.....

So what do you believe in? I think you are simply living in denial and thst does not take away the consequece of rejecting truth.

Ymodulus:

First of all i will like to say a big thank you. Because you guys have evidently added to my current unshakeable state of been. That is you guys have made me strong from believing those false doctrines by those so called christendom. But i have just 1 question i will like to ask.

After much research and findings i came to find out that the following

Jesus is God -false
Hell is a place of torment -false
hell fire does exist - false
Tithing is biblical -false
and so many false errorneous theories promoted by christendom but i still havent get cleared on this

how do i know and believe God does not exist?

Please am been sincere with this Question?

Which God?
On a side note, why do you have a derogatory statement as your location?

YOU CANNOT PROVE A NEGATIVE!!!!!!!  That is the first trap you must not fall into!!!  The burden is on the theists who claim that there is a God to prove it.  If some one claims that there is a teapot revolving around the planet saturn , and now asks you to prove him wrong,  you tell him the burden is his to first prove his claim first before you can take his seriously.  As at today there is no evidence of a God, and until one is presented that can stand scrutiny, I will take the default position that there is probably none.  I even go further, theists don't even have a consistent definition of what they call ''God" , different religions have different definitions of what they call God, even different strands of the same religion.  Remember the maxim 'Man created God in his own image' ?  It puts it all in perspective.  Remember, never fall for the trap of being told to prove a negative.  It is impossible.  I wish you well as you go along the path of reason!!!

Ymodulus:

how do i know and believe God does not exist?

Please am been sincere with this Question?

This answer to this question will only come from your ability to think outside the box of religion reason. Read this story.

MY IMAGINARY CITY


Once upon a time, a long time ago, my world view was deeply religious. I was devoted to my religion and holy book. I felt well protected with the armour of God. My world appeared to be a city, meticulously constructed with beautiful engravings and huge halls. The walls were deep and strong, to keep us all safe from the corruption and sin of the outside world, and they were guarded by God to prevent Satan intruding. All in all, a very comfortable and safe place to live.

One day I wanted to just look up close at one of the engravings on a wall. It didn’t quite look right, and I just wanted to check that it wasn’t my eyesight. When I reached out to touch the engraving, to my horror my hand went right through. There was nothing but dust left of that engraving. I went to my preacher, as he would have to know about this. I showed him the hole, guiltily expecting him to berate me for it. Instead he acted as if he couldn’t see it. He commented upon how beautiful the engraving was, how neatly it fit in with the rest of the decorations, and how his father, and his father’s father had also admired this engraving.

As you can imagine this caught me a bit off guard, but I accepted that maybe it was me who was wrong. After all, he was expected to be much more intelligent that I was in matters like this, not to mention wiser. In a spirit of interest however, I went and had a look at some of the other sections of the city.
To my amazement I could knock down whole walls and rooms with hardly any effort. After a while I was pulling down the buildings just for the pleasure of being able to. Whenever I pulled down a structure I could see that people were still walking around in it as if nothing had happened. This confused me and scared me.

After a while I knocked down the outer wall, the one that protected me from all of the evil in the world. What I saw was a collection of similar cities and small towns. I went and had a look at a few of them, but I didn’t seem to be able to inhabit them, because again I could easily knock holes in the buildings, and find myself unwelcome.

Eventually from my standpoint all that I was left with was a huge flat plain. There was nothing left that could stand up to even the most simple investigation. Nothing was certain, everything crumbled. I could still see my family walking in the air as if their city was still there, but I could not talk to them because they were so far away.

The flat plain was definitely the most intimidating time for me. I could not talk to anybody. I had no shelter, no rules, no group. I spent many hours shouting for people to hear me in their imaginary cities, but to no avail. Perhaps this is what hell is like? No certainty, no authority, no faith, no deity. I tried everything.

Eventually I worked out that the only option available to me if I wanted somewhere to live was to build it myself. I started out with some building blocks that I knew couldn’t be knocked down. “Treat people the way you like to be treated”, “Learn before believing”, “Understand before judging”,
”Be honest with yourself”. These are plain and simple bricks, not the fancy marble
sculpturing that my old home had, but at least they are verifiably solid. They withstand the most rigorous scrutiny. The house is simple and I started to enjoy every day I spent in it.

My neighbours now look at me with a mixture of envy, fear and curiosity because I didn’t build my new house with any of the ‘usual materials’ that is commonplace in all the cities I visited. How could this house stand? Hmmm! How could it protect against all the dangers lurking in every corner, the principalities and powers, and rulers of darkness? No engravings or sculptures, just simple solid bricks, but they suffice for my home. I included a garden for contemplation, and I considered myself lucky to have such a large plain to build on. Now my house is how I want it, shape, size and décor. I few neighbours have come over to see how they could build a house like this. Some have started building, others are consumed with fear. I wish them well, in their journey to the real world.

According to the Standard Model of God, God is an omniscient, all-powerful, all-loving being who answers prayers. Imagine God sitting on his magnificent throne in heaven looking down upon Earth, seeing every detail. God speaks:

Look at all of those praying people getting tortured in that police station. Excellent! I won't do anything to stop that. And look at that young uniben university student down there being raped and murdered near her school campus. Perfect! She is praying like mad, but I won't do anything to stop that. And there are 2'000 hutus preparing to burn a church and kill 500 tutsi's who are saying the Lord's Prayer to me right now. Outstanding! I won't do anything to stop that. How wonderful it is that 1,000 prayerful people will die of starvation today in Ethiopia. I love it! I won't do anything to stop that. Oh… and there's little Genevive praying that I remove that pimple from her nose for her big date with Bola tomorrow. Let me go help Genevive right now…"

Do you believe in a God who acts like this? Of course not. Isn't that enough proof for you to know that god imaginary. That he don't exist?

manmustwac:

According to the Standard Model of God, God is an omniscient, all-powerful, all-loving being who answers prayers. Imagine God sitting on his magnificent throne in heaven looking down upon Earth, seeing every detail. God speaks:

Look at all of those praying people getting tortured in that police station. Excellent! I won't do anything to stop that. And look at that young uniben university student down there being despoiled and murdered near her school campus. Perfect! She is praying like mad, but I won't do anything to stop that. And there are 2'000 hutus preparing to burn a church and kill 500 tutsi's who are saying the Lord's Prayer to me right now. Outstanding! I won't do anything to stop that. How wonderful it is that 1,000 prayerful people will die of starvation today in Ethiopia. I love it! I won't do anything to stop that. Oh… and there's little Genevive praying that I remove that pimple from her nose for her big date with Bola tomorrow. Let me go help Genevive right now…"

Do you believe in a God who acts like this? Of course not. Isn't that enough proof for you to know that god imaginary. That he don't exist?

you forgot to chip in the typical examples of ceremonial thanksgiving sessions frequent in the podiums of today's nigerian churches used to advertise the efficacy of prayers to the gullible: the guy who god just gave a visa to america who probably used fake documents to obtain it and is most probably going to be intentionally breaking immigration laws of the country god helped him to enter; or the guy who was sick and took all sorts of medications and visited al manner of medical institutions but attributes his miraculous healing to bible god; or the yahoo-yahoo boy who just got a new car; or the overtly corrupt politician who god just gave a ministerial job. not to mention mr. I AM's match making abilities in providing spinsters with potential husband materials. bible god is pretty damn good in his selective prayer answering skills

I get why you guys choose to be atheists and all that. You believe you've been enlightened and so on. . . my question is just this: What would it cost you to be a theist? As an atheist, what difference does it make to you ? Do you officially get permission to steal, do you get the permission to hate people?

I can bet anything on it that if any of you are in danger, you call out to God and if that is not ironic, I don't know what is. It might be 'Oh My God!' or even 'Jesus'. These are expressions used in today's world.

Moonstone:

I get why you guys choose to be atheists and all that. You believe you've been enlightened and so on. . . my question is just this: What would it cost you to be a theist?

It doesn't cost anything to be an atheist. . .

As an atheist, what difference does it make to you ? Do you officially get permission to steal, do you get the permission to hate people?

How on earth do you equate crime or hate to atheism?. . . . . . . .There is evidence to show that atheist societies have less crime than religious societies. . . .

I can bet anything on it that if any of you are in danger, you call out to God and if that is not ironic, I don't know what is. It might be 'Oh My God!' or even 'Jesus'. These are expressions used in today's world.

Nope and never, why call upon a name that will never save me when I am in trouble or in need. . . .I have seen people call upon the name of God and Jesus when in trouble and they ended up dead because the names did not and could not help our save them in their situations at that time, so why call a name when it will never help?. . . .Saying or my God is nothing but an expression. . .

mazaje:

Nope and never, why call upon a name that will never save me when I am in trouble or in need. . . .I have seen people call upon the name of God and Jesus when in trouble and they ended up dead because the names did not and could not help our save them in their situations at that time, so why call a name when it will never help?. . . .Saying or my God is nothing but an expression. . .

Hmm,your reasoning is OK but there is more to it than you can comprehend unless you don't believe in miracles.

If you call upon God and He did not answer it simply means you missed the mark.
He is a faithful God. If He had said it,He will do it.

He said "I will neither leave you nor forsake you. . . "

mazaje:

It doesn't cost anything to be an atheist. . .

How on earth do you equate crime or hate to atheism?. . . . . . . .There is evidence to show that atheist societies have less crime than religious societies. . . .

Nope and never, why call upon a name that will never save me when I am in trouble or in need. . . .I have seen people call upon the name of God and Jesus when in trouble and they ended up dead because the names did not and could not help our save them in their situations at that time, so why call a name when it will never help?. . . .Saying or my God is nothing but an expression. . .

It does costs something to be atheist. . . for example, what happens when you die and find out there is really a Heaven and Hell system in the afterlife? If truly there is nothing like that, then being a theist won't stop you from accomplishing happiness in that realm but being atheist would hurt your chances of being in heaven. What then?

The reason why I asked the question about the crimes is that most religions set guidelines such as don't steal or don't kill or love your neighbour. So does being an atheist liberate you from those constrictions?

Lastly, about the name of Jesus, it has been documented that if you truly believe in the name, it can work miracles. However, people have so much used the name that it has become common knowledge to use it in terms of those situations. Every expression has a background. When you read the bible you find out why people use the expression 'Oh My God'. It's either used in pleasure or when crying to the Lord for help. The fact that people use that expression anyhow doesn't make a difference from the original meaning behind that phrase. Even in conversations, we use it when we are frustrated by something or undergoing some kind of pleasure (in joy and in pain). By the way, the Bible states clearly that we should not use the word in vain. If you call God with your faith behind the word, then things will probably work for the best.

All these retarded posts sef!

@Mazaje

You dey try ooo! You really get time to dey follow these people talk back and forth. I no even dey reach religious section like b4 again coz i just tire for the kind postings i dey see some kain times. How you dey?

Moonstone:

It does costs something to be atheist. . . for example, what happens when you die and find out there is really a Heaven and Hell system in the afterlife? If truly there is nothing like that, then being a theist won't stop you from accomplishing happiness in that realm but being atheist would hurt your chances of being in heaven. What then?

The reason why I asked the question about the crimes is that most religions set guidelines such as don't steal or don't kill or love your neighbour. So does being an atheist liberate you from those constrictions?

Lastly, about the name of Jesus, it has been documented that if you truly believe in the name, it can work miracles. However, people have so much used the name that it has become common knowledge to use it in terms of those situations. Every expression has a background. When you read the bible you find out why people use the expression 'Oh My God'. It's either used in pleasure or when crying to the Lord for help. The fact that people use that expression anyhow doesn't make a difference from the original meaning behind that phrase. Even in conversations, we use it when we are frustrated by something or undergoing some kind of pleasure (in joy and in pain). By the way, the Bible states clearly that we should not use the word in vain. If you call God with your faith behind the word, then things will probably work for the best.

Dear Moonstone,
Human beings do not like rules, Christian Muslim hindu alike. We break rules, in fact people who are into religious practices seem to find it easier to go against these rules because they are sure of divine forgiveness. How about if you die and you find out that the real "God" is that painted by the muslims? or that painted by the Jehovas witnesses or by the gazillion other religions? If we are to go by probability then we all have the same chance regardless of what we profess to believe or not believe.
There are so many people out there who lives their lives without calling God's name and their lives are not any different from yours.

Sincerely Yours,
Chris.

Chrisbenogor:

Dear Moonstone,

Hi Chris, Long time no see

Chrisbenogor:

Human beings do not like rules, Christian Muslim hindu alike. We break rules, in fact people who are into religious practices seem to find it easier to go against these rules because they are sure of divine forgiveness. How about if you die and you find out that the real "God" is that painted by the muslims? or that painted by the Jehovas witnesses or by the gazillion other religions? If we are to go by probability then we all have the same chance regardless of what we profess to believe or not believe.
There are so many people out there who lives their lives without calling God's name and their lives are not any different from yours.

Sincerely Yours,
Chris.

The real God is only ONE person, regardless of whatever "paintings".

Best Regards

InesQor

^^Which one is the real God and can you proove it? Yours Sincerely
man must wack

manmustwac:

^^Which one is the real God and can you proove it? Yours Sincerely
man must wack

This is like asking: which planet Earth is the real one and can you prove it? When there is only one, there is no sense in asking which one is real.

Regardless of what any man on the street may say, regardless of what any astronomer may call planet Earth, regardless of what an (imaginary) extraterrestrial may call planet Earth, and regardless of the lies or truth that a pre-school science teacher may tell her students about planet Earth, planet Earth it still is; regardless of what it's "real name" is.

With Love,

InesQor

manmustwac:

^^Which one is the real God and can you proove it?  Yours Sincerely
                    man must wack

The one that created heaven and earth

InesQor:

Hi Chris, Long time no see
The real God is only ONE person, regardless of whatever "paintings".

Best Regards

InesQor

Hi InesQor,
I concede for the sake of this argument that there is only one, the question is what/who is he/she/it? How do we know that he/she/it is not what/who the other religions have painted?

Sincerely yours,
Chris.

This is like asking: which planet Earth is the real one and can you prove it? When there is only one, there is no sense in asking which one is real.

Regardless of what any man on the street may say, regardless of what any astronomer may call planet Earth, regardless of what an (imaginary) extraterrestrial may call planet Earth, and regardless of the lies or truth that a pre-school science teacher may tell her students about planet Earth, planet Earth it still is; regardless of what it's "real name" is.

With Love,

InesQor

Dear InesQor,
The above analogy is quite crude don't you think? All the planets are real, at least to the degree that we can define reality and this would just muddle things up. The question should be what planet does Life "exist on" that is more like it.

Sincerely yours,
Chris.

Chrisbenogor:

Hi InesQor,
I concede for the sake of this argument that there is only one, the question is what/who is he/she/it?

I accept your gracious concession. By the very fact that there is only One, it is sufficient to understand that:
this One is that EXPLICIT entity that can stand alone and apart from all else without any form of dependability on any other energy, agent, system, entity or method. If you can proceed to contrive the contingence of such an entity, you will be close to having appropriated an understanding of this One.

Chrisbenogor:

How do we know that he/she/it is not what/who the other religions have painted?

Sincerely yours,
Chris.

I do not know that this One is not who/what the religions have painted. I do know, however, by the definition above, that this One is also EXPLICIT of the definitions that can be made about the One.

God will not require any known or unknown system or energy or entity or method or agent to have a definition of existence.

Yours,

InesQor

Chrisbenogor:

Dear InesQor,
The above analogy is quite crude don't you think?

Touche. I have to agree with this.

Chrisbenogor:

All the planets are real, at least to the degree that we can define reality and this would just muddle things up. The question should be what planet does Life "exist on" that is more like it.

Sincerely yours,
Chris.

What is real and how do you define reality?

Here is the Wikipedia entry

Reality is the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or may be thought to be.[1] In its widest definition, reality includes everything that is and has being, whether or not it is observable or comprehensible.

Historically, philosophers have sometimes considered reality to include nonexistent things such as "gold mountains" in a sense referred to as a subsistence, as well.

By contrast existence is often restricted solely to being (compare with nature).

As I already explained above, God is REAL and subsistent, explicitly on the terms that may not be generally considered REAL, seeing that reality may be subjective and heavily influenced by personal bias.

See again
In its widest definition, reality includes everything that is and has being, [size=14pt]whether or not it is observable or comprehensible[/size]

InesQor How body?
By now you would know that I am not a fan of long winded arguments that get us nowhere. But I am always up for a chit chat here and there, the minute you bring in these muddy waters I will take to my heels. I love the simple life and I do not like to complicate things. Back to the discussion at hand, I think we are loosing focus so allow me bring us back to where we were because we can go on arguing about what reality is and get nowhere that is why I said I concede there is a God for the sake of the argument.
Moonstone asked this

It does costs something to be atheist. . . for example, what happens when you die and find out there is really a Heaven and Hell system in the afterlife? If truly there is nothing like that, then being a theist won't stop you from accomplishing happiness in that realm but being atheist would hurt your chances of being in heaven. What then?

I replied

How about if you die and you find out that the real "God" is that painted by the muslims? or that painted by the Jehovas witnesses or by the gazillion other religions? If we are to go by probability then we all have the same chance regardless of what we profess to believe or not believe.

I hope you get the picture now? There is no need for explicit or implicit stuff, that's for the philosophers and astronomers too difficult for bush village men like me to understand, surely God can make things easier no? Back to the question how do we know that your own "understanding" of God is correct?

Sincerely yours,
Chris.

Dear Chrisbenogor,

Your point is well understood. However, I meant exactly what I said. My understanding [/i]of God is hardly what is important as much as the faith I have in God and how he sees my heart concerning how I [i]live out that faith.

I have discussed this in the part: I believe God judges every heart by its spiritual capacity and by its response to that spiritual capacity that is ingrained in it, given the opportunities that the heart had to advance towards Him.

What I am saying in essence is that in every religion and people, there are people who please God anyway, and not only Christians. But for those who outright reject Jesus or God, not because they are ignorant and not because they didn't understand, it's a special case for them.

Refer to the thread where Deep Sight challenged me with this topic:

Inesqor On The Salvation Of The Non-christian
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-411099.html

Best Regards

Ines Qor

Moonstone:

It does costs something to be atheist. . . for example, what happens when you die and find out there is really a Heaven and Hell system in the afterlife? If truly there is nothing like that, then being a theist won't stop you from accomplishing happiness in that realm but being atheist would hurt your chances of being in heaven. What then?

Pascal's wager is what they call this, I personally will be OK with the choice I have made, But what if you die and find out that the god of the muslims is the real god? There is no evidence at all to show that human consciousness survives bodily death. We have some crazy people putting forth crazy theories but non of them has been able to show anything concrete or meaningful at all.

The reason why I asked the question about the crimes is that most religions set guidelines such as don't steal or don't kill or love your neighbour. So does being an atheist liberate you from those constrictions?

You don't need religion to tell you this at all, and there is no evidence at all to show that religious societies are more moral than non religious or secular societies. Morality comes from learning and experience not from gods, religion itself is a culture created by human beings.

Lastly, about the name of Jesus, it has been documented that if you truly believe in the name, it can work miracles.

Is this is true then there should be evidence to show that those that call upon the name of jesus receive better protection, or healing from sickness than those that don't. So far no such evidence exist in any part of the world. There should be evidence to show that those that call upon the name of jesus in terms of trouble are better protected than those that don't.

Ymoudles you are playing with eternity. I pity you. You better stop rejoicing over your new found false believe that will only land you in hell if you dont repent. Look, if your car engine is overheating and you disconnect the temperature so that it wont be showing the overheating doesnt mean that the car has stopped overheating. The fact that you have discarded God, heaven and hell in your heart doesnt change the fact that they exist and they are real. God is a spirit and many things about God cannot be understood by this physical being that is why when you are genuinely born again, you commune with God in the spirit through prayer that is when you feel and know MORE of His reality. Forget about the fact that many fake pastors has filled the earth and has deceived many, that is why we have so many so called christians still living a sinful and corrupt lives. Yet there are still genuine born again christians who are completely different from this people. They may be few in number though and you can pray today and be a mong the few.
I have said my own. I dont argue the reality of hell or heaven with people. I only tell you the truth about it. weather you believe it or not doesnt add or remove any profit from my personal life and business. Its entirely your business. Nobody goes to heaven or hell for another. you go there on your own. May God help you not to allow satan to deceive you. Amen.

InesQor:

Dear Chrisbenogor,

Your point is well understood. However, I meant exactly what I said. My understanding [/i]of God is hardly what is important as much as the faith I have in God and how he sees my heart concerning how I [i]live out that faith.

I have discussed this in the part: I believe God judges every heart by its spiritual capacity and by its response to that spiritual capacity that is ingrained in it, given the opportunities that the heart had to advance towards Him.

What I am saying in essence is that in every religion and people, there are people who please God anyway, and not only Christians. But for those who outright reject Jesus or God, not because they are ignorant and not because they didn't understand, it's a special case for them.

Refer to the thread where Deep Sight challenged me with this topic:

Inesqor On The Salvation Of The Non-christian
https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria/topic-411099.html

Best Regards

Ines Qor

Dear InesQor,
Your have made your point but you see that's the thing about faith and beliefs, you can never pass it on to the other person satisfactorily. Its just faith and beliefs, what you have is not concrete evidence that this is what God wants, if at all there is a God he/she/it should be happy that some of his creations realise he/she/it does not exist or is doing quite a good job at hiding. That said I get where you are coming from but it does not hold water at least to me. In the end its all just a bunch of emotions IMO, if there is a God there is no way you would even know if that God wants to be recognised. To each his own.

Sincerely yours,
Chris.

Chrisbenogor:

Dear InesQor,
Your have made your point but you see that's the thing about faith and beliefs, you can never pass it on to the other person satisfactorily. Its just faith and beliefs, what you have is not concrete evidence that this is what God wants, if at all there is a God he/she/it should be happy that some of his creations realise he/she/it does not exist or is doing quite a good job at hiding. That said I get where you are coming from but it does not hold water at least to me. In the end its all just a bunch of emotions IMO, if there is a God there is no way you would even know if that God wants to be recognised. To each his own.

Sincerely yours,
Chris.

@Chrisbenogor

Your point has been well taken. May I agree to disagree.

Best Regards

Ines Qor

InesQor:

@Chrisbenogor

Your point has been well taken. May I agree to disagree.

Best Regards

Ines Qor

Most Certainly !

By Marilyn Adamson

Just once wouldn't you love for someone to simply show you the evidence for God's existence? No arm-twisting. No statements of, "You just have to believe." Well, here is an attempt to candidly offer some of the reasons which suggest that God exists.

But first consider this. When it comes to the possibility of God's existence, the Bible says that there are people who have seen sufficient evidence, but they have suppressed the truth about God.1 On the other hand, for those who want to know God if he is there, he says, "You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you."2 Before you look at the facts surrounding God's existence, ask yourself, If God does exist, would I want to know him? Here then, are some reasons to consider...

1. Does God exist? The complexity of our planet points to a deliberate Designer who not only created our universe, but sustains it today.

Many examples showing God's design could be given, possibly with no end. But here are a few:

The Earth...its size is perfect. The Earth's size and corresponding gravity holds a thin layer of mostly nitrogen and oxygen gases, only extending about 50 miles above the Earth's surface. If Earth were smaller, an atmosphere would be impossible, like the planet Mercury. If Earth were larger, its atmosphere would contain free hydrogen, like Jupiter.3 Earth is the only known planet equipped with an atmosphere of the right mixture of gases to sustain plant, animal and human life.

The Earth is located the right distance from the sun. Consider the temperature swings we encounter, roughly -30 degrees to +120 degrees. If the Earth were any further away from the sun, we would all freeze. Any closer and we would burn up. Even a fractional variance in the Earth's position to the sun would make life on Earth impossible. The Earth remains this perfect distance from the sun while it rotates around the sun at a speed of nearly 67,000 mph. It is also rotating on its axis, allowing the entire surface of the Earth to be properly warmed and cooled every day.

And our moon is the perfect size and distance from the Earth for its gravitational pull. The moon creates important ocean tides and movement so ocean waters do not stagnate, and yet our massive oceans are restrained from spilling over across the continents.4

Water...colorless, odorless and without taste, and yet no living thing can survive without it. Plants, animals and human beings consist mostly of water (about two-thirds of the human body is water). You'll see why the characteristics of water are uniquely suited to life:

It has an unusually high boiling point and freezing point. Water allows us to live in an environment of fluctuating temperature changes, while keeping our bodies a steady 98.6 degrees.

Water is a universal solvent. This property of water means that thousands of chemicals, minerals and nutrients can be carried throughout our bodies and into the smallest blood vessels.5

Water is also chemically neutral. Without affecting the makeup of the substances it carries, water enables food, medicines and minerals to be absorbed and used by the body.

Water has a unique surface tension. Water in plants can therefore flow upward against gravity, bringing life-giving water and nutrients to the top of even the tallest trees.

Water freezes from the top down and floats, so fish can live in the winter.

Ninety-seven percent of the Earth's water is in the oceans. But on our Earth, there is a system designed which removes salt from the water and then distributes that water throughout the globe. Evaporation takes the ocean waters, leaving the salt, and forms clouds which are easily moved by the wind to disperse water over the land, for vegetation, animals and people. It is a system of purification and supply that sustains life on this planet, a system of recycled and reused water.6

The human brain...simultaneously processes an amazing amount of information. Your brain takes in all the colors and objects you see, the temperature around you, the pressure of your feet against the floor, the sounds around you, the dryness of your mouth, even the texture of your keyboard. Your brain holds and processes all your emotions, thoughts and memories. At the same time your brain keeps track of the ongoing functions of your body like your breathing pattern, eyelid movement, hunger and movement of the muscles in your hands.

The human brain processes more than a million messages a second.7 Your brain weighs the importance of all this data, filtering out the relatively unimportant. This screening function is what allows you to focus and operate effectively in your world. The brain functions differently than other organs. There is an intelligence to it, the ability to reason, to produce feelings, to dream and plan, to take action, and relate to other people.

The eye...can distinguish among seven million colors. It has automatic focusing and handles an astounding 1.5 million messages -- simultaneously.8 Evolution focuses on mutations and changes from and within existing organisms. Yet evolution alone does not fully explain the initial source of the eye or the brain -- the start of living organisms from nonliving matter.

2. Does God exist? The universe had a start - what caused it?

Scientists are convinced that our universe began with one enormous explosion of energy and light, which we now call the Big Bang. This was the singular start to everything that exists: the beginning of the universe, the start of space, and even the initial start of time itself.

Astrophysicist Robert Jastrow, a self-described agnostic, stated, "The seed of everything that has happened in the Universe was planted in that first instant; every star, every planet and every living creature in the Universe came into being as a result of events that were set in motion in the moment of the cosmic explosion...The Universe flashed into being, and we cannot find out what caused that to happen."9

Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in Physics, said at the moment of this explosion, "the universe was about a hundred thousands million degrees Centigrade...and the universe was filled with light."10

The universe has not always existed. It had a start...what caused that? Scientists have no explanation for the sudden explosion of light and matter.

3[b]. Does God exist? The universe operates by uniform laws of nature. Why does it?

Much of life may seem uncertain, but look at what we can count on day after day: gravity remains consistent, a hot cup of coffee left on a counter will get cold, the earth rotates in the same 24 hours, and the speed of light doesn't change -- on earth or in galaxies far from us.

How is it that we can identify laws of nature that never change? Why is the universe so orderly, so reliable?

"The greatest scientists have been struck by how strange this is. There is no logical necessity for a universe that obeys rules, let alone one that abides by the rules of mathematics. This astonishment springs from the recognition that the universe doesn't have to behave this way. It is easy to imagine a universe in which conditions change unpredictably from instant to instant, or even a universe in which things pop in and out of existence."11

Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize winner for quantum electrodynamics, said, "Why nature is mathematical is a mystery...The fact that there are rules at all is a kind of miracle."12

4. Does God exist? The DNA code informs, programs a cell's behavior.

All instruction, all teaching, all training comes with intent. Someone who writes an instruction manual does so with purpose. Did you know that in every cell of our bodies there exists a very detailed instruction code, much like a miniature computer program? As you may know, a computer program is made up of ones and zeros, like this: 110010101011000. The way they are arranged tell the computer program what to do. The DNA code in each of our cells is very similar. It's made up of four chemicals that scientists abbreviate as A, T, G, and C. These are arranged in the human cell like this: CGTGTGACTCGCTCCTGAT and so on. There are three billion of these letters in every human cell!!

Well, just like you can program your phone to beep for specific reasons, DNA instructs the cell. DNA is a three-billion-lettered program telling the cell to act in a certain way. It is a full instruction manual.13

Why is this so amazing? One has to ask....how did this information program wind up in each human cell? These are not just chemicals. These are chemicals that instruct, that code in a very detailed way exactly how the person's body should develop.

Natural, biological causes are completely lacking as an explanation when programmed information is involved. You cannot find instruction, precise information like this, without someone intentionally constructing it.

5. Does God exist? We know God exists because he pursues us. He is constantly initiating and seeking for us to come to him.

I was an atheist at one time. And like many atheists, the issue of people believing in God bothered me greatly. What is it about atheists that we would spend so much time, attention, and energy refuting something that we don't believe even exists?! What causes us to do that? When I was an atheist, I attributed my intentions as caring for those poor, delusional people...to help them realize their hope was completely ill-founded. To be honest, I also had another motive. As I challenged those who believed in God, I was deeply curious to see if they could convince me otherwise. Part of my quest was to become free from the question of God. If I could conclusively prove to believers that they were wrong, then the issue is off the table, and I would be free to go about my life.

I didn't realize that the reason the topic of God weighed so heavily on my mind, was because God was pressing the issue. I have come to find out that God wants to be known. He created us with the intention that we would know him. He has surrounded us with evidence of himself and he keeps the question of his existence squarely before us. It was as if I couldn't escape thinking about the possibility of God. In fact, the day I chose to acknowledge God's existence, my prayer began with, "Ok, you win..." It might be that the underlying reason atheists are bothered by people believing in God is because God is actively pursuing them.

I am not the only one who has experienced this. Malcolm Muggeridge, socialist and philosophical author, wrote, "I had a notion that somehow, besides questing, I was being pursued." C.S. Lewis said he remembered, "...night after night, feeling whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all of England."

Lewis went on to write a book titled, "Surprised by Joy" as a result of knowing God. I too had no expectations other than rightfully admitting God's existence. Yet over the following several months, I became amazed by his love for me.

6. Does God exist? Unlike any other revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the clearest, most specific picture of God revealing himself to us.

Why Jesus? Look throughout the major world religions and you'll find that Buddha, Muhammad, Confucius and Moses all identified themselves as teachers or prophets. None of them ever claimed to be equal to God. Surprisingly, Jesus did. That is what sets Jesus apart from all the others. He said God exists and you're looking at him. Though he talked about his Father in heaven, it was not from the position of separation, but of very close union, unique to all humankind. Jesus said that anyone who had seen Him had seen the Father, anyone who believed in him, believed in the Father.

He said, "I am the light of the world, he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."14 He claimed attributes belonging only to God: to be able to forgive people of their sin, free them from habits of sin, give people a more abundant life and give them eternal life in heaven. Unlike other teachers who focused people on their words, Jesus pointed people to himself. He did not say, "follow my words and you will find truth." He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but through me."15

What proof did Jesus give for claiming to be divine? He did what people can't do. Jesus performed miracles. He healed people...blind, crippled, deaf, even raised a couple of people from the dead. He had power over objects...created food out of thin air, enough to feed crowds of several thousand people. He performed miracles over nature...walked on top of a lake, commanding a raging storm to stop for some friends. People everywhere followed Jesus, because he constantly met their needs, doing the miraculous. He said if you do not want to believe what I'm telling you, you should at least believe in me based on the miracles you're seeing.16

Jesus Christ showed God to be gentle, loving, aware of our self-centeredness and shortcomings, yet deeply wanting a relationship with us. Jesus revealed that although God views us as sinners, worthy of his punishment, his love for us ruled and God came up with a different plan. God himself took on the form of man and accepted the punishment for our sin on our behalf. Sounds ludicrous? Perhaps, but many loving fathers would gladly trade places with their child in a cancer ward if they could. The Bible says that the reason we would love God is because he first loved us.

Jesus died in our place so we could be forgiven. Of all the religions known to humanity, only through Jesus will you see God reaching toward humanity, providing a way for us to have a relationship with him. Jesus proves a divine heart of love, meeting our needs, drawing us to himself. Because of Jesus' death and resurrection, he offers us a new life today. We can be forgiven, fully accepted by God and genuinely loved by God. He says, "I have loved you with an everlasting love, therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you."17 This is God, in action.

Does God exist? If you want to know, investigate Jesus Christ. We're told that "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."18

God does not force us to believe in him, though he could. Instead, he has provided sufficient proof of his existence for us to willingly respond to him. The earth's perfect distance from the sun, the unique chemical properties of water, the human brain, DNA, the number of people who attest to knowing God, the gnawing in our hearts and minds to determine if God is there, the willingness for God to be known through Jesus Christ. If you need to know more about Jesus and reasons to believe in him, please see: Beyond Blind Faith.

If you want to begin a relationship with God now, you can.

This is your decision, no coercion here. But if you want to be forgiven by God and come into a relationship with him, you can do so right now by asking him to forgive you and come into your life. Jesus said, "Behold, I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. He who hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him [or her]."19 If you want to do this, but aren't sure how to put it into words, this may help: "Jesus, thank you for dying for my sins. You know my life and that I need to be forgiven. I ask you to forgive me right now and come into my life. I want to know you in a real way. Come into my life now. Thank you that you wanted a relationship with me. Amen."

God views your relationship with him as permanent. Referring to all those who believe in him, Jesus Christ said of us, "I know them, and they follow me; and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand."20

So, does God exist? Looking at all these facts, one can conclude that a loving God does exist and can be known in an intimate, personal way. If you need more information about Jesus' claim to divinity, or about God's existence, or if you have similar important questions, please email us.