Christianity.net.au : Questions :

How do we know God exists?

anonymous

Looking for evidence

We can’t prove God exists in a scientific sense. However, many things can’t be proved scientifically and they are still true.

There’s a sense in which humanity has simply accepted that there is a God, or gods. Historically humans have always had a belief in a greater Being as part of their culture.

The Bible doesn’t try to prove God’s existence. It takes that as a ‘given’. What the Bible is concerned to do is to reveal what God is like – how he acts towards the world and people, what sort of character he has, what sort of plans he is committed to.

Pointers to God

There are factors that point to the existence of God. Different people put more importance on some of these factors than on others. Some of the arguments used to show God’s existence are:

• There is a universal spiritual awareness in humanity, which indicates there is likely to be a Being on whom humans depend, and who they are accountable to
• The existence of the world demonstrates there is a supreme being who created it
• The wonder, beauty, diversity, intricacy and complexity of the world points to the existence of an intelligence who designed it all
• Human cultures all have a moral component, laws of right and wrong by which they seek to live and to which they hold individuals accountable. This indicates a greater moral Being who is the foundation of these underlying moral values
• Human intelligence, creativity, imagination and relational qualities indicate a higher being who is the author of these qualities
• Jesus himself cannot be explained apart from God’s presence and action
• Some people claim it is impossible to really live out the belief that there is no God

In the end, it is a personal God, revealed in the Bible and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus who reveals himself to those who seek him. It is a matter of faith and personal relationship with God, gained for us by Jesus.