Blog

Have you ever had a pen pal, or a friend you only know online but haven’t met in person? I have had a number of those throughout my life. I had a good pen pal who lived in Oklahoma and a very close online friend in Australia, just to name a few. I corresponded with them regularly and greatly enjoyed their friendship and what they added to my life. Because they sent me pictures and I received letters and emails, I never doubted their existence, even though I have never met either of them in person.

But what if suddenly the letters and emails stopped, and I lost all previous correspondence from them? As time went on, would I doubt that they ever existed?

That’s what it’s like for agnostics. An agnostic is a person who doubts that God exists. The word agnostic comes from the Greek “a” meaning “not” and “gnostic” meaning “knowledge.” An agnostic believes that since God’s existence can’t be proven in worldly terms, therefore God does not exist. It’s like having a pen pal you’ve never met but no record of letters; because they haven’t seen physical proof of God addressed directly to them, they do not believe He exists.

Doubting God’s existence goes against the Scriptures. The entire Bible is proof of what God has done, is doing, and will do in our world. Even the whole of Creation shouts God’s praises! (Psalm 69:34) All people also have the opportunity to at least acknowledge God’s existence through the fact that we exist in His creation. Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”

I am sure that God exists, and the main way I know that is because I have faith. The very nature of faith is that we cannot see what it is we believe in. “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) I had faith that my pen pals existed even though I didn’t see them; and even more so, I have faith in the God that I cannot physically see.

The agnostic belief is one of doubt and a lack of faith. It’s totally ok to have doubts about God, but when you do be sure to check them out with those who believe and in the Scriptures, and I have faith that God will dispel your doubts with the truth that He exists and is present in the world today.