Belief
in God is not simply a matter of faith, but also of logic. Take a look at the
picture on the right. This shows the images of four U.S. presidents carved into
the rock face at Mount Rushmore, USA.. Would you need to meet the sculptor who
carried out the work to prove that this monument must be the product of intelligence?
No. Your own logic would drive you to this conclusion. Here is design, so there
must be a designer.
Scientists
engaged in the search for extra-terrestrial intelligence are scanning the heavens
for a non-random sequence of radio signals. If they detected such signals
they would be convinced that they had originated from an intelligent source.
Yet in the DNA of every living thing there is a non-randon sequence of
information. The message is clear: this genetic information could not have been
generated by chance. The evidence points to the existence of an intelligent
Creator.
Do you know everything it is possible to know?
Have you visited every corner of the universe?
Have you existed since the beginning of time?
If your answer to these questions is "no" then you can't possibly
say there is no God. Such a statement is irrational.
BEFORE
YOU SAY THERE IS NO GOD, PLEASE CONSIDER THE QUESTIONS ON THE RIGHT:
STATEMENTS
OF
FAITH:
"It
is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept
a material explanation of the phenomonal world, but, on the contrary, that
we are forced by our a-priori adherence to material causes to create
an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material
explanations, no matter how counterintuitive, no matter how mystifying to
the unititiated. Moreover that materialism is an absolute, for we
cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door..." —Dr. Richard
Lewontin, The New York Review, Jan. 1997 (emphasis added).
"Evolution itself is accepted by zoologists, not because it has been observed
to occur... or can be proved by logical coherent evidence, but because
the only alternative, special creation, is clearly incredible." —Prof.
D.M.S. Watson, Nature 123, 1929 (emphasis added).
So
do we need faith to believe in God? Of course we do! But it is a reasonable
faith not a "blind faith".
We believe it takes more faith to believe that the universe, the earth,
and all its wonderful variety of life, came into being without the action
of a Creator.
Consider the evidence and decide for yourself.
QUOTABLE
QUOTE:
"Of all choices, atheism requires the
greatest faith, as it demands that one's limited store of human knowledge
is enough to exclude the possibility of God." —Francis Collins (Director
of the Human Genome Project and a former atheist)
NO NEED TO SEARCH FOR GOD
People often talk about their "search
for God", but God is not lost! In fact, "The Lord is near to all
who call on him" (Psalm 145: 18). He has come to us in Jesus
Christ. When we take a step towards Him in faith, He readily welcomes us.
He is only a prayer away!
"Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to
him must believe that he exists, and that he rewards those who earnestly seek
him." (The Bible, Hebrews 11: 6)
Every living thing on earth,
whether animal or plant, shows evidence of amazing design. To believe that
this all happened without intelligence surely takes a great leap of faith?
Some secular scientists have admitted that their refusal to believe in a
Creator-God has more to do with their own world-view than the evidence itself.
Please take special note of the quotes below.
WHY
IS RELIGIOUS BELIEF SO WIDESPREAD?
If God
exists, why is there so much suffering and evil in the world? Surely a loving
God would never allow this?
`
In the beginning God made
a good world, and created people who had a choice—to live by their Creator's
rules or to disobey them. They chose to disobey (read about this in the
Bible, Genesis chapter 3). All of us have been given that same freedom.
Sadly, down through the centuries people have been choosing to break God's
rules and try to run the world without Him. The results have been tragic,
as history and current events prove. The whole environment and created order
were adversely affected by the rebellion of humans against God.
God could have avoided this by creating us as robots, "pre-programmed"
to do His bidding. But then we would not have been human, and could never choose
to love and worship Him of our own free will. God loves us too much to force us
to love Him. But if we choose to turn to Him in faith, He welcomes us with open
arms and makes us part of His family — for ever!
Wherever
human beings live, whether in remote jungles, isolated islands, or modern
cities, you will find some kind of religious belief or practice. And when
archaeologists investigate ancient cultures, there is always evidence of religion,
and belief in an after-life.
Since no other living creature displays these characteristics,
this is strong evidence that humans have a spiritual dimension. It
strongly points to the existence of a God who created us with a desire to
know Him.
The variety of religions on earth may seem very confusing to many, and it
is just as foolish to say "all religions lead to God" as to say
"all the aircraft leaving London airport are going to New York."
We believe that the true God has revealed Himself in the Bible and supremely
in Jesus Christ. Religion cannot put us right
with God or take us to heaven, but Jesus can.
Wherever
humans are found there is some form of religious belief
