by James Thomas Lee, Jr. 12/01/95 Copyrighted 2001 by James Thomas Lee, Jr. Copyright Number: TXu 713-027
Chapter 2 - Proving the Realness of God by Experiencing It {2,077 words}
Chapter 2a - Criterion One - Acknowledging the Continual Presence of God’s Things {1,596 words}
Chapter 2b - Criterion Two - Feeling An Inner Emptiness {1,698 words}
Chapter 2c - Criterion Three - Satisfying That Internal Void {1,276 words}
Chapter 2d - Criterion Four - Having a New Life in Christ {1,457 words}
Chapter 2e - God’s Witness Program - The "BEFORE" and "AFTER" Proofs {2,447 words}
Over the years, scientists have dedicated an inordinate amount of time, energy, and effort toward understanding the origin of this universe, also toward understanding the beginning of life within this universe. Yet, most of their efforts largely speaking have been without much real success! Great minds of the past and present have argued both sides of the God-as-Creator question, but the mystery of whether or not God actually did create the universe and initiate life still has never been satisfactorily resolved. Therefore, this whole matter of trying to prove or disprove God-as-Creator is not, in my mind, even a worthwhile pursuit! The entire topic to me, because of its futility alone, seems almost like a complete waste of time. Why commit so much energy and emotion to a question which obviously does not have a clear, easily verifiable answer? Besides, whether or not God did create the universe is really secondary in importance! One should stress the greater not lesser issue, and the greater issue from almost any perspective should be that of God and His relevancy to everyday life during these current times.
In my opinion, finding a God who is current in everyday affairs is far more significant than trying to prove or disprove that a creator did or might have initially set everything in motion. If one can demonstrate beyond doubt that some god, somewhere, at some time created the universe but cannot show that He is still around and available to all, then what good is such a proof? In the same manner, if one can apply any of the previously discussed theistic arguments for the existence of God and positively conclude that He is the true Creator yet still cannot place Him in a current, everyday setting, then what good is that effort? My feeling is that one profits very little by being drawn into and consumed by this Age-old debate of how and when the universe and life actually began.
Some would perhaps describe this matter of sidestepping around the existence of a creator as a cop-out, but is it really? Should the greater concern be for some distant, faraway event such as a Big Bang, ten to twenty billion years ago, which may or may not be true, or should one's focus be on a God Who exists today and Who can intervene in people's lives? For me, the choice is easily the latter, and for good reason! People who live today can best discover the truth about God by directing their attention toward current, not past matters. The rationale for this thinking is clear. If an individual can find and describe God as He exists in this current world, then that individual can potentially experience His goodness and mercy right NOW, rather than just dream about Him as some distant, long ago Creator. Furthermore, when God can be placed in a current setting, then the comments of scientists and educators about the origins of the universe and life really are not all that important! At that point, the whole matter of a creator, from a spiritual standpoint, actually becomes trivial. Show that God exists today and that He is available to all, and you will have shown that the universe had a Creator!
In considering this idea of a current God, recall the ontological argument which said that if God cannot be proven to not exist, then He does exist. A slight variation or maybe even corollary to that particular statement and one which also reinforces the above remarks might go something like the following! If God can be shown to exist in the current world, then He has always existed. Forget all the interest in trying to prove the existence of a Creator, God or otherwise, and consider instead the far more important matter! Does God exist NOW? Can He be approached NOW? Does He care for us NOW? Clearly, if the answer to each of these questions is yes, then this should be all the proof necessary. If these questions can be answered in the affirmative, then all should readily admit that God truly does exist and that He is the Creator!
Contrary to what many may think, however, this attempt to show God's relevancy in a current setting is not entirely original. In their pursuit of the truth, many scientists have already dealt with this same thought, but by considering the flip side of the same issue rather than by focussing on the same side. In other words, they have tried to identify the smallest possible role which a creator god might have had. Their approach has not been to show God's relevancy and currency in the present world. Instead, their goal has been to say that God, if He exists at all, is not current, that He cannot now be found, and that He is not currently needed! As a result of such thinking, the term "lazy creator" has been used by people like Dr. Peter W. Adkins in his book, Creation Revisited to indicate this very thing, a god who created the universe but then simply disappeared [1].
In his book, A Brief History Of Time, Dr. Stephen Hawking makes a very similar comment by suggesting that God may have decreed the laws of nature but that He does not now interfere in the evolution of the universe [2]. In like manner, Mr. Jim Baggott also makes a remark which implies the existence of a creator who just got things started and then merely left. In his book, The Meaning Of Quantum Theory, he indicates that scientists have not felt a need to ask God for solutions in a post-Big Bang universe [3]. Thus, many scientists have argued and still argue for an infinite universe, hence no god! But some, as can be seen from these present references, at least consider the possibility of a god who got things started, yet then who was the kind of god that chose to transfer himself to the sidelines after his act of creation, with nothing further to do!
The reasoning of this latter group for suggesting the existence of such a creator god, that is of one who did his work but is now nowhere to be found, is simple. Consider the words of Mr. Baggott! His discussion, in leading up to the last comment in the above paragraph, pertains to what he has called a modern application of the cosmological proof for the existence of God. Recall the syntax of that earlier argument! If one traces all things back to the beginning of time, then he or she will come to that person or thing which was not created. By combining the main ideas of the Big Bang theory with the cosmological proof, this author has merely suggested that God, as the first uncaused Cause, would not have been needed after He had created the single, compact, highly dense mass. The author says that after the colossal explosion of that mass, which is, of course, their Big Bang, that the fundamental physical and chemical laws of nature are sufficient to explain how the universe has evolved. Hence, he does consider the possibility of a god in the beginning, but he clearly argues against the need for or the existence of a current God!
From the perspective of these latter three gentlemen, Dr. Adkins, Dr. Hawking, and Mr. Baggott, and many other scientists, the idea of either a lazy creator or a nonexistent creator even makes sense. There are two reasons why this is so. First, all of the pieces appear to fit! According to them, the laws of nature satisfy most or all of the observations of nature, and where doubts do still exist, most believe that a solution is acheivable within the near-term. Therefore, most cosmologists do not buy into the notion that God is "currently" needed to make the universe go. Furthermore, since all of the various elements of our world seem to care for themselves, he, meaning their concept of God, can also afford to be lazy. Thus, the first reason for their dismissal of a current God is based on their own version of logic, plus with some of their observations mixed in for good measure. Their second reason, though, is based entirely on emotions! Because of the many real-life difficulties and calamities which befall others, the human side of these individuals view a troubled, struggling world and conclude, as many, that no god would ever inflict so much hurt and suffering on humanity.
In concurring with this second type of reasoning for not recognizing a current God, Dr. Weinberg writes about the God of the birds and trees as also being the God of cancer. He, then, goes on to reveal his own disgust with the God who had allowed the Holocaust [4]. Thus, this author is pointing to some of the more obvious forms of pain and hurt which have been felt by many, and clearly, these instances of anguish have added support to the idea that either God does not care, that He is unable to defeat evil, that He is too lazy to get involved, or that He is simply nowhere to be found! Consequently, take your choice! In the eyes of science, the idea of a lazy creator works equally as well as the idea of no creator! However, one must realize that these scientists may have been too quick to reach such a conclusion. Just look at what they have already done with their own unproven theories of creation, the so-called Big Bang theory and the Theory of Evolution!
Because they believe that the world is on the verge of uncovering a whole system of laws and equations which will completely unlock all the mysteries of the universe, they do not expect to find God in a current setting. And because of the two reasons just given above, they also are not really looking for Him! Dr. Weinberg, in fact, asks and answers his own question when he asks if we will find an interested God in the final laws of nature. He tells his reader that he does not think we will [5]. Therefore, in this quest to know the truth about God, the battle lines have already been drawn or are at least now being drawn, and the direction is clear! Rather than argue for the existence of God as Creator, which is probably an impossible and senseless task since creation is so far in the past, the plan for knowing the truth about God and for understanding His simple, logical Plan of Salvation must be to counter this "lazy creator" hypothesis and to show that the world really does have a present, available, infinite, non-lazy, and interested God. Thus far, science has not been able to find such a Being. They have only found data which makes them doubt Him and His existence. But He is out there, just waiting to be discovered!
Consequently, the first step for showing God in a current context is to establish meaningful criteria for such an undertaking. Accordingly, my opinion is that for Him to exist and be proven in this present world four conditions must be met. First, if He exists NOW, then His things must have survived. To be perfectly candid, what this first criterion says is that a god who cannot continue, plus at the same time preserve His things through the Ages, is not much of a god! Second, if God exists NOW, then the ungodly must feel something missing or not quite right in his or her own life by not having Him. Third and the opposite of the second is that if God exists NOW, then the godly must not feel that same something missing in his or her life. Thus, between the second and third conditions, if God does exist, then one should correctly expect to see various internal and external differences between the godly and ungodly. Fourth, if God exists NOW, then He must have the ability to change and improve those who receive Him. Hence, to satisfy this final condition, the Lord must be able to fix that which afflicts the person in need, and He must also be able to give that individual a better reason for living. Therefore, with these remarks having been made, let us now proceed by considering each of the above criterion!
a. Criterion One - Acknowledging the Continual Presence of God’s Things
In looking at Criterion One for the existence of a current God, I have identified this first necessary condition, that is of being able to survive the Ages, as the Gamaliel factor. This criterion is named after a popular and wise Pharisee who had lived during the First Century, and concerning his famous remark, the Bible records the following:
Then he addressed them: "Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God" [6].
This excerpt from the Book of Acts does not prove the first criterion. These words from the Bible have been used merely to describe it! As the story goes, the Apostle Peter had been brought before the Sanhedrin to answer for his crime of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One should note that even in those days such behavior was strictly forbidden. Anyway, while many within that Council were seeking to kill Peter, plus some of the other Apostles who had also been preaching, Gamaliel stood and advised against such a hasty action. He argued that the Apostles' effort, if it were only of human power and direction, would eventually fail. He went on to say that if their work were not of God, then the men who were doing that work would soon be gone, and their movement would be gone with them. To support his remark, this Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin, then, provided examples of two other instances where the movements had quickly died away as soon as the leaders of those respective movements were gone. Thus, Gamaliel made his point because the Apostles were released a short time later.
If God exists now, then the first condition which must be met is that the things of God will have survived through the Ages! Has this criterion been met? My opinion is that it has. Today, our nation has visible evidence of God's existence all around. First, the country is full of churches where God and Jesus Christ are preached. Second, Christians are everywhere, in every part of this country and even the world. They are everywhere, and the world throughout history has always had a remnant of those who call upon the Lord. The last piece of evidence for this first criterion is the Bible. Had that Book been just another book and not God's Word, it would probably not today be anywhere to be found. Note the message of Matthew 24:35! In that verse, Jesus promised that not a single word of the Bible would ever pass away. Has his promise been good? I would say that it has! The Book is still here with no signs to suggest that it will ever disappear. Consequently, while teaching Scriptures in public schools may no longer be permitted and while people may find even more ways in the future to ignor its teachings, the Bible still looks like it is here to stay!
In terms of survivability, the preservation of the Church, the existence of Christians, and the testimony of the Bible show that the things of God have survived! In fact, they have all made it through at least two thousand years of adversity. The Bible, in particular, has survived more than thirty-five hundred years without a single rewrite or modification. Furthermore, these examples of the Faith are still around and going strong! Yet, by comparison, the aforementioned creation theories of the scientific community, namely the Big Bang theory and the Theory of Evolution, cannot even come close to meeting such a high standard. The Theory of Evolution was popularized by Charles Darwin about one hundred and fifty years ago, and while the theory or at least the idea for the theory may have existed before him, it still is very young relative to the Bible and Christianity. More importantly, though, this belief about evolution is still very young and also still very much unproven!
The Big Bang theory is not even that old! That incredible belief about the origin of the universe from a single, compact mass has only been around for a short while, probably in total no more than fifty or sixty years. But in that time, the Big Bang theory has undergone extensive rework just to try to make it fit the observed data, and yet, theorists still have not succeeded in adequately describing and defining a workable and valid scheme! The Bible has endured for a very long time without any changes. Thus, based on this first criterion, there is no contest between science and the things of God! Christian heritage and God's things date back literally thousands of years, while science can only counter with two relatively young and definitely unproven beliefs.
Science does not have anything which can compete head-to-head with Bible Christianity. That should be obvious! However, lest one should misunderstand this first criterion, an important explanation concerning logical syntax is required. Someone might point to something like pain or evil, both of which have also been around forever, and suggest that these, because they are not of God, contradict the first condition. Would such a response be logically true or logically false? Recall the first criterion! If God exists now, then His things must have survived. Note that this syntax only relates to God's existence and to the survival of His things! It does not address those things that might have survived which are not of God. Therefore, from a logical syntax perspective, the first condition does still pass even though pain and evil have also survived.
Next, by looking at its converse, the first criterion can be viewed from a slightly different perspective. The converse argument of this first condition is as follows. If God's things have not survived, then He does not now exist. What does this restatement of the first condition mean? Taking the three examples of God's things which have already been expressed, this statement means that if the Church can be destroyed from the earth, then God does not now exist. This restatement means that if Christians can somehow be eliminated from the earth, then God does not now exist. And finally, this restatement says that if the Bible can be removed from the earth, then God does not now exist. If any or all of these three elements can be destroyed, eliminated, or somehow removed from the earth by human devices, then this would be sufficient grounds for saying that God does not now exist!
During the first several hundred years after the death of Jesus, the Roman Government tried diligently to break up the Church. But they failed! They tried to kill all of those who professed to be Christians. Yet again, they failed! Many through the years have been martyred for their faith, but the Church, Christians as a whole, and the Bible have all endured. In Rome, the consequence to the Government for opposing God was sure! According to the secular historian, Mr. Edward Gibbon, in his book The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, the whole Roman Empire fell at least in part because they were not able to stop Christianity. Concerning the fall of Rome and the rise of the Christian Faith, he wrote that Christianity spread throughout Europe, into Asia and Africa, and then to Canada and Chili [7]. The leaders of Rome fought with great zeal for thirteen or fourteen centuries to overthrow Christianity, but they were not successful! The more they tried to stop it, the more Christianity spread. Some people were chased from Rome. Others simply fled for their life. But everywhere they went, they carried with them the good news and hope of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
In some parts of the present world, Bibles are literally outlawed, Christians are persecuted, and the Church has been driven underground. Nevertheless, the things of God have still continued! In this country, an effort has also been underway for some time to rid the Lord from all aspects of public life. Given the choice, many would simply choose to eliminate Him from our system altogether. Yet, He and His things still continue. In this matter of eliminating God, one would do well to see Rome as an example of what can happen from such a course. With us as with them, if we persist, then the conclusion will once again be sure. Our nation may struggle to get rid of God and may even do so for a short time, but it will be at our own peril! In the end, America will fall, not God, because the words of Gamaliel were absolutely correct. If God is real and if He is trying to do some work, then no one or no force on this earth will be able to stop Him. He and His things have survived through the Ages, and they will continue to do so!
b. Criterion Two - Feeling An Inner Emptiness
Now, let us move on to the second criterion! If God exists now, then the individual without Him must realize that something is missing from his or her life, or to put this statement into different words, those who are without the Lord will experience an emptiness which cannot be satisfied by the things of this world. As this criterion is examined, one should note that making such a determination is difficult on my part because one individual cannot easily read, much less prove another's heart. Explaining how someone else might recognize or respond to an inner feeling of emptiness is not easy. Therefore, this part of the analysis shall proceed along two paths. First, I will briefly explain the feelings and emotions which I had felt before coming to the Lord. While those feelings and emotions may not apply universally to all, they do at least provide a basis for understanding the criterion. Then, I will share a passage from the Bible which clearly identifies that thing which is actually missing from many peoples' lives. Please note as was mentioned with the previous criterion that the Bible will only be used to better explain a spiritual truth, not to prove that truth!
Thus, as we get underway, I ask my reader to consider an earlier time in my life, a time in 1967 when I found myself in a great deal of trouble. During those difficult, wayward days out of my past, I had taken on more problems than I could realistically handle. At the time, I knew that something was wrong, but I was not able to tell what that something was. In performing a surface-level analysis of my circumstances, I examined some of the more obvious factors of my early life, such as my homelife and my personal environment. Yet, I could not uncover enough damaging evidence against either of those factors to blame either, simply because neither had been at fault.
My real problem during those years, even though I had not been able to see it at the time, had turned out to be something inside of me, or more accurately something that was "not inside of me"! None of my youthful problems had actually been caused by the various external factors which typically intersect with a person's existence. In my case, when I had been experiencing so many conflicting, confusing emotions, it had really been because I was coming face to face with this sort of strange and mysterious spiritual void, a void which had existed within my own heart for many years. Consequently, while I could not look at others and judge their predicament, I could at least look at myself and tell that something was definitely not right about me!
As it turned out, that void in my heart had been there long before I even realized it. But more than that, that spiritual void in my heart had caused me to embark on a very devious lifestyle, a lifestyle which ultimately caused me many problems. Something inside of me had not felt right, so I had reacted by doing wild, crazy things to try to make it right. In short, I had sought ways to fill my own void, but those attempts had not worked! I simply could not get for myself that thing or those things for which my heart had so desperately yearned. Thus, through all of my futile attempts to try, I was learning a very important truth, namely that one cannot be easily appeased by wreckless behavior! Rather than helping me deal with my frustrations, all my shenanigans had really done was lead me into mischief. Then, that in turn had led me into even more mischief. By the time that I had finally reached bottom, I had flunked out of college, walked off two jobs, and gotten myself involved with a number of ex-convicts, thus getting my whole adult life off to a terrible start. Even then, though, I was only just starting to come to grips with a second, undeniable truth, which is that getting oneself into trouble does not bring satisfaction, either!
In my particular case, I had gone too far on the wrong road! Hence, my basic character flaw was that I had been an extremist. An important contrast to consider, however, is that non-extremist who is also on the same wrong road. Not everyone who delves in a little mischief and wrongdoing goes as far as I, while some, of course, go much farther! What is really important for a person to see in all of this is that how much actual trouble one makes for oneself is not the essential point of this second criterion. The point is that all people without the Lord are in a type of "search mode", where they are looking endlessly for that something in life which has meaning.
How each person proceeds with that search or tries to satisfy that need is usually determined by individual personality, circumstances, and opportunities. For me, the search had led to mischief and wrongdoing. For a while, I had even felt that I was getting away with something, that is until I finally reached the end of the road. For others, the search for meaning may come from burying oneself in various good works, while for others it may come from doing a wide assortment of bad things, such as selling or abusing drugs, stealing, committing murder, or performing other activities which bring harm and hurt to humanity. Once again, though, the point of this second criterion is not to focus on what people do in an attempt to satisfy their inner void. It is to realize that all people without God are looking for a way or ways to fill something inside of them which feels empty!
Because I for a long time had also experienced such emotions, I can now understand this second condition for knowing that God exists. During my difficult years, I simply had not been able to figure out what was happening to me or to my life. But now, over twenty-eight years later, I can share the following passage from the Bible and proclaim that these words unlock the whole mystery:
You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you [8].
That all-important "something" which distinguishes the godly from the ungodly can be seen in the above excerpt. He is the Holy Spirit of God! Note the words which have been underlined! They describe the Spirit of God as "living in you". Logically speaking, the void that I had felt before coming to the Lord, one which is always felt by others, was that part of my internal being which could have, but did not, possess this Holy Spirit of God. To carry that thought just a bit further, it was the absense of that Spirit from my inner being which had been causing me to feel and experience so much discomfort!
Trying to fill the void in one's heart can lead in many directions - some good, some bad! The actual direction taken is not really important to this part of the discussion, though. What is important is having that inner peace and comfort which comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God. Most scientists and scholars cannot comprehend such a concept! They tend to characterize Christianity as a way of life which is based largely on emotion. Yet, while emotion does play a part, it is far from being the main product. Christianity is not about feelings and emotions nearly so much as it is about possession, possession of the Holy Spirit of God. In another portion of Scriptures, John 14:15-29, the Holy Spirit is called a Comforter because He brings peace and joy to individuals who live in a world where there is little or no peace and joy. In reality, it is this true peace and joy for which most people actually seek, a point which brings us right back to where we started. If God exists now, then the individual who is without Him must realize that something is missing from his or her life.
To satisfy that inner void, many chase after a great career, wealth, power, or any of a number of other earthly pursuits, only to learn years later that those gains cannot fill that emptiness. It is only through the Holy Spirit of God that one can really acheive true peace and joy and, at the same time, overcome that longing for more. However, this unsettling realization from within that something is not quite right is highly significant because it is a sensation or feeling which points to an individual's personal need. Also, this realization from within is a great blessing because it provides to everyone the most positive and probably purest proof that God really exists! The point being made here is simple. Not only is God the One Who put that feeling of emptiness inside each of us in the first place, but He is also the only One Who can really fill it. Thus, while this second criterion might be more difficult to show than was the first, it is clearly an important way for all to know in a personal way that God is real and current. Interestingly enough, another significant truth in all of this can be seen, and this truth is also difficult to prove. Those who have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within do not need further evidence that God exists. The cry for a proof about God only comes from those who do not really know Him!
c. Criterion Three - Satisfying That Internal Void
The third condition which is required to demonstrate God's existence in a current setting is the reverse of the second. Namely, if God exists now, then the godly must not feel that that same something or that that same Holy Spirit is missing in them. Like the second, this criterion is also difficult to show because one must once again try to generalize and explain the feelings and actions of others, a task which is never easy. Therefore, to accomplish such an ambitious, lofty objective, the history of the early Church will be examined. The aim will be to find evidence within those early Christian believers of an atypical, inner peace and joy, a unique kind of joy which cannot be found in others. If such characteristics can be found, then their presence should be sufficient to signify or show an indwelling of the above-mentioned Holy Spirit. The reasoning behind this part of the inquiry is as follows. If the behavior of those without this indwelling of God's Holy Spirit reveals something lacking, a point which was just seen in Criterion Two, then the behavior of those with the indwelling of God's Spirit should reveal something gained!
We begin the examination of this criterion by considering the early Church and by taking a second look at the Roman Government of that period. When the New Testament Church was born, people who sought the Lord stirred up Roman officials. By law, no one was permitted to seek or worship any being other than Caesar. According to Roman authority and custom, he was the chief ruler and leader over all. Many of that Era even elevated him to the place of the gods. But Christians and Christianity, in general, held to a different and higher calling than to just that of mere mortals. Caesar in their eyes was a powerful ruler, but nothing more. He certainly was not and is not God!
Therefore, the leaders of Rome became highly agitated by the defiant attitude of the early, zealous Christians. Because of the Christian determination and zeal to seek God first, the leaders of that Government sought to kill the spirit of the early New Testament Church. To do that, they sought to kill the people of the early New Testament Church. Interpretation of Roman Law meant extreme and cruel punishment, even the ultimate penalty of death, to anyone who professed to follow the Lord. Thus, in reconsidering the earlier passage presented with Criterion One, the same passage which showed the Apostle Peter before the Sanhedrin being defended by Gamaliel, that whole episode had occurred because Peter and the other Apostles had been worshipping and preaching Christ. Those men had been caught up in the Roman Government's battle against Christianity, and by law, any offender, including Christ's Apostles, could be tortured, persecuted, or even destroyed for not putting Roman idols first!
In his book Foxe's Christian Martyrs Of The World, Mr. John Foxe reports that the Roman Government had used all sorts of cruelty to stop the growth of the Church. In the process, many Christians were killed, simply for exercising their newfound, unshakable faith. However, while many died horrible deaths, the New Testament Church still flourished, a point which again reinforces the first criterion of survivability. Even though the Romans tried diligently, they simply could not stop the Lord's work! Hence, concerning just a very few of the many thousands who were killed, Mr. Foxe writes about the following.
1. The Apostle Andrew preached Christ to the people. When threatened with the extreme consequence of a hard death, he quickly settled for that consequence. Because of his faithfulness to tell others about the Lord, Andrew was hanged on a cross for three days. During that time, he suffered excruciating, agonizing pain, and it was all because of his evil crime against the State of preaching the Gospel of Christ. Yet, even as he suffered, he continued to preach Jesus Christ to those around him [9].
2. The Apostle Paul was beheaded for preaching Christ [10].
3. The Apostle Thomas was stabbed through with a spear because he preached Christ and led many to the Lord [11].
4. Mr. Foxe writes about two of the many cruel acts of the Roman Emperor, Nero. First, this ruler had Christians sewn into the skins of wild animals, after which they were hung out for the dogs to torment. Eventually, the dogs would kill the poor, tragic Christian victims. On other occasions, Nero dipped Christians in pitch, wrapped them in tow, and fastened them to tall poles in the garden of his palace. Once there, he would set them afire and just watch them burn. Those Christians literally became human torches [12].
5. One widow, named Symphorosa, refused to worship the Roman idols. So, she was beaten nearly to death through a form of whipping which was called scourging. She was hanged by her hair. Then, she had a large stone tied to her neck and was cast into the river to drown. All seven of her sons were also martyred [13].
6. Three hundred Christians were arranged around a huge burning limekiln. When they were ordered to bow to Roman idols or be pushed in, they as a group leaped forward into the fire. They did not bow, and they did not give the Romans the privilege of casting them to their deaths [14]!
These accounts of real people during extremely stressful circumstances are troubling. To imagine that any person could be so poorly treated just for worshipping the God of the Bible is disturbing. Yet, consider the many naive individuals who embark on their journey to church each Sunday without ever realizing the tremendous costs which have been borne by others who once tried to do the same. While the above instances are only a small sample of the many Christian martyrs, they do demonstrate the unique quality, faith, and testimony of those who possess the Holy Spirit of God. Those men and women out of the past were able to look beyond the temporal pleasures of this world. They were able to see past the immediate ordeal of their own persecution and suffering. As a result, they were more willing to die for their Lord than to deny Him and fall down before Roman idols. The witness of their actions tells us that they really were different and that they really did possess that something which the ungodly do not have. Those people were willing to and did pay the ultimate price for their faith!
Nevertheless, the account of those early martyrs raises a couple of important questions. First, did those people actually possess something unique, something which had come to them from their God? Were they really partakers of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, or were they merely caught up in some special movement, one for which they were willing to die? Second, would naive, present-day Christians like those just mentioned also be willing to make the same or a similar sacrifice for their faith? In other words, has this willingness to surrender all, even one's life, also survived the Ages? To answer these two questions, we must proceed to the next two portions of this discussion. We must first go to Criterion Four, which says that If God exists now, then He must have the ability to improve or make better all who follow Him. After that, we will continue into the final section to actually answer the above two questions, also to see the final conclusions of this whole discourse about knowing that God is real.
d. Criterion Four - Having a New Life in Christ
The approach for showing Criterion One was to list those things of God which have survived. In a similar manner, the best way to convince one of Criterion Four is to show in a clear way how He changes and makes a person's life better. To do that, I will again refer briefly to my own experiences. After all, what the Lord did for me was very special, and I understand those events quite well! Then, I will show how He has done and continues to do for others that which He did for me. By then, it should be somewhat clear that God is real and that He is in the "change" business! When He comes into a life, He truly does change and make that life better, plus He gives renewed meaning to that individual who is hurting or having difficulty.
But before getting into that, a few sentiments by the philosopher Mr. David Hume, from his essay Of Miracles, will help to set the stage. In that work, Mr. Hume criticized miracles as being unbelievable. He also said that they were very much necessary for one to have faith in God. Lastly, he indicated that a person who acquires faith will be conscious of a continuous miracle within [15]. From these three comments, it is fairly easy to see that this philosopher rejected God, also that he argued against the validity of miracles. He believed that miracles were typically reported by ignorant, backward people. In general, he considered the genuineness of most or all such stories to be totally unreliable, and like many of today's scholars and intellectuals, he also thought that all miracles could be explained by some sort of natural phenomena. He distrusted the testimony of the miracle recipients because he thought that their stories would be naturally tainted with lies and exaggerations. In addition, he thought that there were many religions, which strongly opposed each other, yet which still claimed to have had miracles of their own. This, of course, in his opinion would have forced each of those religions into something of a shouting match with the other over who was really correct. Thus, everything considered, his objections seem somewhat valid.
However, in my opinion, Mr. Hume was wrong! His discussion of miracles was too limited in scope because he only considered and dealt with natural phenomena. His criticism was for the "seen" miracles, not for the "unseen". He would have, for example, examined the turnaround in my early life and perhaps concluded that my chance of getting by all of the "seen" hurdles, those hurdles which I had created for myself, to be one in a million. Yet, unlike me, he would have stubbornly clinged to his belief that even one chance in one million means that natural causes must be assumed. I disagree! In reaching his conclusion, he would have had to completely dismiss my "seen" and even my "unseen" miracles as nothing more than insignificant and non-provable.
Despite his criticisms, though, and that of others like him, I am personally convinced that the Lord orchestrated my incredible turnaround. I believe that God placed certain people in my path at critical times to provide me with timely advice. I believe that He caused some very incriminating data about my early life to be conveniently hidden or lost from my records at just the right time. And I believe that He caused some people in authority to see something in me which was not readily apparent at the time. However, with the possible exception of those changed or hidden records out of my past, I cannot prove that any of these so-called "unseen" happenings were exclusively from God. I simply believe them to have been of His doing.
Nevertheless, while I cannot prove any of the above assertions about my own life, I can offer the following comment as my own definitive type of proof. Had I only been given another opportunity or another good break at life, I would have probably fallen again. In 1967, my problem was not bad luck. It was me! When I came to the Lord in December of 1967, I needed more than just a new set of circumstances. I needed more than just another chance. I desperately needed a new me, and that is exactly what I got! Therefore, without question, the Lord in my opinion changed me, then He changed my circumstances! He was my rehabilitator! He was my "unseen" miracle who brought everything to pass in my life and pulled together all the broken strings of my life. Not only that, but His work was instant, and it has been personal and constant.
In fixing up my life, God filled the void which I had felt, He took away the feeling in my heart that something was missing, and He changed my life for the better. These are Criteria Two, Three, and Four, which have already been described above, all wrapped into one very dramatic event, and I have experienced each one, one by one. I know firsthand about the sorrows of condition two because for a very long time, I carried that empty feeling on the inside. I know what it is to feel something wrong in your life, yet not know which way to turn. But I also am aware of the pleasures of conditions three and four because on a late night in December 1967, the Lord removed that empty feeling and forever changed my life. He replaced my lack of direction and hope with a very clear direction and a very pure hope. Therefore, in a personal way, I know that He is present, available, infinite, not lazy, and caring. Though He has never spoken audibly to me or revealed Himself to me in a way that I can visualize, I have continually felt His presence in my life for over twenty-eight years.
However, in again referring to the statements above, I agree with Mr. Hume in one regard. He stated in his essay that one who receives the Lord by faith is "conscious of a continual miracle in his own person." This in my opinion is a true statement! Since 1967, I have known that the Lord did something very special for me. He made me a new person, and He gave me a new life. Thus, I really have been aware of a continual miracle within. Personally, I do not need further proof of God's existence, His goodness, or His power. The Holy Spirit is my proof! But to Mr. Hume, even though I do agree with him on that one point, I would still add the following. Just because something can be explained by natural causes, it does not mean that God did not cause it! The Lord is all-powerful! He can work through the natural as well as the unnatural.
Let us now proceed to the second part of showing Criterion Four, which is that of showing his work in others! I know that in December 1967 the Lord changed me. I know that He turned me into a new person. But has He done that same kind of magical work for or in others who have come to Him? The answer is yes! He did it for all of those martyrs who were just cited in the previous section. He did it for all of the Christians who have worked through the years to preserve the Church and God's Word. He has done it for all of those who have labored faithfully to spread the good news of the Gospel, and He has done it for many who today can attest to His ability to remake a destroyed life.
My testimony concerning the early difficult years of my life is that my turnaround really did involve some genuine miracles. A couple of very incriminating facts from my past were literally wiped clean from my record, just as though they had never occurred. Yet, my case, while being different from most in that respect, is clearly not unique! Everything that the Lord touches, He makes better. Every person in whom His Spirit dwells is a better person simply because of that indwelling. Speaking for all Christians through all the Ages, we each in one voice and in one accord must confess that the good work in us is because of God and God alone! None of us can legitimately take even one ounce of credit for this good work which He has done. As Criterion Four implies, God really is in the "change" business. He really does change peoples' hearts and lives, and He really does give them a better reason for living.
e. God’s Witness Program - The "BEFORE" and "AFTER" Proofs
As we wrap up this part of the discussion, let us see how these criteria are actually used to prove God's existence! After all, He does have a plan. The task of proving God's existence as Creator is very difficult, perhaps even impossible because none of us were around at Creation and none of us really know what happened. That dilemma has already been discussed. However, even trying to show His existence in a current setting is hard because identifying spiritual absolutes and understanding human behavior is also not easy. Through the four criteria which have already been defined and discussed in the previous sections of this chapter, though, I believe that the Lord has revealed and proven Himself. How has He done it? What is His plan? I think that He has provided the human race with two different types of proof, each one a proof which clearly shows His existence in a current setting. These are what I have called the "after" proof and the "before" proof.
The rationale for my conclusions is simple and straightforward. It really involves nothing more than careful observation. First, consider the "after" proof! To those who have already stepped out on faith and received Him as Savior, the "after" proof applies. This is simply the presence of all four criteria. Clearly, the truth of Criterion One is evident. All current-day believers should readily be able to see that because His things have survived. In addition, though, the one who has received Him as Savior and Lord is in the unique position of also having transitioned from Criterion Two to Criterion Three, meaning that that believer has at some time in their past experienced an internal void or the feeling that something was missing from his or her life. At the same time, though, by coming to Him, each of those believers has also experienced the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the wonderful feeling of having that void filled.
From there, Criterion Four, the new life in Christ, has also fallen into place for all Christians because God does change and make better that which He touches. In this regard, the Bible says:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ [16].
As was the case with the other criteria in this chapter, this passage from the Bible has only been used to better explain a spiritual principle, not to prove that God exists or even to show that Criterion Four is true. However, in getting back to the original discussion, it is a true statement to say that all believers, those who have come to the Lord by faith, have experienced these four criteria. Not only that, but God has revealed Himself to them in a way that they can know it, many times before they can even understand what has happened.
Consider once again those martyrs who were mentioned above! These were not super people or giant Christians. They did not possess a greater quantity of the Holy Spirit than other Christians. They were just simple followers of Christ trying to live their life for their Lord. Thus, the lesson should be clear! To all His people, the Lord has given the same Spirit, and to all, He has provided a capacity to serve. One would not perhaps consider martyrdom as an ideal form of service. Yet, such thinking is spiritually incorrect! The best service, even when coming down to the end of one's life, is to be faithful to the Lord and to do whatever He wishes. Those who were persecuted for their faith have, by their actions, shown the rest of the world for all generations that God is real and that He can carry His people through any ordeal, even persecution and death. Can present-day Christians face a similar challenge and find victory? That, too, is a difficult question to answer. But I am persuaded that the Lord will provide sufficient grace for any occasion, whether it be in life or in death, even if that occasion turns out to be a form of Twentieth or Twenty-First Century martyrdom!
Now, consider the "before" proof! This one, of course, applies to all who have not received the Lord through faith. These people, too, have their proof because He has given them the evidence of the first two criteria. First, He has given them Criterion One to show that His things have survived through the Ages. To someone who does not know Him personally, this knowledge is important because it shows that God is not just a here-today, gone-tomorrow fluke. Recall that I earlier referred to this characteristic as the Gamaliel factor! But secondly, He has also given them Criterion Two by putting that feeling within their heart that tells the unbeliever that something is missing. When a person has pursued a particular lifestyle, but somewhere along life's way begins to feel an inner void, then that feeling of emptiness has come from God. The Lord does not speak to us audibly. That observation has already been made several times. But He does speak to our heart, and through those subtle, silent messages, He does tell us that He is real and that we need Him! I know and understand these sensations well, as do all who have actually called upon Him.
Unfortunately, people many times hear the message, but then, they try to soothe the longing by other means. Trying to be a good person is one way. Trying to make a lot of money or gain power are others. But these types of efforts do not work! Many have travelled life's highway and acquired great earthly treasures, only later to learn that these things do not really satisfy the emptiness. Actually, only one method is totally fullproof, and that is by coming to the Lord. When He fills that inner emptiness, the job is complete! The individual who experiences such a filling will very quickly know that something wonderful has happened in his or her life. And at that precise moment, as the conversion process is taking place, the "before" proof for that person will be immediately replaced by the "after" proof.
Thus, God does have a clear plan, and His is a plan which works! Part II of this book will speak in more detail about God's Salvation Plan and the utter, undeniable logic of that Plan. But first, we need to see His witnessing plan and how that one works. To the believer, He gives Criteria One through Four. To the unbeliever, He gives the first two. But also, He gives the unbeliever an additional evidence which has not yet been mentioned. These people, as long as they remain unbelievers, cannot experience Criteria Three and Four, at least not until they eventually transition over and become believers. Therefore, the Lord has placed in their presence multitudes of believers who have already taken that step and experienced all four. In God's plan, those who have come to Him are tasked to bring to Him those who have not. Consequently, while unbelievers cannot experience these last two criteria until they have crossed over and become believers, they can at least view others all around them who have already made that choice, hence making the Lord's witness program complete.
As we close out this chapter, a final thought about proving God's existence is worth noting. The Lord is all-powerful. Even though He does not speak audibly, He can if He wants. Even though He does not visibly reveal Himself, He can do that, too, if He chooses. But instead of doing either, He simply chooses to remain silent and invisible. Why? I will try to answer this final question as best as I can. A few years ago, I learned an important and fascinating spiritual principle, one which many do not clearly understand. It is that if you have the heart to believe a lie, then God will let you do so. To many, these words may sound almost blasphemous, but of this principle, I am absolutely sure!
Consider all of the efforts by others to prove God's existence. Probably among those who do not believe in Him, all of the arguments have tended to go in one direction. Among all of those who do believe in Him, the same is probably true, only the arguments have gone in the opposite direction. But in general, even though the debate has raged for centuries, there is still not much new under the sun! My approach has been to define four criteria, which as a born again Christian I know to be true. Even more, they show God in a relevant setting. However, as a mathematician, I am not sure that I can claim this proof to be truly valid, at least not in a mathematical sense. My proof for God, like all other proofs, can only go so far before one can logically go no further. As I have already stated, I know full well how hard it is to truly "prove" my final three criteria. They involve trying to explain the human psyche in very general, but still very definitive terms, and no one can really do that with much success!
But does that in and of itself mean that God does not exist? No! Does that mean that He cannot be proven? Not exactly! What one must understand is that God proves Himself. We do not prove Him. He proves Himself by showing that His things can survive. He proves Himself by placing in the heart of the unbeliever that unsettling feeling of something missing. He proves Himself to the believer by filling that internal void and by giving those who come to Him a new life. BUT He does not prove Himself to anyone by modern man's logic. If He wanted to, He could sweep across the sky and show Himself to all, or He could speak a million words for all to hear. These would certainly settle the issue. But He does not! What is the truth? The truth is that He does exist. Many, many Christians would attest to the criteria which I have identified. But the other side of this truth is that He does not reveal Himself through slide rules and calculators. All of those who know Him personally have had to come to Him on His terms, not theirs. And this will never change! Thus, the earlier statement is true. If a person wants to believe the lie, which in this case is that God does not exist, then the Lord really will let him or her do so.
I can go back to Dr. Weinberg's statement about finding God in the final laws of nature and confirm what he already suspects. He will not find God in those laws! But only because God does not choose to reveal Himself there and also because Dr. Weinberg is apparently content just to have the final laws of nature. How does the Lord operate? This is pretty simple! He reveals Himself in a person's heart, not in their intellect. He reveals Himself to individuals, not to the masses. The intellectuals write off Christianity as emotions and a simplistic Faith. Neither are completely true! The would-be believer takes that first step to the Lord by faith. But after that, faith is quickly supplemented by results. Result one is the filling of that inner void by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God, which is Criterion Three. Result two is a new life in Christ, which is Criterion Four. Hence, the flip side of the above statement about believing a lie is also true. If one has the heart to seek and to know the truth, then God will knock over any and all barriers to show the truth to that individual.
The cry of every Christian to an unbelieving world should be on the same order as for that young blind man whom Jesus healed. When confronted by the Pharisees, those who sought to show Jesus a sinner and to discredit what He had done, this young man simply said:
Whether [Jesus] is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see [17]!
As with this blind man who was healed of his infirmity, so it is for all Christians. Faith is quickly supplemented by results. Many believe that Christianity is mostly about emotions. However, it is not about feelings and emotions nearly so much as it is about the possession of the Holy Spirit of God. These things are real, but God is very careful about how He reveals Himself!
Thus, the conclusion to this portion of the discussion cannot be denied. God is real! He is the Creator! Christians have made these claims for centuries, simply because they have experienced firsthand the four criteria which make up the aforementioned "after" proof. Not only that, but science does not have a valid, truly scientific challenge to counter these criteria, nor can philosophers really build a truly, logical argument against Him, either. The truth, therefore, is equally clear. All who seek the Lord find Him if they do so on His terms. When scientists, educators, and other intellectuals put down their intellectual facade, lay aside their polished educations, and come to Him on His terms, then they, too, will find Him and become one more of the many who really know Him. Then, they too can puzzle over how to prove the existence of One who chooses to remain invisible and silent!
ENDNOTES
1. Peter W. Atkins, Creation Revisited (Oxford: W. H. Freeman & Company, 1992), page 5.
2. Stephen W. Hawking, A Brief History Of Time (Toronto: Bantam Books, 1988), page 122.
3. Jim Baggott, The Meaning Of Quantum Theory (Oxford: Oxford Science Publications, 1992), page 205.
4. Weinberg, pages 250-251.
5. Ibid, page 245.
6. Acts 5:35-39.
7. Edward Gibbon, The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, Great Books Of The Western World, volume 40 (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), page 179.
8. Romans 8:9-11.
9. John Foxe, Foxe's Christian Martyrs Of The World (New Jersey: Barbour and Company, Inc., 1985), page 30.
10. Ibid, page 34.
11. Ibid, page 34.
12. Ibid, page 38.
13. Ibid, page 53.
14. Ibid, page 64.
15. David Hume, "Of Miracles", An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Great Books Of The Western World, volume 35 (Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 1952), page 497.
16. II Corinthians 5:17.
17. John 9:25.
CHAPTER 3. PROVING THE LORDSHIP OF JESUS
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