Blog

by Charlie Wolcott

“Show me proof that God exists.”

This is a very common statement I hear from atheists. They will often also say, “I’d believe in a God if there was any evidence for him.” Many Christians trying to defend their claim actually get stuck on this one more than we’d like to admit. What is really going on with this claim, and can we provide a solid answer for it?

First, we need to understand the motive for such a statement. Rarely, and I mean VERY rarely, is a person saying this actually wanting to know if God actually does exist or not. This is a dare, very similar to how Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness. Satan told Jesus twice to “prove he was the Son of God” by getting him to make bread out of stones and by showing his glory in front of a massive crowd by throwing himself off the temple mount. How did Jesus respond? With Scripture: “It is written.”

What about us? How should we respond to these claims? First, we need to get down to the heart of the matter. The atheist wants a full out intellectual sparing, but with absolutely no intention of changing his mind. This actually traces back to Greece and Mars Hill where the philosophers would have their debates but it was never about finding truth, but just about having the discussion. Our job as Christians is not to have such discussions but to dig, discern, and reveal the truth. We also need to keep in mind the moral issue. If God exists, then God’s moral standards and his judgment for breaking them also exists. Atheists, like everyone else, want to rule their own lives. That’s the real issue about the sinful nature. It’s “I don’t want to do it God’s way. I want to do it my way.” So even if you did try to prove God exists, there is that moral barrier that needs to be addressed. That is why Ray Comfort, in particular, will make the apologetics very quick and to the point so he can get straight to addressing the moral need for a Savior.

Another issue to deal with is what the atheist will consider as evidence. I can safely say that 999 out of 1000 times, the atheist will be referring to physical, scientific, ‘peer-reviewed’ evidence for God’s existence, as though God would allow himself to be put under the microscope as a lab specimen. That’s really what they want and I believe they know that any “God” that could be put in that scenario is not a True God. They know that a True God is supernatural and is not contained in a physical entity that can be analyzed by science, so they hold science to be their standard so they can rule God out from being a possible answer for their questions.

Why doesn’t God reveal himself physically? I have two answers to this. One: He did, but not in his full glory. He revealed himself in his Son, Jesus Christ. The other reason is he purposes not to merely reveal himself in a physical appearance because people would take that image and make an idol of it. I had always known this but when reading Deuteronomy 4:15-18 it just leapt out to me as plain as day. Idolatry, particularly, the worship of physical idols, has not gone away. The Roman Catholic Church still practices idolatry, though they would never call it that. But it does not take very much to observe them bowing before statues of Mary, Jesus, and other saints. But even then, again, if God physically manifested himself, would it change the atheists’ claims? I would say it would not.

But can we demonstrate that God exists? Some of you may be reading this and thinking, “I’m not even going to try to answer the question.” While the atheist will not be convinced by evidence (I cannot tell you how many times I have heard, “Just one piece of evidence would change my mind,” only for it to be a complete lie), our faith is not blind and it can be logically and reasonably defended.

First, we have to understand that there are two types of knowledge: empirical and revelation. Empirical knowledge is what we can find out ourselves, via our experience, science, etc. Revelation knowledge is different, however. Revelation is something that we CANNOT know on our own. Someone has to tell us and we have a choice to believe it or not. Our own life stories are revelation knowledge unless you were there to witness the events, because you cannot test those things very easily. People who just met me would have no idea about my past unless I reveal to them what I was like. The same is true about God. For us to know about God, he would have to reveal himself to us. And he did, in many ways: through Scripture, through Jesus, through his miracles, through his creation, and through us. In fact, Romans 1 makes it clear enough that those who deny God’s existence are without excuse.

But there are still other ways that God has shown himself. Logically, if God truly were to exist, he would have to have certain characteristics in order to be a True God. He’s have to be all-knowing, all-powerful, and be 100% truthful among other things… precisely what the Bible describes him to be.

An easy “test” is this: Does he fulfill what he says? The Bible has over 2500 prophecies, each with specific details. These aren’t generic prophecies that could mean anything. These are specific so when you saw it, you would know it. The Bible has fulfilled over 2000 of them with perfection and the remaining 500 are looking strangely like today’s headlines. This is just one of the reasons many people know the Bible to be true and the God who wrote it is real.

So does God exist? I have to believe he does if for no other reason than he has shown himself to me. But do not fall for the trap that God must prove himself as though we are the judge of him or not. God exists or he doesn’t, and our opinions on the matter do not matter. The truth is God has revealed himself to us, and without him absolutely NOTHING makes any sense. No atheist has been able to provide a better explanation for everything and no other religion can either. God is the truth and as he promised, one day in the not so far future, he will reveal himself physically when Jesus returns and sets his foot on the Mount of Olives. We will acknowledge him and bend our knee to him. It’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when. And if you wait until Judgment Day, it will be too late.

This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration.  All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved.  Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.