Have you ever had someone challenge you to prove God exist? I get this challenge when someone feels frustrated with his and my debate on Is Evolution A Theory. I stick with the fact that at no time has anyone in the scientific community seen matter or energy create itself. At no time have we seen organization come out of an explosion (the Big Bang explosion). (And my list of violations goes on…)
I ask, does it seem reasonable to conclude that the presence of our universe comes down to either 1) the universe created itself or 2) something outside the universe created it? Most people agree with these two options. Then their challenge: prove God exist.
Naturally I cannot “prove” God exist anymore that I can prove anything that cannot be measured. All I can do, as far as proving God exist (or OJ Simpson did it) is present enough evidence and facts that a reasonable person would agree that God (or an external being) is the most reasonable explanation.
This requires intellectual honesty.
I find the people who believe in evolution and who don’t believe in God or intelligent design interesting. They seem to disregard anything that cannot be detected with human senses. I was talking to a very intelligent no BS marketing guru about is evolution a theory and he was having none of it. His basic stance was if you cannot measure it (and I think market it), it does not exist.
He was more intelligent than me and thought he had cornered me for being superstitious. I asked if he would consider God seriously if I could prove to him that there are realities in his life that are outside his material world. He nodded. I told him that there are many things that demonstrate humans are not living minerals but much more outside the material world. Some of these are: justice, harmony, reason, meaning, purpose, and suicide.
I continued with more information. Furthermore, you question my belief of anything outside the material world when the two biggest life decisions that you live with every day are not based on facts nor data. Very little of your life involves the material world. I had his attention and gave him the following examples:
- You selected your wife, not on facts or data, but on inward and outward beauty which cannot be measured and only you can see.
- You are a successful marketing professional, not based on facts or data, but on your manipulating the feelings of people to convince them to purchase a product.
You pride yourself in your logical conclusion about God and creation, but look down on my non-logical conclusion about God and creation. Now how does that wash in your world of feeling for your wife and gut decisions on marketing products? Are they real? Can you prove them?
He left with the comment, “You gave me a lot to think about.”
Here is my encouragement to you. If you believe in intelligent design, you are in good scientific standing because there is more in this world than material. We find ourselves amazed in a world of beauty. We are carried away in the world of music. We long to live in a world of justice. We urn to find meaning and purpose in the world we live. There are some things you cannot prove.
Isn’t it reasonable to consider a spiritual world that is outside our knowledge that created this universe and everything outside it as we consider: is evolution a theory?