Have you been to the places where God can be found?
If you live in a desert and never leave it, you won’t find a shred of evidence for the existence for polar ice caps or polar bears. If you live a world apart from God and never venture beyond it, you won’t find a shred of evidence for God. As the author of a website that offers evidences of Divine design and challenges chance and evolution as the sole explanation for the origin of life, I’ve received letters taking positions across the entire spectrum of belief on this issue. As a former agnostic, I can understand positions taken against creation, and now, as a believer, I can understand positions taken against evolution. What I can’t understand are those who write to tell me that “there isn’t a shred of evidence for God.” This exact phrase has appeared in a number of letters, so I suspect it comes from some well-regarded source of atheistic writing, but it would seem that any rational person with an open mind would have to concede that there are in fact many evidences for God:
Reason and observation of the universe, life and mankind
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A universe that is very precisely tuned to support life, from the very unique properties of carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen and other elements that form life to the physical laws that allow matter to exist in a delicate balance between black holes and plasma.
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Life itself, which is not just a mere assemblage of the right chemicals, but a system of hundreds of interrelated components working in harmony to create the miracle we call life, all precisely coded in the DNA of every cell.
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Innate and unique characteristics of human beings which are not readily explained by adaptation, such as artistic creativity, a sense or moral right and wrong which often contradicts “survival of the fittest” and a desire to seek answers about God, even among those who say they do not believe.
Veracity of Scripture in prophecy, history and scientific information
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People and events in the Bible which have been corroborated by historical and archaeological evidence.
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The consistency of the message found in the scriptures of almost all religions. The Bible, for instance, was written by 40 diverse men who lived over a span of 1,500 years, kept separate records and recorded events independently, yet it tells a remarkably consistent story.
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Prophecies recorded in scripture that were fulfilled in detail hundreds of years later, most notably in the life of Jesus Christ.
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Revelations in scripture about scientific facts that were not discovered by mankind until recently. As an example, practices to control infectious diseases that were not discovered by science until the late 1800’s were recorded as laws given to Moses by God in Leviticus around 1400 B.C. The Quran also contains many references to knowledge that was not discovered by science until many centuries later.
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The account of the life of Jesus Christ. Many, even atheists, who have studied the gospels have come away concluding, based on reason and historical evidence, that the best explanation is that Jesus is indeed the Messiah, the Christ, sent by God to reveal Himself to mankind.
Personal experiences of prayer, healings, spiritual encounters and changed lives
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Answers to prayer which go beyond anything that can be rationally attributed to chance or coincidence.
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Unexplained medical healings that occur in conjunction with spiritual experiences.
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Accounts by rational, mature individuals of hearing a voice within that is beyond their own thoughts, of seeing angels or of having visions.
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People whose lives have been dramatically changed through experiences that they can only describe as having been touched by a power beyond themselves, or as one of experiencing God.
These are at least evidences of God, are they not? Are these “proofs” of God? You won’t really know until you explore them for yourself, but, for those who take pride in their intelligence, the thought of a vastly superior Intelligence can become an unthinkable barrier to this pursuit. One thing that is certain though is that just as you won’t find a shred of evidence for polar ice caps and polar bears in the desert, you won’t find evidence for God unless you are willing to go to where He is found.
“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”
Herbert Spencer
“Dogma: A principle, belief, or statement of idea or opinion, especially one formally or authoritatively considered to be absolute truth.”
The American Heritage Dictionary, New College Edition
(Note: Dogma can thus be not only religious, but also scientific, social, political, etc.)
“The simple fact that there is a creature, namely man, that can conceive of the concept of a divine Creator suggests there must be one. Why would every culture be born with a burning desire to know Him if He didn’t exist and wish for us to earnestly seek him?”
Anonymous
Do not deceive yourselves. If any one of you thinks he is wise by the standards of this age, he should become a “fool” so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight.
(1 Corinthians 3:18-19)
For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools. (Romans 1:21-22)
“This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.”
Word of Jesus Christ in Matthew 13:13-16