"Does God exist?"

Have you ever heard people say, "If only I could see God, then I would believe in him", or "If only there were more evidence then I could know he exists?" They’re common enough statements.

So does God exist? Is there any evidence for him? Many people don’t think the question is even worth asking. One hundred years ago the German philosopher Nietzsche confidently announced that "God is dead" and more recently the scientist Richard Dawkins proclaimed, "There is no reason for believing that any sort of gods exists." So what might a thoughtful Christian be able to say in response?

Firstly, the Bible tells us that both Nietzsche and Dawkins are wrong. Not only does God exist but also he has made it abundantly clear to us. He has done that in part through creating the vastness and splendour of the universe. As we look at its intricacy and complexity we should know that there is a God who has created it and who deserves to be worshipped.

Secondly, God hasn't left us alone or forgotten about us. He has shown himself to us by coming to earth as a person, Jesus Christ. In Jesus God revealed himself to the world. And incredibly for over 30 years the maker of the universe was on display for all to see, and he made it easy to spot him. With only a touch he healed the sick; with just a word he made a blind man see and brought a dead girl back to life. He fed 5000 people with just a few loaves and fishes; he calmed a raging storm in an instant. He taught like no one had ever done before or has ever done since. In just 3 years of teaching and doing miracles Jesus turned the world upside down. All the evidence points in one direction: Jesus was God on earth.

No wonder that he is the most remarkable man who has ever lived. Someone said of him:

All the armies that have ever marched
All the navies that have ever sailed
All the parliaments that have ever sat
All the kings that ever reigned put together
Have not affected the life of mankind on earth
As powerfully as that one solitary life.

So Jesus is the answer to the questions: Where is God? Does he exist? I don’t need to look any further than the Jesus of the Bible. The evidence is there for all to see if only we are willing to look in the right place.

There are loads of other reasons that someone might be able to give for believing that God exists. The ‘Argument from design’ points out the absurdity of believing that a world like ours could exist without a Creator. The ‘Moral argument’ defends the existence of God on the basis that there are ways of behaving that are either right or wrong. Since a moral law exists then there must be a moral law maker, and this argument suggests that it is a moral God that has created them.

Another argument is the ‘Argument from desire’. All human beings have good, natural desires that can all be satisfied. So there is food for hunger, water for thirst, and friendship and love for our longing for meaningful relationships. Humans also have natural longings for God and meaning; this desire suggests that there must be a God to satisfy it. It's interesting that when there are so many good reasons to believe in God that so many people seem unwilling to. According to the Bible, though, it is not a lack of evidence for God that is our problem; it is that we choose to reject the evidence (Romans 1:18-23).

© 2005 Ben Mandley