincidence, this ability of our mind to perceive and deduce God’s glory goes way beyond our survival needs. Could the reason be so that, as Paul says in Romans that the existence of God (The Creator of both the universe and us) is crystal clear to all but the most obstinate and rebellious?
The type of God that atheists claim to hate is also the type of God they demand; one who shows Himself. Well He has shown Himself on multiple levels. The ball is indeed in our court. I guess the old adage applies - Be careful what you wish for.
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I used to believe in God. Or rather assume there was a God. Until I started looking for evidence. There is none. And as far as Jesus goes, there is no contemporary evidence he existed (first mentioned by a historian, Josephus, really saw Christians who by that time believed Jesus was a real person). So the bible does not prove God's existence. That argument doesn't jive.
Have you ever wondered who wrote the Bible esp. the newer testament? Have you ever wondered how an author who wrote a book that literally changed the world just slipped into obscurity?
markarios,
Say what? There are any number of authors of ancient texts who have slipped into obscurity. What does it prove that the names of the authors of the gospels are not concretely known?
If authors are unknown, it must be god? Talk about yer "god of the gaps"!
Well, yes of course. Even you and I will slip into obscurity - If we ever leave it that is. But none of those authors that you refer to have put together a book that has changed the course of history. And those that have, say Tolstoy or Shakespear, well, they aren’t exactly obscure are they?
Listen, I'm writing from the perspective of the conspiracy theorists; those who believe that the New Testament was put together by people who used lies and nothing but lies in order to create a new religion. If that’s what happened (and to say that it was more than one person makes it even more improbable) that one or more great authors could package lies in such a way that even secular archeologists use his / their writings to guide them in their quest for historical truth, well, that’s quite remarkable. For more than one, even 8 or so people to randomly put together a set of lies that coherently tell a story that changes people's lives specifically and life on this planet generally, and then to not write anything else of import, nor to have their real identities known seems to me to be quite astounding.
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