I Believe in God

The second part of the conversation about believing in the existence of God involves a conversation I had with a junior school student not too long ago. When asked if he believed that God existed he said something interesting. He said that he used to believe in God but that he doesn’t anymore. I found this response to be interesting so I asked him why didn’t he believe anymore. He said that he was going through some challenges in life at the time and he prayed to God for help but God didn’t help him. He didn’t answer his prayer and as such he had no need for him anymore. Children have such an honesty about them. The reality is that he is absolutely right to feel that way. Many adults give up on God when he doesn’t do what we ask of him in our prayers. So, I set myself a challenge. How do I go about getting this young man to believe in the existence of God again and to appreciate that God does in fact hear all of our prayers and he answers them all? His answer sometimes may not be quite what we had in mind but he does answer none the less. It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian or not all religions incorporate prayer as a part of their structure.

So then, where do we start with this proof? There are only two answers to the question – does God exist? Its either yes or no. Interestingly enough the boy said that he used to believe in God. I forgot to ask him what rationale did he use initially to justify his belief. Maybe God answered a prayer request of his the first time around and that caused him to believe. Maybe it was something else. Nevertheless, it is the episode of the unanswered prayer that has relegated God to the rubbish bin for him.

So let us start with the premise that an all powerful deity does not exist at all. We are born, we live and then at some point we die. The good that happens to us is because of our abilities, our stroke of luck in our daily undertakings, the providence and generosity of others, everything to do with the system of the created order; nothing to do with the action of a supernatural entity. I think to be able to exist within the envelope of creation is to exist within a frame higher than the human plane. Somebody or something had to have created life, I am pretty sure no human being did. If God does not exist but this system called life does, what are the rules of engagement for successfully navigating this system. Why do some people excel while others are overwhelmed with the challenges that life throws at them? Is there a secret code that we don’t know about? Philosophers have been trying to figure life out for as long as humans have existed. At the end of the day most of their attempts have only resulted in more unanswered questions. But, to their credit many simply end up at a belief point that they end up being famous for. Carl Sagan, one of the great intellectuals of our time, an astrophysicist, cosmologist, believer in inter-terrestrial existence probably sums things up the best ‘'You can't convince a believer of anything; for their belief is not based on evidence, it's based on a deep seated need to believe.” What do you believe?