Saturday, April 16, 2011

Does God Exist?

It is time to begin our long and arduous journey.
And what better way to start our journey than to talk about the very existence of God?

Does God exist? This is NOT a question that has plagued man for hundreds of years. No--for humans have always believed in the existence of some form of god: whether it be some form of nature (like the sun or the moon), some idol made from human hands (Greek gods, Roman gods, Egyptian gods), or... an all-powerful creator.

It's easy to dismiss most of these gods as nothing more than myth. After all, nobody has ever seen the real form of Zeus or Osiris, nor can they claim any kind of reason as to why these gods don't reveal themselves.

To most people, they are nothing more than characters in a story. And...the sun? We know what it is today. It's not a god. It doesn't even have free will, thoughts, or feelings
It doesn't talk or care about anyone or anything.
It's just a star--a ball of energy suspended in space... for no particular reason at all (that is... unless you believe in God, who created this system specifically to sustain life, give us days/nights and seasons).

These are modern times. We have science. We can study how everything works. We are logical. We are intelligent. Therefore, we can see that gods do not exist. And we see that humans only cling to such things... because it's in their nature. Is that true?

DOES GOD EXIST?

A human exists because we can see them, hear them breathe and interact with them. Every person has a name. They all live in this mortal plane of existence along with us. Therefore, they exist. Even black holes exist, though we can't truly see them, but we can study what they do and see their existence through their effects.

But what about God? If he's real, why doesn't he just show himself? Aren't we in the same boat as before?
What separates the concept of a one true God from the concept of gods? There's a reason why so many people still believe in God today, and why not as many people still believe in the Egyptian gods.
That is because, in many ways, as hard as it is to accept the existence of God, it is equally hard to deny it.

What? What am I saying? Didn't we just conclude that God can't exist by our standards? But since when have our standards meant truth? You all know that there are many people in this world. Everybody has a different mind, different upbringing, and ultimately, different conclusions on concepts about the meaning of life, what to believe, etc. You can test certain things and say, "Aha! That's right!" But there are some things you can't test.

You can pluck a piece of grass, leave it on the road and observe its death. You can prove that it will die. But can you PROVE that God does not exist? It's impossible. You can most certainly try. But.. .the very concept of God cannot be disproved, as much as it can't truly be proved. Convenient, isn't it (for believers)?

Let us consider some methods to test if God is real. How would we test something like that?

1) I'm going to pray to him and have him do something. If he doesn't answer my prayers, he's not real.

That doesn't prove anything! If God is real, why does he HAVE to answer your prayers? If you call me (especially in an ill-mannered attitude), I'm certainly not going to answer. If you call someone on the phone and they don't pick up, does that mean they don't exist? Of course not! That just means they CHOSE not to answer. If he is the most powerful being in the universe, what gives you the right to push him around?

2) We can't see/hear him. Therefore, he doesn't exist.

You know, some people claim that they have seen him. Does that prove he exists? No. It's one word against another. Once again, I will use the concept of a black hole. You cannot see it, but you can know it exists by the effects it has. But God doesn't have effects on this universe! Or does he? Perhaps everything that works the way it does... is because of his hand... controlling EVERYTHING. Remember, the concept of God we are trying to grasp is one that is ALL POWERFUL. Maybe God creates gravity to keep us on a planet. Maybe God watches over every single seed, allowing it to grow. We observe these things and see that they work/grow on their own, but is it impossible for some unseen force to be in control of everything? Or is that possible? Is that a truth? Or a lie? Can I prove that? No.

We humans are pretty limited. Have you seen the whole universe? No. Does every aspect of the universe exist? Yes. Just because we do not see it, does not mean it does not exist. People are more quickly to believe in the existence of aliens or ghosts. I won't say whether or not such things exist. I will say that nobody has proved or disproved such things either. Why? Because you just can't. Unless you have explored every single area of this universe, you cannot say that aliens do not exist. Unless you have the ability to see the dead in spectral form, you cannot say that they do not exist either.

_____________________
We could go on and on about this. The fact of the matter is... belief does not change fact or fiction.
Whether I believe in God or not, does not change whether he is real or not. He is either... real... or just a product of our imagination.

Does God exist? I have already stated that, in my own opinion, there is no definitive way to prove that God does not exist because the very concept of God is one that is both difficult to prove and disprove. Is it all hopeless then? You've come here seeking an answer. You want to know: "DOES GOD EXIST?"
There is, however, one way to prove that he does exist.

Think about it. If you want to prove I exist, you can bring someone to see me. But unless I want to see you, you will not see me, or at the very least, you will have a difficult time doing so. I can run away. I can hide. Am I saying that God has hidden himself from us? Or perhaps... we have hidden ourselves from God.

This is not a game of cat and mouse. If you want to know whether or not God exists, don't ask me. Ask Him.
"But what if God doesn't exist?" So what? This is a personal thing. You don't have to stand on the highest mountain or building and shout. Afraid of being ridiculed? You can just ask Him quietly in the privacy of your own room. There is nothing embarrassing about it.

Does God exist? I can't prove that to you. There's only one way to know. And that's to pray to Him. So pray to Him. See for yourself. If God is real, he can make himself real to you. He can give you a sign. He can give you a vision.
If God is not real, then... that's it.
Your journey is over. What harm was done in seeking the answer to your question?

But keep this in mind. If God is not real, you have no reason to exist--you were just a mistake of nature (a beautiful, well-designed mistake). But if God is real... then there is a reason.
If I make something, it is because it has a purpose. Why would I waste my time making something I don't care for? People make paper to write on, people write programs to accomplish many different tasks. Things that are created have a purpose, whether big or small. Even a terrible drawing might just be imbued with the deep feelings of the artist.
If God is real... you are real.

If you have decided to give God a chance, please visit here for information on how to be saved.