Since the beginning of 'thinking man' humans have tried to make sense of the world around them. We all ask ourselves the big questions from time to time. 'Where do we come from' 'How did it all begin' 'For what purpose are we here' 'What meaning is there in our daily endeavors' 'What for the future'
Recent critics of religion have put forward the view that modern science has become so advanced that it has disproved God and that Quantum physics and Big bang theory explains how the universe began and the theory of evolution describes how life developed on earth over millions of years. Further that belief in God is merely a comfort for the deep human fears of death and injustice.
As society has become more secular and materialistic in nature, belief in God is deemed outmoded by many, a restriction on freedom, irrelevant and old fashioned, something of superstition and a thing of the past. Yet despite reports of falling Church attendance, according to surveys as many as 70% plus of the population still believe in God or a higher intelligence. Many recognize the need for spirituality realizing the limits to personal happiness in material things or through our daily endeavors. That somehow there is something out there, something beyond our understanding and control. Belief in God is often criticized because we cannot prove his existence by the scientific method, that faith lacks proof and that science is superior because it is based on hard evidence, reason and facts but isn't there too something mysterious about our existence and can all aspects of life be objectively measured, reasoned or proven ?
So when we ask 'what went bang' at the beginning of the universe or 'Where did all the quantum particles and principle chemical elements come from' and 'by what means did they arrange themselves into such mind blowingly complex combinations' we do not get a definitive answer from the science community.
All things in nature follow cause and effect, so what caused the big bang and the subsequent ordering of the natural world? It transpires that the physical laws of nature are so finely tuned both in the cosmos and within our own bodies that a random accidental evolution of life in the universe is beyond mathematical comprehension. How then does something form from nothing? How did humans get billions of bits of genetically coded information in each body cell by means of a random accidental process? By what process or power did trillions of particles of space dust rushing through the universe following an explosion, arrange themselves into the organised systems that make up biological life, culminating with human beings at the apex of an evolutionary tree with the ability to think, understand, imagine, investigate, analyse and process information in such complex ways in a spirit of curiosity?
We can send a man to the moon but in no way understand the subjective nature of the human mind. All these things seem to lead to something intelligent being responsible for our existence. As Christians we do not think God can be proved by the scientific method but is found instead in human experience, the Bible is not a science text book but rather a tract aimed at human transformation. That's why the creation story in Genesis is a very small part of its overall purpose at a mere 15 verses.
Physical things creating themselves out of nothing do not seem logical. Chaotic particles arranging themselves into organised complex systems without some external guidance seem highly improbable. Human existence as a random accidental evolutionary fight to survive seem a very low view of what it is to be human not least because we commonly seem to display more elevated needs and behavior. The theory of evolution itself is a very good theory widely accepted yet we have never observed in nature one species forming into another, neither does it confirm our origins.
Christians believe in God through faith for many reasons. We believe it is more logical and intuitive to believe in a creator, a mind or power responsible for all things. That there is an ultimate being. That this being is worthy of worship because of the daily blessings we enjoy which we often take for granted. That human beings are intended rather than accidental end products, created for reason and purpose. That we are enhanced and best fulfill that purpose in communion with this ultimate being. That communion with this being is a personal spiritual communication, and through prayer can be received directly into our hearts and minds much like any other invisible force of nature, not least because we have been given the mental apparatus to think, feel and communicate.
We believe that love, grace, justice and forgiveness are the central characteristics of this ultimate being, to whom we have access in an act of free will. That this being has created for our benefit spiritual laws. That human beings function best in spiritual union and co-operation with one another and that individualism and materialism do not ultimately satisfy the human soul. That we experience him through natural beauty, loving relationship, meditation and the Holy Spirit.
In worship and prayer he can bring the human ego to a point of humility so that we can be liberated in realizing our own limitations. That moral codes are not self evident to humans and are best derived through him. That sin and human error are harmful to this given spirit both in ourselves and others but thankfully the effects of this sin can be erased through faith and repentance, so that a bad life can be transformed through spiritual power.
That all these things have been revealed to mankind through scripture and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. This ultimate being we call GOD. He alone provides our vision and dynamic for life and truthfully if we had not made the leap of faith, experienced his love for ourselves in our life of prayer, we may not have believed in him either.