People like to challenge me about the existence of God. Usually the challenge includes the intellectual argument that I should be able to prove the existence and role of Divinity. Intellect and logic are keys they say. God is or he is not; there cannot be a question about the answer. The challenging questions tend to increase and become more defensive as experiential evidence is given.
I wonder about the wisdom of getting involved in the argument because at the end of the day the final answer is one that cannot be definitively proven beyond doubt. One can offer experience, personally and in other’s lives as evidence. One can document change in the life of an individual along with the power of compassion. One can suggest a personal experimentation to allow this evidence to be first-hand. One cannot prove beyond any doubt. At the end of the day these questions are at the heart of the battle between good and evil. What does one believe and hold to be most true?
I wonder how much confidence we place in the “facts” that we know. Are we really sure of the details and their ultimate source? I do not want to tear down anyone’s framework of life but I would like to challenge the source of its strength. I suggest that everything we believe is because we have faith to some degree or another. We can have faith in ourselves, in others (trust), and in God (hope).
How do we know that science really is science? Do we test each fact we hold to be true? Can one explain the power of hope? What about love? What exactly is a twinkle in a child’s eye? Can one fully explain a compassionate hug?
Joel talks of the time when we will finally “know for sure that I'm your God, living in Zion, my sacred mountain. Jerusalem will be a sacred city, posted: ‘no trespassing.’” (Joel 3.17) That time only comes when God has come back to live among us.
Until then it is faith, all and just faith.
