Saturday, August 28, 2004
The Proof
Note from Linda: I asked Dan Heaton, one of the best reporters I know, to respond to John's post. I admire Dan because he not only writes well, but his writings represent the man I see him to be from the glimpses in the lunch room --a man who speaks of activities with his kids, his family, and his church with such excitement and animation and sincere joy, one could never doubt the depth of his relationships to God, family, and community.
In a recent entry, writer John Addis suggests that there really is no God, at least not in the way that Christians consider there to be a God.
The challenge that there is no God is a difficult one. Who I am to argue that there really is one and that I know who God is?
I thought for a week or two, that perhaps I was unqualified to take this challenge. After all, this is merely an internet forum. It is not a church, or my own home, where I most normally talk about God. But, if I believe in God in the Christian sense, then I am compelled to respond and proclaim that "Yes, there is a God."
I am sure that John wants more, however, than me just to say there is a God because I believe that to be so -- although I think the strong faith of even one educated, rational man that something is so can in fact be part of the proof that such a thing is so. (Let's just say for the sake of argument that I am both educated and rational. If I'm not, surely we don't have to look too hard to find a person who is both educated and rational and believes in God.)
How do I prove that there is a God?
Certainly, we can point to any number of verses in the Bible. John dismays over the many versions of the Bible that are out there. Indeed, John, this can be confusing to the newcomer. The story of what is contained in the New Testament of the Bible is approximately 2,000 years old. Many of the Old Testament stories go back thousands of years more. Since my son's elementary school purchases a new version of its Social Studies textbooks every few years, it shouldn't really come as any surprise than that a 2,000 year old book has had more than a few updates over the years.
Part of the reason the Bible has been updated over the years is the discovery of ancient texts which corroborate what is written in earlier Bible versions but give us more complete and more accurate "originals" which allow us to update our current translations. The existence of these ancient texts are themselves an exhibit that God, and His Son, Jesus, exist.
But what if the ancient texts are just part of the hoax? Or, more likely, part of the misguided notion by some writers that there was a Jesus who was the Son of God? (The existence of a Son of God would seem to also argue the existence of God himself.)
We go to my next proof.
Today, some 2,000 years after his death, a majority of the people of this Earth are still at least casually aware of the son of a carpenter who lived in some backwater Roman province once upon a time. I offer this as another proof that Jesus, and therefore his Heavenly Father, existed. Less than 200 years after their deaths, most Americans probably can name only a dozen or so of the 40-plus men who have served as president of the United States. The names of even the famous and the powerful fade quickly from human memory, particularly in these modern times. And yet, here we are, with millions of people still talking about, studying and praying to Jesus.
Christians define, among other ways, God as being "good" and God as being "love." I don't think I need to spend much time proving that both "good" and "love" exists in this world. I can also prove the existence of their opposites, "evil" and "hate", if necessary, reinforcing the positive proof. If God is "good" and God is "love" and both good and love exist, we have another proof that God is in existence.
I can also prove the existence of beauty and wonder and power and other things that God "is."
I look at the delicate balances that exist throughout nature and science and am unable to accept the notion that all of these things were able to happen by accident. The Earth hangs in the sky at just the right distance from the sun to warm us, but not fry us. Any father away and the human species would be unable to exist because of the cold. The intricate balance of the gravity and other sciences at work to accommodate the Sun-Earth relationship is just one of many such instances. The fact that all of the sciences are even now continuing to be researched and greater understanding of the exact nature of these relationships is still unknown does not lessen the amazement I have that the balance works.
I also consider what the world does on Sunday morning. Around the globe, people from all races and backgrounds pause to worship God. I use "Sunday morning" as a catch-all phrase, as I realize there are other times when people worship God. If we include non-Christians who are worshipping God as they understand Him, whenever their "Sunday morning" is, the vast, vast majority of the human race believes in a God. Abraham Lincoln said "If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." Can the majority of the human race have been fooled for more than 2,000 years? It seems unlikely.
Finally, I have reserved what I believe to be my best argument that God exists, though my least scientific, for last.
I have been fortunate enough to witness, on four separate occasions, the birth of a child. Again, I consider myself to be a rational and educated man. I believe in my heart that the event that I witnessed on those occasions simply is more amazing, more complex, more incredible than anything that could have happened by accident.
Like others, I can't call God on the phone and have him meet us somewhere to prove his presence. I have however seen his presence in the phone itself and in the places I have been to meet others. I am certain that God does indeed exist.
Dan Heaton is an award-winning reporter and Business Editor for The Macomb Daily.
Note from Linda: I asked Dan Heaton, one of the best reporters I know, to respond to John's post. I admire Dan because he not only writes well, but his writings represent the man I see him to be from the glimpses in the lunch room --a man who speaks of activities with his kids, his family, and his church with such excitement and animation and sincere joy, one could never doubt the depth of his relationships to God, family, and community.In a recent entry, writer John Addis suggests that there really is no God, at least not in the way that Christians consider there to be a God.
The challenge that there is no God is a difficult one. Who I am to argue that there really is one and that I know who God is?
I thought for a week or two, that perhaps I was unqualified to take this challenge. After all, this is merely an internet forum. It is not a church, or my own home, where I most normally talk about God. But, if I believe in God in the Christian sense, then I am compelled to respond and proclaim that "Yes, there is a God."
I am sure that John wants more, however, than me just to say there is a God because I believe that to be so -- although I think the strong faith of even one educated, rational man that something is so can in fact be part of the proof that such a thing is so. (Let's just say for the sake of argument that I am both educated and rational. If I'm not, surely we don't have to look too hard to find a person who is both educated and rational and believes in God.)
How do I prove that there is a God?
Certainly, we can point to any number of verses in the Bible. John dismays over the many versions of the Bible that are out there. Indeed, John, this can be confusing to the newcomer. The story of what is contained in the New Testament of the Bible is approximately 2,000 years old. Many of the Old Testament stories go back thousands of years more. Since my son's elementary school purchases a new version of its Social Studies textbooks every few years, it shouldn't really come as any surprise than that a 2,000 year old book has had more than a few updates over the years.
Part of the reason the Bible has been updated over the years is the discovery of ancient texts which corroborate what is written in earlier Bible versions but give us more complete and more accurate "originals" which allow us to update our current translations. The existence of these ancient texts are themselves an exhibit that God, and His Son, Jesus, exist.
But what if the ancient texts are just part of the hoax? Or, more likely, part of the misguided notion by some writers that there was a Jesus who was the Son of God? (The existence of a Son of God would seem to also argue the existence of God himself.)
We go to my next proof.
Today, some 2,000 years after his death, a majority of the people of this Earth are still at least casually aware of the son of a carpenter who lived in some backwater Roman province once upon a time. I offer this as another proof that Jesus, and therefore his Heavenly Father, existed. Less than 200 years after their deaths, most Americans probably can name only a dozen or so of the 40-plus men who have served as president of the United States. The names of even the famous and the powerful fade quickly from human memory, particularly in these modern times. And yet, here we are, with millions of people still talking about, studying and praying to Jesus.
Christians define, among other ways, God as being "good" and God as being "love." I don't think I need to spend much time proving that both "good" and "love" exists in this world. I can also prove the existence of their opposites, "evil" and "hate", if necessary, reinforcing the positive proof. If God is "good" and God is "love" and both good and love exist, we have another proof that God is in existence.
I can also prove the existence of beauty and wonder and power and other things that God "is."
I look at the delicate balances that exist throughout nature and science and am unable to accept the notion that all of these things were able to happen by accident. The Earth hangs in the sky at just the right distance from the sun to warm us, but not fry us. Any father away and the human species would be unable to exist because of the cold. The intricate balance of the gravity and other sciences at work to accommodate the Sun-Earth relationship is just one of many such instances. The fact that all of the sciences are even now continuing to be researched and greater understanding of the exact nature of these relationships is still unknown does not lessen the amazement I have that the balance works.
I also consider what the world does on Sunday morning. Around the globe, people from all races and backgrounds pause to worship God. I use "Sunday morning" as a catch-all phrase, as I realize there are other times when people worship God. If we include non-Christians who are worshipping God as they understand Him, whenever their "Sunday morning" is, the vast, vast majority of the human race believes in a God. Abraham Lincoln said "If you once forfeit the confidence of your fellow citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem. It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." Can the majority of the human race have been fooled for more than 2,000 years? It seems unlikely.
Finally, I have reserved what I believe to be my best argument that God exists, though my least scientific, for last.
I have been fortunate enough to witness, on four separate occasions, the birth of a child. Again, I consider myself to be a rational and educated man. I believe in my heart that the event that I witnessed on those occasions simply is more amazing, more complex, more incredible than anything that could have happened by accident.
Like others, I can't call God on the phone and have him meet us somewhere to prove his presence. I have however seen his presence in the phone itself and in the places I have been to meet others. I am certain that God does indeed exist.
Dan Heaton is an award-winning reporter and Business Editor for The Macomb Daily.
