What a stupid question - right? Who loves trouble? Who in their right mind wants hardship? Well, not many people go looking for suffering but I can tell you this. Those in a close relationship with Jesus know that when trouble comes calling, a profound experience of wonder and gratefulness is not far behind.
“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, in fact I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.”
This is the apostle Paul describing the results of being repeatedly in prison, being flogged, and being exposed to death again and again. Five times he received the forty lashes minus one. Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned and left for dead. Three times he was shipwrecked and spent a night and a day in the open sea. He was constantly on the move. He was in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from his own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city and in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers. Ultimately Paul was beheaded for attesting to the fact that Jesus was crucified, was buried and rose again from the dead. But through it all, because and only because he was in an intimate, healed and forgiven relationship with Jesus, Paul could say that any physical and emotional harm that life / others afflicted on him was more than offset by spiritual peace and security that God provides in spite of life's troubles.
“I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.”
Is that not weird? What kind of a goof enjoys insults, and difficulties and threats going on their life? I’ll tell you who. Someone who, based on loads of experience knows that going through the valley of the shadow of death brings one directly into contact with the presence of one’s Creator, a presence that is as palpable as the blanket that you pull on at night. I remember when our baby died. Our world was so rocked that we were almost wobbly when we walked. We had gone 22 years without a conception. We had quit trying. We'd moved on. We'd adopted a couple kids who were at that time in grade nine and eleven. And then, out of the blue, there was the little blue line. What a ride! What a gift! What joy! What an awesome, loving, merciful God we serve! The glow that was on my wife's face was something that I'd never seen before. She had never, in her whole live felt as physically and emotionally healthy as she did while she was pregnant.
Something was not right from the very beginning. Sarah died at seven weeks. Numb and disoriented, the next couple weeks were to us like a blur as friends drifted in and out of our home. We were never left alone for two full weeks. There were such awesome people in our lives at that time. Beyond that however, Wendy and I sensed God’s presence in such a tangible sense that the air in our living room was thick, thick, thick. I remember saying that I wouldn’t have been surprised to see the depression on the couch where He had been sitting; it was that real. An Older Testament writer might have said, “The hand of the Lord was heavy upon us.”
I can't describe how tremendously God grew us in our relationship with Him during the next year. There is a saying that goes, “In this life you are going to suffer. The only question is, will you suffer with Jesus in your life or without Him.” What we, who are in a healed relationship with Jesus find is that from beginning to end, from A to Z, through joy and through sorrow we experience unbroken care and a renewal of strength from our Lord, Protector and Saviour.
This assurance is based on fact.
This assurance is based on experience.
This assurance is based on a relationship.
This experience is based on repeated demonstrations of a love that outweighs any possible negatives that come from all that life can throw at us.
When God says, “No evil will befall you,” or “Even though you are killed, not a hair on your head will be harmed,” it means that the part of life that’s important, the only part of life that’s important cannot be touched by the events of life. I remember once, about 30 years into my arthritis and being so incredibly crippled up and being in so much pain. Wendy would have to help me get dressed in the morning and undressed at night. She would help me stand up from the table and I had all sorts of braces and lifts and handles added to the house. During one examination, my doctor told Wendy what a stoic personality I am. I didn’t say anything in reply, but I could have and perhaps should have said that my attitude toward the trials of life had absolutely nothing to do with stoicism. Far from it. My attitude, my courage if you want to call it that comes from one and only one unfailing source of joy and strength. That of course is my Creator, Saviour and Lord.
I know beyond a shadow of doubt that when God allows trouble to come into my life, it is only because He has something far better for me on the other side of that particular tragedy. Put another way, I know with confidence that freedom from that particular tragedy would not be as good for me as going through the tragedy along with the presence and guidance of my Lord Jesus. Unfortunately, most of us spend so much time trying to squirm out of our troubles that we miss all the learning that we’re meant to attain in the midst of the trouble.
And so I too have come to rejoice I my infirmities, my trials, my hardships because in my weakness, and frailties, God is able to make me fearless and strong.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Marriage Goes South
Marriage counsellors often find themselves in the surreal experience of trying to convince husbands and wives that treating each other with kindness and respect is necessary if they want to avoid a divorce. What we often find is that people come to us looking for to continue past ways of relating to their spouses while not having to deal with the yucky feelings. And what they really want us to do is, Change the other person; convinced that "When s/he changes THEN I can start to act differently too."
The fact is, there isn't a person on this planet, neither child nor adult who changes for the better because of criticism, nagging, berating, hounding, scolding, etc. It is only and always unearned love and affection that gives us the freedom to change. The only thing that criticism does is cause anger, resentments and either push back or depression.
What happens to most people is that they’ve slipped into the roles they observed and learned from their parents while growing up. And why do they continue to do the very things that led to their own parent’s divorce or chronic fighting? They repeat those old behaviours because simply hating how your parents did things is never enough. Concrete changes have to be made.
Iʼ'm convinced that the main purpose of marriage, from Godʼ's perspective, is to change us. Good marriages leave no room for selfishness, pride or irritability - all things that are in overabundance in this world. And while change is always a challenge, it is not an onerous task. When God says, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you, He is not trying to beat us down. In fact, this is a call to liberation, to freedom, to happiness.
You might think that youʼ're shackled by your husband / wifeʼ's nasty behaviours but you are every bit a slave to your own habitual ways of responding to what you donʼ't like about your spouse. God and only God can free you from this.
If your marriage is going south on you and you aren’t in daily communion with God, BEGGING Him to change your hearts and minds regarding your spouse, any counsellor that you’re seeing is just wasting h/her time. Only you can change the state of your marriage. All a counsellor can do is point the way. God will not force His way into your lives. This is especially true if you have been ignoring Him in your behaviours for years and years as you and your spouse mutually destroy what you promised before God to build. For marriages on the brink of failure, I believe the only solution is to make sure that God is front and centre.
When I treat my spouse well in an effort to get her to treat me better, God steps aside. This is because by my own wish, my attempts at "good" behaviours do not and are not concerning or involving Him. My pride and self-centeredness are still driving my life. However, when my desire to treat Wendy better is solely because I want to please God, to obey God, to Love God ("The one who loves Me is the one who obeys Me) that is when He steps in and begins to work miracles in our lives.
If you will only take the risk to do this, I promise you that a whole new world will open up to you. It's world of freedom whereby you are no longer controlled by the actions of your spouse or anyone else. Treat your spouse with love and respect because you want to please God. He never asks us to do anything that won't make our lives better if we obey Him.
The fact is, there isn't a person on this planet, neither child nor adult who changes for the better because of criticism, nagging, berating, hounding, scolding, etc. It is only and always unearned love and affection that gives us the freedom to change. The only thing that criticism does is cause anger, resentments and either push back or depression.
What happens to most people is that they’ve slipped into the roles they observed and learned from their parents while growing up. And why do they continue to do the very things that led to their own parent’s divorce or chronic fighting? They repeat those old behaviours because simply hating how your parents did things is never enough. Concrete changes have to be made.
Iʼ'm convinced that the main purpose of marriage, from Godʼ's perspective, is to change us. Good marriages leave no room for selfishness, pride or irritability - all things that are in overabundance in this world. And while change is always a challenge, it is not an onerous task. When God says, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, pray for those who persecute you, He is not trying to beat us down. In fact, this is a call to liberation, to freedom, to happiness.
You might think that youʼ're shackled by your husband / wifeʼ's nasty behaviours but you are every bit a slave to your own habitual ways of responding to what you donʼ't like about your spouse. God and only God can free you from this.
If your marriage is going south on you and you aren’t in daily communion with God, BEGGING Him to change your hearts and minds regarding your spouse, any counsellor that you’re seeing is just wasting h/her time. Only you can change the state of your marriage. All a counsellor can do is point the way. God will not force His way into your lives. This is especially true if you have been ignoring Him in your behaviours for years and years as you and your spouse mutually destroy what you promised before God to build. For marriages on the brink of failure, I believe the only solution is to make sure that God is front and centre.
When I treat my spouse well in an effort to get her to treat me better, God steps aside. This is because by my own wish, my attempts at "good" behaviours do not and are not concerning or involving Him. My pride and self-centeredness are still driving my life. However, when my desire to treat Wendy better is solely because I want to please God, to obey God, to Love God ("The one who loves Me is the one who obeys Me) that is when He steps in and begins to work miracles in our lives.
If you will only take the risk to do this, I promise you that a whole new world will open up to you. It's world of freedom whereby you are no longer controlled by the actions of your spouse or anyone else. Treat your spouse with love and respect because you want to please God. He never asks us to do anything that won't make our lives better if we obey Him.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Historical Jesus
Did you know that is a factual title? Did you know that a title like that is reserved for Christianity? The teaching’s of Buddha aren’t set within a historical context. The teaching of Krishna isn’t, even the Koran is not historically contextual. The Bible and the life of Jesus are profoundly historical in nature. It’s practically like the Bible was saying to spiritual seekers, “Come and check this out. We will tell you where Jesus was born, where He lived, what He did, who His family was, where He travelled and of course how He died and where He was buried.” The Bible invites us to seek the Truth.
There is not even a hint of vagueness in the Gospel accounts. They are filled to the brim with historical details. They tell where the miracles took place. They tell who the witnesses were and invite readers, at least those at the time, to go and ask them what happened. Names are named and places are described. The accounts of Jesus' life say ‘Here is the evidence for what we are saying. Don’t take our word for it. Go and see for yourself that what we are saying is true.’ Even the tomb itself was described this way. The stone was rolled away for our sake. It’s like God is saying, “Go look! Jesus is not there.”
There is not even a hint of vagueness in the Gospel accounts. They are filled to the brim with historical details. They tell where the miracles took place. They tell who the witnesses were and invite readers, at least those at the time, to go and ask them what happened. Names are named and places are described. The accounts of Jesus' life say ‘Here is the evidence for what we are saying. Don’t take our word for it. Go and see for yourself that what we are saying is true.’ Even the tomb itself was described this way. The stone was rolled away for our sake. It’s like God is saying, “Go look! Jesus is not there.”
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Who’s really wearing the pants?
ARMADILLO TEXAS (Reuters) September 3 / 08
A recently released study from U of T Armadillo, shows that 99.87% of women between the ages of 18 and 80 who are in a relationship are either “Much More Happy” or “Significantly More Happy” if they have total control over their partner’s lives.
Svetlana Yablonski, senior researcher and author of the study stated,
“Women experience significant levels of depression, chronic irritation and trouble sleeping when their partners made independent decisions regarding such things as: entertainment, choice of restaurant, whether to have children or even what time to go to bed. Conversely, when a woman had the final say as to whether her partner could turn on the computer, what time her partner should begin cooking dinner, what colour pants her partner could purchase or “just about anything really,” those women report a dramatic rise in self-esteem, desire to shop, and an unusual compulsion to withhold sex. Total control appeared to be related to greater personal happiness.
A surprising outcome to some was that these results were the same for couples in lesbian relationships and heterosexual relationships. “That could explain,” said Yablonski, “the considerably shorter duration of lesbian vs. heterosexual relationships. There can only be one god in any given universe and when you have two individuals vying for that position, well, the results speak for themselves.”
A recently released study from U of T Armadillo, shows that 99.87% of women between the ages of 18 and 80 who are in a relationship are either “Much More Happy” or “Significantly More Happy” if they have total control over their partner’s lives.
Svetlana Yablonski, senior researcher and author of the study stated,
“Women experience significant levels of depression, chronic irritation and trouble sleeping when their partners made independent decisions regarding such things as: entertainment, choice of restaurant, whether to have children or even what time to go to bed. Conversely, when a woman had the final say as to whether her partner could turn on the computer, what time her partner should begin cooking dinner, what colour pants her partner could purchase or “just about anything really,” those women report a dramatic rise in self-esteem, desire to shop, and an unusual compulsion to withhold sex. Total control appeared to be related to greater personal happiness.
A surprising outcome to some was that these results were the same for couples in lesbian relationships and heterosexual relationships. “That could explain,” said Yablonski, “the considerably shorter duration of lesbian vs. heterosexual relationships. There can only be one god in any given universe and when you have two individuals vying for that position, well, the results speak for themselves.”
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Atheists find life more precious . . .
Because, in the atheist belief system this life is all there is, it’s been frequently said, by atheists, that atheists find this life much more precious than do Christians. I think they’re right. Very generally speaking, the effort to live as long as possible, the drive to consume and to make money, the need to be in a relationship, the desperation when a loved one dies, the need to look good and to “succeed” in their chosen profession, all of these seem more important to “those who live on the earth” than they are to Christians. I’ve even heard atheists claim that their children are far more important to them than Christian’s children are to them. This last one is a bit of a stretch but really, I’d have a hard time arguing that atheists don’t take their lives more seriously because according to their faith, after this, they’re done.
If this is true, then is the opposite also true? Do those who believe in another stage of life, specifically the Christian “heaven” take their lives less seriously? Is there any evidence for this or is it really no more than an ignorant assumption? Because again, for those who think this life is all there is, I think they’re right. I think that we Christians do take our personal lives less seriously. What happens instead is that we find the lives of others more precious than our own.
We attended a "Family Camp" this summer, run by our Church and located at one of our northern lakes. It was just five days to come and relax. There was organised stuff for the kids to do - hiking, wallclimbing, archery, water sports, trampolines, etc. etc. And for the adults there was one morning Bible study, but the rest of the time was whatever we wanted to do. My point however is this. Out of all the families that were there (around 60) from various Congregations around the province, fully 68% were foster parents and slightly less than that were adoptive parents. Family in general and children specifically, both of which require an other centred focus in one's life apparently rates highly in the lives of those who live by the Christian faith. One can't go by one Church summer camp but this trend has been true down through history.
Wherever Christians have gone, hospitals and schools have been built. Orphanages, homeless shelters, houses that focus on one’s spiritual needs, food distribution centres, medical outposts, clothing depots, homes for the aged and dispossessed, drug and alcohol treatment centres, treatment centres for leprosy and AID’s and centres for the severely handicapped, these are the things that spring up wherever Christianity takes root.
While there have been exceptions to the claim, it wasn’t until close to the end of the 20th century that atheists began in earnest to project an “other” oriented view of themselves and their belief system. Like teens who think they've discovered the joys of sex, atheists have discovered for the first time that ‘Helping others is almost like being good to yourself! Cool!’ Well, better late than never.
So, I think that claim is probably true, atheists do indeed think more about themselves because this life is all they’ve got. Like the saying goes, “Apart from Jesus, this life is as good as it’s going to get. With Jesus, this life is as bad as it’s going to get.”
If this is true, then is the opposite also true? Do those who believe in another stage of life, specifically the Christian “heaven” take their lives less seriously? Is there any evidence for this or is it really no more than an ignorant assumption? Because again, for those who think this life is all there is, I think they’re right. I think that we Christians do take our personal lives less seriously. What happens instead is that we find the lives of others more precious than our own.
We attended a "Family Camp" this summer, run by our Church and located at one of our northern lakes. It was just five days to come and relax. There was organised stuff for the kids to do - hiking, wallclimbing, archery, water sports, trampolines, etc. etc. And for the adults there was one morning Bible study, but the rest of the time was whatever we wanted to do. My point however is this. Out of all the families that were there (around 60) from various Congregations around the province, fully 68% were foster parents and slightly less than that were adoptive parents. Family in general and children specifically, both of which require an other centred focus in one's life apparently rates highly in the lives of those who live by the Christian faith. One can't go by one Church summer camp but this trend has been true down through history.
Wherever Christians have gone, hospitals and schools have been built. Orphanages, homeless shelters, houses that focus on one’s spiritual needs, food distribution centres, medical outposts, clothing depots, homes for the aged and dispossessed, drug and alcohol treatment centres, treatment centres for leprosy and AID’s and centres for the severely handicapped, these are the things that spring up wherever Christianity takes root.
While there have been exceptions to the claim, it wasn’t until close to the end of the 20th century that atheists began in earnest to project an “other” oriented view of themselves and their belief system. Like teens who think they've discovered the joys of sex, atheists have discovered for the first time that ‘Helping others is almost like being good to yourself! Cool!’ Well, better late than never.
So, I think that claim is probably true, atheists do indeed think more about themselves because this life is all they’ve got. Like the saying goes, “Apart from Jesus, this life is as good as it’s going to get. With Jesus, this life is as bad as it’s going to get.”
Monday, September 1, 2008
Objective Morality? Not so much.
I don't get it. Atheists talk as though objective morality exists:
God is bad
We shouldn't discriminate
Stealing is wrong
But they also claim that these are just societal constructs.
Is that normal?
God is bad
We shouldn't discriminate
Stealing is wrong
But they also claim that these are just societal constructs.
Is that normal?
Atheism Simply Doesn't Compute
Except for epistemic, experiential, logical, coherent and reasonable evidence for the existence of God, I could be an atheist. Instead, my belief in God begins with the following observations:
. Because of scientific (observable, repeatable, verifiable) facts, we know that Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
. Because of scientific evidence, we know that The universe began to exist.
Because those premises are true and coherent we can know that the following conclusion is also true: The universe has a cause.
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. Matter and energy cannot precede themselves or preexist themselves either physically or chronologically.
. The reason that no event can precede itself is because “Coming Into Being” is an essential and objective feature of time. Time did not exist prior to the Big Bang.
. Matter and energy do not have the ability to create themselves or bring themselves into existence from nothing ex nihilo
. As will be shown below, matter and energy cannot exist from infinity past.
. Whatever brought matter, energy, space and time into existence had to have existed outside of these entities.
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. Anything that exists has an explanation of it’s existence, either in the necessity of its own nature or in an external cause.
. If the universe has an explanation of its existence, that explanation is God. That is because:
- Existing outside of time, the Cause is infinite or Eternal,
- Existing outside of matter, the Cause is immaterial or Spiritual,
- Existing as the Cause of time and energy, space, matter and the laws of physics, the Cause is immeasurably more powerful than the mathematically precise universe and its exquisitely Finely Tuned constants and quantities.
- The cause cannot be “scientific” because neither matter nor the laws of physics existed prior to the Singularity.
- Therefore the cause is not scientific but Personal.
- The transcendent Cause of the universe is therefore on the order of a Mind. It’s omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
That Cause, at least in the West is described as God.
. The universe exists.
. Therefore, the universe has an explanation of its existence.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: The explanation of the existence of the universe is God
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. If atheism is true, then the universe has no explanation of its existence. This in fact is what atheists would have us believe as literally over a dozen theories have come and gone in a vain attempt to rule out God as the Cause of a beginning universe.
. If there IS an explanation of the universe’s existence, then atheism is not true.
. Most atheists would admit that the universe does indeed have a beginning.
. Hence, most atheists are implicitly committed to God being the explanation of why the universe exists.
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Some may deny that the universe began to exist, but in reality the universe cannot be infinite. That is because: The Second Law of Thermodynamics rules out the possibility of the universe existing from infinity past. As well -
. It is physically impossible to have an Actual Infinite Number of Things or Events preceding our today.
. A beginningless Series of events in time entails an actual infinite number of things.
. Therefore, a beginningless Series of events in time that leads to the beginning of our universe cannot exist.
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. Neither can we get to our point in time by forming an actual infinite Collection of things by adding one member after another.
. A series of events in time is a collection formed by adding one member after another
. A collection formed by adding one member after another cannot be an actual infinite.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: A collection of events in time cannot be actually infinite - therefore the universe cannot be infinite. Therefore the universe had to have a beginning and a Cause.
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I believe in God because His existence answers not just, Why did the universe come into being, but Why is it so finely tuned that we can exist? Note: Fine Tuning is a neutral secular term in that it refers to constants and quantities (atomic weight, gravitational constant, etc.) being just right for the existence of intelligent life. That’s in comparison with the virtually infinite range of possible values. So:
. The fine tuning of the universe is due to either physical necessity, chance or design.
. It is not due to physical necessity (there is no reason whatsoever that any given universe would be so finely tuned) nor is this fine tuning due to chance (the fine tuning of our universe is so exquisite that an infinitesimal change in any one of the necessary constants and quantities would mean that neither we nor any life would happen).
. True claim: If observers who have evolved within a universe observe its constants and quantities, it is highly PROBABLE that they will observe them to be fine-tuned for their existence.
. True claim: It is highly and extraordinarily IMPROBABLE that a universe exists which is finely tuned for the evolution of observers within it.
Some might think that if the constants and quantities of our universe were different, then other life forms would have evolved. Virtually all of these people are those who hold to the neurotic hyperbole or Richard Dawkins. Nevertheless, this is simply not true. “Life” means the ability to take in food and use its energy, to grow and adapt and reproduce. Without the fine tuning that we observe, not even atomic matter would exist, not to mention planets where life might evolve. Among other things the universe would have either recollapsed or expanded beyond any ability to congeal. Again, there is no reason to expect that a universe as finely tuned as is our universe should exist by chance, nor is there any need or physical necessity for such a universe to exist anywhere except for the sole purpose of life. Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: The fine tuning of the universe is due to design.
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I also believe in the existence of God because:
. If God does not exist, objective morals, values and duties do not exist
. But objective morals, values and duties DO exist.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: God exists.
Physical laws are fully realised in the physical world. Objective moral laws are fully realised in Jesus and Father God. Our daily interactions with others shows we believe that objective moral order is as real and independent of our recognition as is the natural order of things. Our perceptions of natural and moral laws are givens of our experience.
Fact: Objective moral Goodness and Duty are based on God’s character. Since our moral duties are grounded in the Divine commands, they are not independent of God. Neither are God’s commands arbitrary, for they are the necessary expression of His just and loving nature.
. Mercy is required of me if and only if a just and loving God commands me to be merciful. Meanness is forbidden of me if and only if a just and loving God commands me to not be mean. Mercy or meanness are permitted or denied for me if and only if a just and loving God commands me to / not to commit acts of mercy or meanness. God is merciful therefore He commands us to be merciful. God is not mean therefore He commands us to not be mean. God is Just therefore He commands us to act Justly. What God commands or permits is good and what He forbids is wrong, bad, evil, self-destructive. This is what it means for morality to be objective vs. subjective or relative to the situation or to the individual’s character or personality or level of empathy, likes or dislikes, sanity or insanity.
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I believe in God because of the following philosophical and metaphysical evidence. Virtually all philosophers agree that if there is the slightest chance of God existing, then He does in fact exist. Therefore, we can ask ourselves, “What is the greatest conceivable being?” Our answer goes past me and you and the Dali Lama and any other "great" human being we can think of and we come to an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Being that we commonly call “God” We can call it a Mind or something else but it amounts to the same thing ie. The Greatest Conceivable Being That Can Possibly Exist.
Therefore we can know that God exists because:
. It is in fact metaphysically possible that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists.
. Because it’s possible that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists, a Greatest Conceivable Being does exist in some possible reality.
. Because of the very nature of a Greatest Conceivable Being, if a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in SOME possible reality, it exists in EVERY possible reality.
. If a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in every possible reality, then it exists in actual reality.
. If a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in the actual reality, then a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in our reality.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, it stands to reason that the conclusion is also true: A Greatest Conceivable Being or God exists.
I also believe in a Greatest Conceivable Being - God - because:
. Abstract objects, such as numbers and propositions, are either independently existing realities or else they are concepts that find their grounding in and from some Mind.
. Abstract objects are not independently existing realities. Yet we intuitively know that they exist. Our problem is that when we become aware of the sheer volume of potential abstract objects we know for certain that the mind which causes them to exist and find their being and grounding could never be any human mind.
. If abstract objects are concepts in some Mind, then an omniscient, metaphysically necessary being exists. That is, only in an omniscient intelligence or mind can we find the grounding or cause for abstract objects.
. Because some of these concepts exist necessarily they cannot find their grounding in contingent beings, namely us.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the conclusion must also be true: An omniscient, metaphysically necessary being exists. That Being is what we call God.
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. Because the cosmological argument shows that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists who is the cause or grounding of reality as we know it, and
. Because the moral argument shows that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists who is the cause or grounding of all objective morals, values, duties and Truth, and
. Because the conceptualist argument shows that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists who is the necessary intelligence for the grounding of abstract objects,
I believe that Creator God exists.
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While any or all the above may or may not give you pause for thought, The most important basis for my belief in God has nothing to do with any of the above. Instead, His palpable presence in my life, His counsel, His comfort, His correction and guidance, His love and mercy and grace. All of these things are so very real in my innermost being that they compel me to acknowledge the truth of His existence. I am so very grateful that I have been granted the gift of "Wide-Band Awareness." This is an Gift / ability that is shared and immediately recognised by people from around the world regardless of race, social stature, gender or intellectual ability. For some reason atheists seem denied this perceptive ability.
Secondly, I believe in God because of the historicity of Jesus. His life, death and resurrection cannot be adequately explained away. Something totally other took place when Jesus appeared on earth.
Third, I believe in God because the heavens and the earth declare His handiwork. There is simply no sufficient explanation for why the universe began to exist exactly as it did other than “Creator God.” This is not an explanation from ignorance because Creator God is the conclusion that fits the scientific evidence.
While it's true that atheists have proposed other theories for the "Creation” of the universe, it was not because of any inadequacy in or lack of evidence for the idea of God as Creator. The presentation of alternative theories is only because God as Creator is philosophically unacceptable to atheists.
The type of belief in God that I'm talking about is sometimes called “faith.” But faith is often misunderstood as being separate from reason or evidence. That could not be more inaccurate. For one thing, we are told to love the Lord our God with, among other things, “all our mind.” Second the Bible describes Faith as being “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.” While one’s faith does not find its origin in evidence (the origin is purely from God - John 6:44), faith is clearly supported by evidence, reason and logic. In other words, Faith is anything but blind or uninformed. In my opinion agnostics are the only ones who ‘go as far as empirical evidence will let them.’ Atheists, as I’ve stated, take the next step because of a philosophically unacceptable conclusion to where the evidence points: Creator God exists. Christians take the next step because of the reality of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord of lords and King of kings who lives within their very being. Nevertheless, my epistemic and experiential belief in God is grounded in logic and reason and that is why I'm not an atheist.
While there have been criticisms of the above premises, what’s important to note is that a criticism or an objection is not a refutation.
- When an intelligent person willfully abandons reason and begins to posit finite infinities, causeless beginnings and beginningless beginnings, I know that I’m dealing with someone involved in a desperate attempt to avoid a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
- When an intelligent person willfully abandons classical historical scholarship and begins to deny known and knowable facts of history, but only as they apply to the person of Jesus, I know that I’m dealing with someone who is confronted with a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
- When an intelligent person willfully and falsely claims to follow whatever ethical standard is currently in vogue and calls that a reasonable way to live, I know that I’m dealing with someone involved in a desperate, fearful attempt to avoid a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
- When someone goes in search of ever more complicated solutions, abandoning one after another, after another, after another, not because of new evidence but because of a need to avoid current evidence, and when that person never returns to a simple solution that coincides with current knowledge and common sense, I know that I’ve encountered an individual who has been confronted with a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
That is sad and that is why I’m not an atheist.
. Because of scientific (observable, repeatable, verifiable) facts, we know that Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
. Because of scientific evidence, we know that The universe began to exist.
Because those premises are true and coherent we can know that the following conclusion is also true: The universe has a cause.
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. Matter and energy cannot precede themselves or preexist themselves either physically or chronologically.
. The reason that no event can precede itself is because “Coming Into Being” is an essential and objective feature of time. Time did not exist prior to the Big Bang.
. Matter and energy do not have the ability to create themselves or bring themselves into existence from nothing ex nihilo
. As will be shown below, matter and energy cannot exist from infinity past.
. Whatever brought matter, energy, space and time into existence had to have existed outside of these entities.
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. Anything that exists has an explanation of it’s existence, either in the necessity of its own nature or in an external cause.
. If the universe has an explanation of its existence, that explanation is God. That is because:
- Existing outside of time, the Cause is infinite or Eternal,
- Existing outside of matter, the Cause is immaterial or Spiritual,
- Existing as the Cause of time and energy, space, matter and the laws of physics, the Cause is immeasurably more powerful than the mathematically precise universe and its exquisitely Finely Tuned constants and quantities.
- The cause cannot be “scientific” because neither matter nor the laws of physics existed prior to the Singularity.
- Therefore the cause is not scientific but Personal.
- The transcendent Cause of the universe is therefore on the order of a Mind. It’s omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent.
That Cause, at least in the West is described as God.
. The universe exists.
. Therefore, the universe has an explanation of its existence.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: The explanation of the existence of the universe is God
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. If atheism is true, then the universe has no explanation of its existence. This in fact is what atheists would have us believe as literally over a dozen theories have come and gone in a vain attempt to rule out God as the Cause of a beginning universe.
. If there IS an explanation of the universe’s existence, then atheism is not true.
. Most atheists would admit that the universe does indeed have a beginning.
. Hence, most atheists are implicitly committed to God being the explanation of why the universe exists.
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Some may deny that the universe began to exist, but in reality the universe cannot be infinite. That is because: The Second Law of Thermodynamics rules out the possibility of the universe existing from infinity past. As well -
. It is physically impossible to have an Actual Infinite Number of Things or Events preceding our today.
. A beginningless Series of events in time entails an actual infinite number of things.
. Therefore, a beginningless Series of events in time that leads to the beginning of our universe cannot exist.
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. Neither can we get to our point in time by forming an actual infinite Collection of things by adding one member after another.
. A series of events in time is a collection formed by adding one member after another
. A collection formed by adding one member after another cannot be an actual infinite.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: A collection of events in time cannot be actually infinite - therefore the universe cannot be infinite. Therefore the universe had to have a beginning and a Cause.
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I believe in God because His existence answers not just, Why did the universe come into being, but Why is it so finely tuned that we can exist? Note: Fine Tuning is a neutral secular term in that it refers to constants and quantities (atomic weight, gravitational constant, etc.) being just right for the existence of intelligent life. That’s in comparison with the virtually infinite range of possible values. So:
. The fine tuning of the universe is due to either physical necessity, chance or design.
. It is not due to physical necessity (there is no reason whatsoever that any given universe would be so finely tuned) nor is this fine tuning due to chance (the fine tuning of our universe is so exquisite that an infinitesimal change in any one of the necessary constants and quantities would mean that neither we nor any life would happen).
. True claim: If observers who have evolved within a universe observe its constants and quantities, it is highly PROBABLE that they will observe them to be fine-tuned for their existence.
. True claim: It is highly and extraordinarily IMPROBABLE that a universe exists which is finely tuned for the evolution of observers within it.
Some might think that if the constants and quantities of our universe were different, then other life forms would have evolved. Virtually all of these people are those who hold to the neurotic hyperbole or Richard Dawkins. Nevertheless, this is simply not true. “Life” means the ability to take in food and use its energy, to grow and adapt and reproduce. Without the fine tuning that we observe, not even atomic matter would exist, not to mention planets where life might evolve. Among other things the universe would have either recollapsed or expanded beyond any ability to congeal. Again, there is no reason to expect that a universe as finely tuned as is our universe should exist by chance, nor is there any need or physical necessity for such a universe to exist anywhere except for the sole purpose of life. Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: The fine tuning of the universe is due to design.
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I also believe in the existence of God because:
. If God does not exist, objective morals, values and duties do not exist
. But objective morals, values and duties DO exist.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the following conclusion must also be true: God exists.
Physical laws are fully realised in the physical world. Objective moral laws are fully realised in Jesus and Father God. Our daily interactions with others shows we believe that objective moral order is as real and independent of our recognition as is the natural order of things. Our perceptions of natural and moral laws are givens of our experience.
Fact: Objective moral Goodness and Duty are based on God’s character. Since our moral duties are grounded in the Divine commands, they are not independent of God. Neither are God’s commands arbitrary, for they are the necessary expression of His just and loving nature.
. Mercy is required of me if and only if a just and loving God commands me to be merciful. Meanness is forbidden of me if and only if a just and loving God commands me to not be mean. Mercy or meanness are permitted or denied for me if and only if a just and loving God commands me to / not to commit acts of mercy or meanness. God is merciful therefore He commands us to be merciful. God is not mean therefore He commands us to not be mean. God is Just therefore He commands us to act Justly. What God commands or permits is good and what He forbids is wrong, bad, evil, self-destructive. This is what it means for morality to be objective vs. subjective or relative to the situation or to the individual’s character or personality or level of empathy, likes or dislikes, sanity or insanity.
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I believe in God because of the following philosophical and metaphysical evidence. Virtually all philosophers agree that if there is the slightest chance of God existing, then He does in fact exist. Therefore, we can ask ourselves, “What is the greatest conceivable being?” Our answer goes past me and you and the Dali Lama and any other "great" human being we can think of and we come to an omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent Being that we commonly call “God” We can call it a Mind or something else but it amounts to the same thing ie. The Greatest Conceivable Being That Can Possibly Exist.
Therefore we can know that God exists because:
. It is in fact metaphysically possible that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists.
. Because it’s possible that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists, a Greatest Conceivable Being does exist in some possible reality.
. Because of the very nature of a Greatest Conceivable Being, if a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in SOME possible reality, it exists in EVERY possible reality.
. If a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in every possible reality, then it exists in actual reality.
. If a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in the actual reality, then a Greatest Conceivable Being exists in our reality.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, it stands to reason that the conclusion is also true: A Greatest Conceivable Being or God exists.
I also believe in a Greatest Conceivable Being - God - because:
. Abstract objects, such as numbers and propositions, are either independently existing realities or else they are concepts that find their grounding in and from some Mind.
. Abstract objects are not independently existing realities. Yet we intuitively know that they exist. Our problem is that when we become aware of the sheer volume of potential abstract objects we know for certain that the mind which causes them to exist and find their being and grounding could never be any human mind.
. If abstract objects are concepts in some Mind, then an omniscient, metaphysically necessary being exists. That is, only in an omniscient intelligence or mind can we find the grounding or cause for abstract objects.
. Because some of these concepts exist necessarily they cannot find their grounding in contingent beings, namely us.
Because the above premises are true and coherent, the conclusion must also be true: An omniscient, metaphysically necessary being exists. That Being is what we call God.
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. Because the cosmological argument shows that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists who is the cause or grounding of reality as we know it, and
. Because the moral argument shows that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists who is the cause or grounding of all objective morals, values, duties and Truth, and
. Because the conceptualist argument shows that a Greatest Conceivable Being exists who is the necessary intelligence for the grounding of abstract objects,
I believe that Creator God exists.
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While any or all the above may or may not give you pause for thought, The most important basis for my belief in God has nothing to do with any of the above. Instead, His palpable presence in my life, His counsel, His comfort, His correction and guidance, His love and mercy and grace. All of these things are so very real in my innermost being that they compel me to acknowledge the truth of His existence. I am so very grateful that I have been granted the gift of "Wide-Band Awareness." This is an Gift / ability that is shared and immediately recognised by people from around the world regardless of race, social stature, gender or intellectual ability. For some reason atheists seem denied this perceptive ability.
Secondly, I believe in God because of the historicity of Jesus. His life, death and resurrection cannot be adequately explained away. Something totally other took place when Jesus appeared on earth.
Third, I believe in God because the heavens and the earth declare His handiwork. There is simply no sufficient explanation for why the universe began to exist exactly as it did other than “Creator God.” This is not an explanation from ignorance because Creator God is the conclusion that fits the scientific evidence.
While it's true that atheists have proposed other theories for the "Creation” of the universe, it was not because of any inadequacy in or lack of evidence for the idea of God as Creator. The presentation of alternative theories is only because God as Creator is philosophically unacceptable to atheists.
The type of belief in God that I'm talking about is sometimes called “faith.” But faith is often misunderstood as being separate from reason or evidence. That could not be more inaccurate. For one thing, we are told to love the Lord our God with, among other things, “all our mind.” Second the Bible describes Faith as being “The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not yet seen.” While one’s faith does not find its origin in evidence (the origin is purely from God - John 6:44), faith is clearly supported by evidence, reason and logic. In other words, Faith is anything but blind or uninformed. In my opinion agnostics are the only ones who ‘go as far as empirical evidence will let them.’ Atheists, as I’ve stated, take the next step because of a philosophically unacceptable conclusion to where the evidence points: Creator God exists. Christians take the next step because of the reality of Jesus Christ, Son of God, Lord of lords and King of kings who lives within their very being. Nevertheless, my epistemic and experiential belief in God is grounded in logic and reason and that is why I'm not an atheist.
While there have been criticisms of the above premises, what’s important to note is that a criticism or an objection is not a refutation.
- When an intelligent person willfully abandons reason and begins to posit finite infinities, causeless beginnings and beginningless beginnings, I know that I’m dealing with someone involved in a desperate attempt to avoid a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
- When an intelligent person willfully abandons classical historical scholarship and begins to deny known and knowable facts of history, but only as they apply to the person of Jesus, I know that I’m dealing with someone who is confronted with a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
- When an intelligent person willfully and falsely claims to follow whatever ethical standard is currently in vogue and calls that a reasonable way to live, I know that I’m dealing with someone involved in a desperate, fearful attempt to avoid a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
- When someone goes in search of ever more complicated solutions, abandoning one after another, after another, after another, not because of new evidence but because of a need to avoid current evidence, and when that person never returns to a simple solution that coincides with current knowledge and common sense, I know that I’ve encountered an individual who has been confronted with a philosophically unacceptable conclusion: Creator God exists.
That is sad and that is why I’m not an atheist.
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