Is there a God? Atheists say no such being exists, yet have no proof. Agnostics merely offer that they cannot know with certainty either way. Is there, however, proof that God is real and that He is alive? This article from Our Daily Bread presents careful reasoning to verify not only the reality of God’s existence, but the legitimacy of trusting Him.
YOU’RE NOT ALONE if you are open to the existence of God but aren’t sure you can accept Jesus’ claim to be “God in the flesh.” The teacher from Nazareth promised help to those who are concerned about doing the will of God. He said, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own” (John 7:17 NIV).
Here are the Top 10 Reasons to believe in God…
1. THE INEVITABILITY OF FAITH.
Everyone believes in something. No one can endure the stress and cares of life without faith in something that cannot ultimately be proven. Atheists cannot prove there is no God. Pantheists cannot prove that everything is God.
Pragmatists cannot prove that what will count for them in the future is what works for them now. Nor can agnostics prove that it is impossible to know one way or the other. Faith is unavoidable, even if we choose to believe only in ourselves. What is to be decided is what evidence we think is pertinent, how we are going to interpret that evidence, and who or what we are willing to believe in (Luke 16:16).
2. THE LIMITATIONS OF SCIENCE.
Scientific method is limited to a process defined by that which is measurable and repeatable. By definition, it cannot speak to issues of ultimate origin, meaning, or morality. For such answers, science is dependent on the
values and personal beliefs of those who use it. Science, therefore, has great potential for both good and evil. It can be used to make vaccines or poisons, nuclear power plants or nuclear weapons. It can be used to clean up the environment or to pollute it. It can be used to argue for God or against Him. Science by itself offers no moral guidance or values to govern our lives. All science can do is show us how natural law works, while telling us nothing about its origins.
3. THE PROBLEMS OF EVOLUTION.
Some have assumed that an evolutionary explanation of life would make God unnecessary. This overlooks some problems. Even if we assume that scientists will someday find enough “missing links” to confirm that life appeared and developed gradually over great periods of time, laws of probability would still show the need for a Creator. As a result, many scientists who believe in evolution believe also that the universe in all of its immensity and complexity did not “just happen.” Many feel compelled to acknowledge the possibility or even likelihood of an intelligent designer who provided the ingredients for life and set in motion the laws by which it developed.
4. THE HABITS OF THE HEART.
Mankind has been described as incurably religious. In unguarded moments of trouble or surprise, in prayer or in profanity, references to deity persist. Those who would dismiss such thoughts as bad habits or social vices are left with unanswerable questions. Denying the existence of God does not dispel the mysteries of life. Attempts to exclude God from the language of civil life does not eliminate the persistent longing for more than this life has to offer (Ecclesiastes 3:11). There is something about truth, beauty, and love that makes our hearts ache. Even in our anger with a God who would permit injustice and pain, we draw upon a moral conscience to argue that life is not as it ought to be (Romans 2:14-15). Even unwillingly, we are drawn to something that is more rather than less than ourselves.
5. THE BACKGROUND OF GENESIS.
On first reading, the opening words of the Bible seem to assume the existence of God. Genesis, however, was written at a point of time in history. Moses wrote, “In the beginning God” after Israel’s exodus from Egypt. He wrote after miraculous events that were said to have been witnessed by millions of Jews and Egyptians. From the Exodus to the coming of Messiah, the God of the Bible rests His case on events witnessed in real time and locations. Anyone who doubted the claims could visit real places and people to check out the evidence for themselves.
6. THE NATION OF ISRAEL.
Israel is often used as an argument against God. Many find it difficult to believe in a God who would be partial to a “chosen people.” Others find it even harder to believe in a God who would not protect His “chosen nation” from the boxcars, gas chambers, and ovens of Auschwitz and Dachau. Yet from the beginning of Old Testament history, Israel’s future was prewritten. Together with other prophets, Moses predicted not only Israel’s possession of the land but also her unparalleled suffering and dispersion throughout the whole earth, her eventual repentance, and then finally her last-days restoration (Deuteronomy 28–34; Isaiah 2:1-5; Ezekiel 37–38).
7. THE CLAIMS OF CHRIST.
Many who doubt the existence of God have reassured themselves with the thought, “If God wanted us to believe in Him, He would appear to us.” According to the Bible, that is what God has done. Writing in the 7th century BC, the prophet Isaiah said that God would give His people a sign. A virgin would bear a son who would be called “God with us” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). Isaiah said this Son would be called, “Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6). The prophet also said that this child would die for His people’s sins before seeing His life prolonged and honoured by God (Isaiah 53). According to the New Testament, Jesus claimed to be that Messiah. Under the oversight of a Roman governor named Pontius Pilate, He was crucified on charges that He claimed to be the king of Israel and that He had represented Himself as being equal with God (John 5:18).
8. THE EVIDENCE OF MIRACLES.
The reports of the first followers of Jesus agree that He did more than just claim to be the long-awaited Messiah. These witnesses said He won their trust by healing paralytics, walking on water, and then voluntarily dying a painful, undeserved death before rising from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Most compelling was their claim that many witnesses had seen and talked to Christ after finding His tomb empty and before watching Him ascend visibly into the clouds. These witnesses didn’t have anything on earth to gain by their claims. They had no hopes of material wealth or power. Many became martyrs, claiming to the end that the long-awaited Messiah of Israel had lived among them, that He had become a sacrifice for sin, and that He had risen from the dead to assure them of His ability to bring them to God.
9. THE DETAILS OF NATURE.
Some who believe in God do not take His existence seriously. They reason that a God great enough to create the universe would be too big to be concerned about us. Jesus, however, confirmed what the design and detail of the natural world suggest. He showed that God is great enough to care about the smallest details of our lives. He spoke of one who not only knows every move we make but also the motives and thoughts of our heart. Jesus taught that God knows the number of hairs on our head, the concerns of our heart, and even the condition of a fallen sparrow (Psalm 139; Matthew 6).
10. THE VOICE OF EXPERIENCE.
The Bible says that God designs the circumstances of our lives in a way that will prompt us to look for Him (Acts 17:26). For those who do reach out for Him, the Scriptures also say that He is close enough to be found (v.27). According to the apostle Paul, God is a Spirit in whom “we live and move and have our being” (v.28). The Bible makes it just as clear, however, that we must reach out for God on His terms rather than our own. He promises to be found, not by just anyone but by those who admit their own need and are willing to trust Him rather than themselves.
YOU’RE NOT ALONE if you are open to the existence of God but aren’t sure you can accept Jesus’ claim to be “God in the flesh.” The teacher from Nazareth promised help to those who are concerned about doing the will of God. He said, “If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own” (John 7:17 NIV).
If you do see the evidence for the God who revealed Himself to us through His Son, then keep in mind that the Bible says Christ died to pay the price for our sins, and that all who believe in Him will receive the gifts of forgiveness and everlasting life. The salvation Christ offers is not a reward for effort but a gift to all who in light of the evidence put their trust in Him (John 5:24; Romans 4:5; Ephesians 2:8-10).
To accept God’s gift of salvation, you can pray something like this:
“God, I know I’m a sinner. I know I can’t save myself. I believe Jesus died on the cross for my sins. I believe He rose from the dead to live His life through all who believe in Him. I now receive Him as my Saviour. I accept Your offer of forgiveness and everlasting life. Thank You, Father. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.”
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In school I’m writing a paper about logical arguments for the existence of God. I am a believer, but I have found this paper incredibly challenging because I could only think of a few “logical” reasons for His existence. I have already talked about how when humans are born they have some sense of right and wrong and how that shows we are created in the image of God. I have also talked of how even the smallest molecules in the human body are so complex that humans cannot even understand them and how that shows that we were designed by an omnipotent being and we are not collateral damage. But I am in need of more logical arguments for my paper, so if anyone has any, I would greatly appreciate if you would share.
One of my favorite logical arguments involves the positive interaction of specific animals that can’t be explained without a grand creator. One example is of a shrimp that removes parasites that are burrowed into the bodies of fish. Fish actually line up to get the parasites removed by the shrimp. The fish seek out the shrimp, allow themselves to be cleaned (sometimes letting the shrimp inside their mouths to remove parasites there, and the shrimp eats the parasites. A mutually beneficial arrangement that could not logically have developed over time and experience. Fish eat shrimp, how would they accidentally discover the shrimp provides a cleaning service that is beneficial to them.
Hi Gabriellen! When I was 17 years old and driving my dad’s car, I was stopped at a red light at an intersection. The street I was on had very little traffic, but crossed a very busy Main Street, through the city. I was the only car waiting for the green light. Eventually, the light turned green and I had barely started to go, when a man’s voice coming from the empty back seat, said very clearly, “Don’t Go!” I jumped, startled, and looked in the empty back seat and then the green light and started to go, knowing the light was going to go red, momentarily. Even more firmly this time, “Don’t Go!!” I thought if ‘I don’t go, I’m going to be stuck at this light for..’ And before I could complete my thought, a car came flying up the street from behind my viewpoint and flew through their red light. That car, at this speed, would have been an instant fatal collision for the driver and myself. I don’t know who’s voice came from the empty back seat or how he knew my thought about losing my green light to speak more forcefully and repeat the message, but it wasn’t anyone from a human created birth. And that’s my ProoF that God absolutely exists and so do angels or whatever name you want to give that voice that spoke clear English and wasn’t inside my head as a thought put in there, as often happens, and I believe that comes from God’s realm as well, but this was an invisible being who could speak English from outside my head and heard through my earthly ears and not within my heart or head. Proof of God period. Now whether or not people choose to believe this happened or if it’s my imagination, it’s not. And no way I could have seen that oncoming car that was so far away down the hill and around a corner out of site when the voice first spoke, so I know it’s not a thing from my subconscious mind, coming in as a thought- and I have had those, enough times to know the difference and again, this came in through my ears, hearing a voice coming from the back seat And leaving me no doubt. I hope it gives you some information on the existence of God, even if it’s not the same PROOF it is to me. And like I tell people, if you need proof of God’s existence, one needs look no further than the human brain and eyeball and it’s amazing miracle of sight and giving the information to your miraculous brain!
Thanks for sharing Mary
GOOD DAY SIR
I HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR 84 YRS. I HONOR YOUR RIGHT TO FREE SPEECH. OVER THOSE 84 YRS I HAVE SEEN THINGS THAT CONVINCE ME WITH OUT A DOUBT THERE IS NO GOD WITH THE POWER YOU SPEAK OF.
TO BAD WE CAN NOT COMMISERATE AFTER OUR DEATHS BECAUSE I AM CONVINCED YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTING WITH WHERE YOU END UP.
I WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED . I HAVE NO EXPECTATIONS OF AN AFTER LIFE OR ANY KIND OF RES ERECTION.
I HAVE ENJOYED BEING HERE AND DO NOT BELIEVE ANY DIVINE ENTITY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MY BEING
Anyone asking if there is God or not…to me is useless and counter question because things does not happened for nothing, everything we see here on earth has origin and generation. bible may not give or tell us a Clare version of creation account but all we have to know and believe is human being has a generation..the way u put cassava stick in the ground it generates tubers of cassavas..
In my conclusion there’s God who is supreme being.
Why is there so much child abuse in this world ??In Churches, IN the boys Scouts .It is ignore by the people in power?they go away from justice systems? They mess up lives? Nothing is done, wrong is always right. WHY????
The one thing I’ve learned is to not give God credit for the works that come to steal, kill and destroy. It’s easier to let the love of the Father heal us when we’re not blaming him for the works of the enemy and those who agree with him with their actions. Hurt people hurt people. Let’s help healed people heal people.
It is easier to not blame God for pain and suffering. But if he’s the cause of all things then he’s ultimately responsible for everything, good and bad. One of his works is the enemy. The biggest obstacles for me I’m accepting God exists is problem of evil and divine hiddenness.
When you know God’s healing and experience His goodness and can trust Him have his peace, joy and hope…it’s easier to see that if Jesus taught us to pray “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” it means His will isn’t always done on earth as it is in heaven. Who taught you that He’s responsible for everything in the world? They lied. In Canada we had a queen. All rules need royal ascent. Does that mean we could blame her when rules done in her name were broken?
My father is in the a trable at night he gote sum pane in his stumake I am so skared pleas pare for him .
MAY GOD BE THE GLORY
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Want to learn more about Jesus
You’re in a great place. You can check out my personal blog about Jesus here https://revtrev.com/living-light/is-the-jesus-of-history-the-christ-of-faith/
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