The band Blind Faith (with Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood) produced some great music, but blind faith is a lousy way to think about God. From the ancient Israelites to all of us today, God does not expect blind faith. We possess eyes to see, ears to hear, and a mind to think. Moses heard from God in a burning bush and saw the Lord’s mighty works, the disciples listened to Jesus’ preaching and witnessed his resurrection, and we are given additional reasons to believe through science, logic, and personal experience.
Certainly, belief in God’s existence requires faith and trust. However, God continues to reveal Himself in remarkable ways that tip the scales heavily in favor of belief. That’s why we are offering this series: to explore some of those reasons to believe. If you are a Christian, we hope to strengthen your discipleship. If you have not given God much thought, we hope to inspire you. If you have doubts, we hope to engage you. If you have been hurt by the church or hurt by Christians, we hope to encourage your healing. In all, we hope you’ll “Explore The Way” of faith in Christ.
First, we begin with the fundamental question, the first among questions. Before we can explore who God is, whether the Bible is trustworthy, or did Jesus really rise from the dead, we must ask why is there something instead of nothing; how and why are we here at all instead of a vast, dark nothingness? The moment something begins to exist, an explanation is expected. How and why did something come into existence in the first place? If we look at a violin, we don’t assume that it “popped” into existence out of pure nothingness. We presume it began to exist (it had a beginning, it was created), and it had a beginner (it was caused to exist in the first place).
Thus, the proposition follows:
In addition, Einstein's theory of General Relativity shows that space, matter, and time are co-relative, which means they had a beginning; they came into existence together. Aquinas referred to God as the Uncaused First Cause, and Aristotle described God as the Unmoved Mover. Or, as mathematician John Lennox stated, "Either matter gave rise to mind, or mind gave rise to matter."
We know that matter (physical substance) is not eternal. John 1 in the New Testament asserts the eternal presence of the Word, the non-physical mind of God, prior to creation.
Does this evidence-based Uncaused First Cause proposition prove God exists? Perhaps not on its own to everyone, but this foundational proposition is also the first piece of a large and extended family of evidence that makes the case for God’s existence and thus compels our attention.
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Despite a belief in God as The First Beginner (the Uncaused First Cause), there clearly remains some mysteries of faith. For example, the painting of Jesus shown above. This work shows extra-ordinary technique…literally.
Akiane Kramarik grew up in a non-religious, non-churchgoing home. Yet, at the age of four, she said God encouraged her to draw and paint the visions she saw. By age seven, entirely self-taught, she completed her first painting, and just a year later she completed her favorite work, Prince of Peace (above). Is she simply an artistic savant? Perhaps. And yet, she describes remarkable spiritual experiences she had as a young child that inspired and gifted her with a kind of miraculous ability.
Science, logic, and personal experiences: God is not hidden, just veiled. God offers us glimpses, experiences, and evidence of His existence, and God reveals Himself in ways that fortify faith without halting our desire to pursue more of Him. Our call is to pursue and ponder what God reveals in order to believe and grow in faith – deep faith, but never blind faith. There are reasons to believe. When Blind Faith’s Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood sang, “Can’t find my way home,” we can imagine Jesus responding, “Yes, you can. Follow me.”
Certainly, belief in God’s existence requires faith and trust. However, God continues to reveal Himself in remarkable ways that tip the scales heavily in favor of belief. That’s why we are offering this series: to explore some of those reasons to believe. If you are a Christian, we hope to strengthen your discipleship. If you have not given God much thought, we hope to inspire you. If you have doubts, we hope to engage you. If you have been hurt by the church or hurt by Christians, we hope to encourage your healing. In all, we hope you’ll “Explore The Way” of faith in Christ.
First, we begin with the fundamental question, the first among questions. Before we can explore who God is, whether the Bible is trustworthy, or did Jesus really rise from the dead, we must ask why is there something instead of nothing; how and why are we here at all instead of a vast, dark nothingness? The moment something begins to exist, an explanation is expected. How and why did something come into existence in the first place? If we look at a violin, we don’t assume that it “popped” into existence out of pure nothingness. We presume it began to exist (it had a beginning, it was created), and it had a beginner (it was caused to exist in the first place).
Thus, the proposition follows:
- Whatever begins to exist has a cause (a beginner).
- The universe began to exist (via the Big Bang).
- Therefore, the universe has a cause (the beginner, a.k.a. the first cause).
In addition, Einstein's theory of General Relativity shows that space, matter, and time are co-relative, which means they had a beginning; they came into existence together. Aquinas referred to God as the Uncaused First Cause, and Aristotle described God as the Unmoved Mover. Or, as mathematician John Lennox stated, "Either matter gave rise to mind, or mind gave rise to matter."
We know that matter (physical substance) is not eternal. John 1 in the New Testament asserts the eternal presence of the Word, the non-physical mind of God, prior to creation.
Does this evidence-based Uncaused First Cause proposition prove God exists? Perhaps not on its own to everyone, but this foundational proposition is also the first piece of a large and extended family of evidence that makes the case for God’s existence and thus compels our attention.
---------------------------------------------
Despite a belief in God as The First Beginner (the Uncaused First Cause), there clearly remains some mysteries of faith. For example, the painting of Jesus shown above. This work shows extra-ordinary technique…literally.
Akiane Kramarik grew up in a non-religious, non-churchgoing home. Yet, at the age of four, she said God encouraged her to draw and paint the visions she saw. By age seven, entirely self-taught, she completed her first painting, and just a year later she completed her favorite work, Prince of Peace (above). Is she simply an artistic savant? Perhaps. And yet, she describes remarkable spiritual experiences she had as a young child that inspired and gifted her with a kind of miraculous ability.
Science, logic, and personal experiences: God is not hidden, just veiled. God offers us glimpses, experiences, and evidence of His existence, and God reveals Himself in ways that fortify faith without halting our desire to pursue more of Him. Our call is to pursue and ponder what God reveals in order to believe and grow in faith – deep faith, but never blind faith. There are reasons to believe. When Blind Faith’s Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood sang, “Can’t find my way home,” we can imagine Jesus responding, “Yes, you can. Follow me.”
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