Week One Part 2 - Day One: Facing Doubt

“In the beginning God ...” That’s where the Biblical account begins. And there’s no better place for us to get started.

However, right now let’s back up a little. Let’s try not to assume anything in these exercises. Instead, let’s begin by thinking about the existence of God from a completely objective standpoint. In these first few weeks, we’re going to deal with doubt honestly and then we’re going to talk about whether or not we can believe in the existence of God with any reliability.

Most of Humankind Has Believed In Some Form of God

For starters, we should acknowledge that most of humankind throughout history has believed in some form of God. By that I mean we tell ourselves (and an occasional survey) that we believe in God; we even call on Him - however we have conceived of Him - when we are in particularly tough straights. But, at the risk of being arrogant, I would say that many of us have not believed in God in any meaningful way. We have not believed in a way that made a difference in the way we live our daily lives. We have not believed in a way that actually informed our decisions or benefited us emotionally, physically or spiritually.

Clearly, this kind of difference-making, benefit-rendering belief is the kind of belief that Jesus had and that he advocated for his followers. It is this kind of belief that we will be aiming at in these exercises over the next months.

Chances are you have come to these exercises because you want to build a spiritual rhythm into your life which means you do believe in a way that makes a difference – or at least you want to. Or maybe you want to explore this kind of belief. Maybe you want to see if it’s really there and if it’s available to you. Either way, I pray this process will be life-changing.

So ... God exists. He really does. That’s why we’re here.

But you can’t really prove it. There is no airtight case for God. There is no smoking gun that points undeniably to His existence. For the most part we take it as an article of faith that He exists. But taking it on faith doesn’t mean that we must put our minds on the shelf. That doesn’t mean we take a blind leap into an abyss and hope for the best. It will not do for us to believe simply because the alternative is too scary or because we’ve just never really considered it. No, we must consider the case honestly and for the next two weeks we will.

Let me give two reasons why objectively and honestly considering the question of God’s existence will be beneficial for us.

God Doesn't Want Any Sympathy Votes

First, God doesn’t want any sympathy votes. He is not a consolation prize. You know what I mean – “I believe in God because ... what is the risk, right? If I’m wrong, no harm done. It’s a good way to live anyway. But if I’m right I get this good way to live and I get to go to heaven.”

I have heard this presented as an actual argument for believing in God before. Can you imagine Jesus offering such an argument? I can’t. “You believe that there is one God. Good!” James says with more than a little sarcasm. “Even the demons believe that - and shudder.” James seems to be saying that the kind of limp, unconsidered belief that makes no difference in our real lives or a consolation-prize belief that aims to protect itself but again makes no difference in the way we really live … well that kind of belief puts you in the esteemed company of demons. Obviously, it’s not good enough. So, objectively and honestly considering God’s existence will help us nail down where we really stand on the question. This can help us get rid of consolation prize belief or limp, unconsidered belief. We can either reject the idea of God’s existence, or we can embrace it with real courage and in a way that makes a difference.

A Second Reason To Consider God’s Existence

A second reason to consider God’s existence with robust honesty is because most of us have real doubts; maybe all of us. And it will do us no good to repress those doubts or to attempt to force them away by ignoring them. In that case, they just go underground where they will resurface later, often in middle of some crises when we need our faith the most. So, let’s face those doubts head on.

God exists. And because He exists we can benefit by honestly considering His existence. Let me illustrate why I say this. I have distinct childhood memories of considering the reality of a certain jolly old fella who made an annual visit to my home. “How does he make it around the whole world in just one night?” Do you remember when you first started to think about the real-ness of such things? I actually remember suspending that line of questioning for a brief time. I think I knew intuitively that such questions would have a decidedly disappointing end. Eventually, asking hard questions about this certain reality were unavoidable but it just made sense to me to put it off as long as I could. I knew such an investigation would not be “beneficial” to me so I avoided it.

Consider Another Case

But now consider another case. What if my mother were to have gone away for an extended time for some reason when I was a child? And suppose further that someone tried to convince me that she was not really real. In this case there would have been great benefit for me to have reminded myself of her real-ness. I would have been wise to bravely and seriously dig into this question honestly and rationally, without delay, and doing so would have been a very fruitful exercise for me. It would have helped me remember and enjoy certain aspects of her and of our relationship. And it would have resulted in my increased confidence. Why would it have been fruitful? Why would it have increased my confidence? Because my mother really did exist! She was real and she really cared for me. Investigating her would have only helped me confirm her real-ness and my love for her.

Hey, God exists. He’s real and He really does care for you. So honestly considering the question of His existence will be beneficial for us. It will help us appreciate certain aspects of His character and it will increase our confidence. Try to think about that today. If you find yourself doubting, that’s okay. We will spend the next two weeks working through our doubts and looking at some impressive clues that point in God’s direction. But for now, let’s just get started.

“In the beginning God ...”

Before You Start Your Day

1. Try to remember your earliest thoughts about God. What were they? Where did they come from?
2. Try to remember the last time God felt undeniably real to you.
3. Pray.
   1. Thank God that He exists, and that we are not alone.
   2. Praise Him for who He is as far as you understand that at this point.
   3. Ask God to increase your confidence in His existence and to show you clues throughout the next few days.

Comments (1)

... God exists

1Monday, 27 September 2010 11:59

John Dickinson

It is reassuring to be reminded... God exists. It's pretty easy to go through some dry spells or tough times and forget that.
Thanks for the reminder.

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