Evidences of God

Spirituality Column #133
May 26, 2009
Current in Carmel (IN) newspaper
Current in Westfield (IN) newspaper

Evidences of God
By Bob Walters

My elder son Eric is taking a Religious Studies minor in college and is always an interesting conversational partner during our car trips to and from school.

Eric, heading into his senior year at Purdue, is a baptized believer in Christ and walks his faith in a number of tangible ways – missions, campus ministries, Bible study leadership, youth group mentoring, worship musician, avid volunteer for assorted Kingdom activities, regular church-goer, chaplain of his fraternity, and (OK, I’m a bit biased) all around good-guy.

Plus, he’s a sinner like the rest of us. It’s ironic that we Christians, so often assailed by secularists for either being hypocrites or goody-two-shoes, are also the first to admit we are sinners.

That’s because being a sinner is the one and only thing that qualifies us for the grace of Christ. But I digress …

It’s easy to get through college thinking there is no God, being confused about God, just plain not thinking about God, or ridiculing God and those who believe in Him.

Eric’s faith, thankfully, is surviving both the college experience and what he’s learning about philosophy and theology.

On our most recent ride back down I-65, Eric mentioned a philosophy class this semester which discussed that there are just two kinds of arguments – evidential and logical.

An evidential argument, for example, would suggest that it is more likely God and evil in some way coexist. We see God, we see evil; both exist. A logical argument, differently, would note that a good God would not allow evil to exist, there is evil in the world, therefore God does not exist.

Conversation ensued … evidence obviates assumptions, while logic is wholly dependent on assumptions. Logic is harder to prove than evidence. “My concept of good outweighs God’s likelihood of existence” is a big, awful assumption, not evidence.

But here’s my point. Secularists – who in my experience are particularly queasy about being called “sinners” – immodestly fight against the idea of God’s existence, eternal salvation by Jesus Christ, and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because they see no evidence … and call their position logical.

Look at a changed human life, look at a church full of believers, look at the Bible, look at beauty, look at love, experience an answered prayer, look at the sacrifice of Christ … evidence of God is everywhere, unless you assume it isn’t.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) was passively confused about God for roughly three decades, including college. Eric, by the way, is majoring in Aviation Management.