TAKE THE CHALLENGE – Guest post
Take the Challenge – Guest post by Steve Swires
Soft-headed Believers
You probably think that people who believe in God are a little soft in the head and need a crutch, so they have a blind faith in an ancient myth passed down from our oh, so ignorant ancestors. Not so; if you do not believe in God, you are the one with a blind faith; I CHALLENGE YOU TO PROVE GOD DOES NOT EXIST, and I am convinced that you cannot do it. If you cannot, then you believe He does not exist by blind faith! Here is why.
Where does everything come from?
First, you must answer the question, “Where does everything come from?” Did it come from nothing? Since nothing is only the absence of something, to believe that everything came from absolutely nothing- no material, no intelligence, no laws- is totally absurd and contradictory! Nothing is always nothing. So if you believe that everything came from nothing, the onus is on you to prove it or else believe it by blind faith. The only alternative is that everything came from infinity and that there is nothing new, it only changes. Within that infinity is your and my intelligence and personality, so intelligence and personality are not new, that infinity must have intelligence and personality.
Where does law and order come from?
Second, you must answer the question, where does the law and order (read, fundamental laws of physics followed by all other laws of nature) come from? ALL HUMAN EXPERIENCE tells us that law and order come from willful (has purpose, plans) intelligence, so the onus is on you if you believe the law and order in the universe does not come from intelligence, to prove it, or else you believe it by blind faith!
Meaning, purpose, value, and responsibility
Third, humans universally start off believing their life has meaning, purpose, and value, and that they have responsibility to the planet and its inhabitants which could only come from a Creator who gave the meaning, purpose, value, and responsibility to man. The onus is then on you to prove your and my human life have no meaning, purpose, value, or responsibility or else you believe it by blind faith!
God defined
Let us then define the God we refer to. He is the infinite (limitless in essence, existence, power, intelligence) and therefore invisible person who created the universe. Many people foolishly think they can prove God does not exist by proving that a lesser god does not exist. That is cheating.
The purpose of existence
The next critical point is that you must let God state the purpose for human existence. If you or some other human invent, imagine, or assign a purpose to human existence and then prove that things happen that contradict that purpose, that is also cheating.
The presence of evil
You may argue that the presence of evil proves there is no God. However, the whole concept of evil only has meaning if there is purpose and value to life. Otherwise, everything that happens is equally of no value, good, or purpose. Who is to say that death, disease, and disaster are evil? Evil by definition has to be the absence of good. Have nothing, that is evil; add something, that is good; take away some good, that is evil. However, if God in order to accomplish His purpose chooses to take away some good and replace it with a greater good, that is good.
Failure to answer prayers?
Well, then, you may argue that if God does not answer your prayers, that proves He does not exist. Wrong. God must be infinitely more intelligent and wise than you and must know how everything He chooses to do will affect everybody. He cannot allow you to control Him or dictate to Him, He cannot contradict Himself, and He cannot answer a request if it would cause evil in some way that you may not comprehend! God must be the one to set the rules by which He will respond to you.
Communication
Finally, you may argue that if He exists He cannot communicate with us through only a few prophets who wrote down what He said. He must communicate with every individual directly. Ah, there you go again, trying to make the rules and complaining when you don’t get your way. Shame, shame. That proves nothing but your own folly.
The purpose of creation
So, what is the stated purpose and plan for God creating us? “…that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will…” (taken from the Holy Bible, the Epistle to the Ephesians chapter 1). In other words, it is incredibly good news! God’s plan is for people to live a little while on earth so they can be born spiritually as perfect, holy children of the infinite God and then live with Him and be loved by Him forever!!!
God has clearly revealed to us through holy prophets in the past that we are not perfect and therefore not acceptable to Him the way we are naturally. We have flaws and do things (sins) that will cause us to be rejects unless they are fixed! But, God loves us and has provided complete payment for all of our sins by coming as a Spirit that united with a human body in the form of Jesus Christ who died for all human sin. He then raised Jesus Christ back to life never to die again (an historical fact that cannot be disproved) so that He could give us the free gift of eternal life as His children in Jesus Christ!
“He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:10-13
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God…. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” John 3:3,6
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16,17
“For the wages of sin [is] death; but the gift of God [is] eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23
Eternal life
Want the free gift of eternal life? Turn from your sin, put all of your hope, trust, and belief in Jesus Christ the Son of God as the one Who died and paid the price for your sin then rose again to give you eternal life, and it is YOURS! (God said so!)
Steve Swires
Pastor Emeritus
Sunshine Community Baptist Church
Gibsons, BC V0N 1V0