Before I say anything, just a note that this post isn't about the scientific merit for the existence of God. It's just one person's point of view from past experiences.
I've been surfing these forums on and off for a few months now, and one thing I've found is that it seems to be very lopsided against the existence of God. Can I prove God to anyone? No. But I do believe in God, and here's why.
Last year my wife and I got married after 7 years of courtship. About 4 months before the wedding, my then soon-to-be father in law passes away from cancer. This is hardly fair. But, that doesn't make me give up on my faith; it does test it however. My father-in-law was buried in the cemetery just behind the church where my wife and I were married. After the wedding ceremony, my wife, mother-in-law and brother-in law went to his gravesite so we could have a moment with him. And it was a moment with him. Not his memory, but with him. He was there. I can't explain it unless you've gone through something like that yourself. You can give me all the psychoanalysis that you want. You can also say that we wanted him there so badly, that we convinced ourselves that somehow that he was. Which, is a very logical explanation after such a great loss. But until you're actually touched by the hand of God like that, there's nothing I can say that will convince you otherwise. I'm just telling my story.
Let's stay on the subject of fathers for a minute. Just over 18 years ago I lost my own dad to a heart attack. The only way that I'm ever going to see him again is in the next life. Am I only believing in God as a desperate hope to see him again? Maybe partially, but not fully. Let me explain.
After my dad died we were forced to sell the house. Talk about a big change for a 13-year old. Anyway, a few strange things happened around that time. Me, my mom, my cousin Donna her three girls were packing boxes in the living room. Everything was sealed tight and ready to go. Just then, we heard some music. We weren't sure where it was coming from. The TV was already out of the house, as was the radio. It sounded like piano music. We soon realized that it was coming from one of the boxes. We found the box the music was coming from, and tore it open. We found the source.
The music was coming from a miniature figurine, which was a girl at the piano. My mom loved pianos, and my dad had given this to her as a gift the year before. The thing is, it only plays when running on batteries. And, you guessed it, the batteries we out. The music had stopped just when we opened the box. I took that as a message from God, and from dad. He missed us too, but that was his way of saying goodbye. He was truck driver, and he died on the road, so he never got that chance.
That story had no scientific merit. And, I'm sure that people on this site will have a perfectly suitable explanation for why it happened, and if you do, I'd love to hear it. Was it a sign? I'd like to think so. It sure did ease our pain at the time. A few other strange things happened around the time of the funeral, but that was the most prevalent by far.
I don't consider myself a "Bible-thumper" by any means. I've read the articles about Mary Magdalene. I've read how "virgin" as it pertains to the virgin Mary also means "young woman". I've read the theories on how the crucifixion was rigged. And, I've seen specials on how flooding the world in 40 days is scientifically impossible. But even all that doesn't tempt my faith. Was Jesus a mortal man? Very possible. Was Mary just a "young woman, and not a virgin? Hard to say. Was the crucifixion rigged? I have a hard time believing that one. And, did God flood the world in 40 days? Very possible. If He can perform miracles, He should be able to do anything, right?
I think I'm more open minded than a lot of Christians are to be honest. I don't consider 'The Da Vinci Code' to be blasphemy... I find it interesting. Evolution makes sense to me too; just because species have evolved, that doesn't mean that still isn't a work of God. I think a lot of the Biblical stories have been misconstrued over the years, but I think that at their core the message is still there.
Take someone like Billy Graham. He's probably the only evangelist that I enjoy listening to (other are out for the money). What fascinates me about him is his total conviction to his faith, and I really respect that. He has absolutely no doubt in his mind as to what he believes. None. And he's a very well educated man.
As far as 'evidence' goes... atheists say that over the course of thousands of years, there hasn't been one shred of evidence of the existence of God. But I think the problem is that we're thinking like human beings. God is beyond human comprehension I think. Thousands of years to us equals mere seconds in God's eyes.
Atheists seem to think that they have it all figured out. And to be fair, a lot of Christians do to. Atheists and agnostics alike fault Christians for being close minded. A lot of Christians are, but so are a lot of atheists and agnostics. It works both ways I think.
So there you have it. Like I said, no evidence, and no scientific explanation. Just one person view as to why my faith is so strong.
I've been surfing these forums on and off for a few months now, and one thing I've found is that it seems to be very lopsided against the existence of God. Can I prove God to anyone? No. But I do believe in God, and here's why.
Last year my wife and I got married after 7 years of courtship. About 4 months before the wedding, my then soon-to-be father in law passes away from cancer. This is hardly fair. But, that doesn't make me give up on my faith; it does test it however. My father-in-law was buried in the cemetery just behind the church where my wife and I were married. After the wedding ceremony, my wife, mother-in-law and brother-in law went to his gravesite so we could have a moment with him. And it was a moment with him. Not his memory, but with him. He was there. I can't explain it unless you've gone through something like that yourself. You can give me all the psychoanalysis that you want. You can also say that we wanted him there so badly, that we convinced ourselves that somehow that he was. Which, is a very logical explanation after such a great loss. But until you're actually touched by the hand of God like that, there's nothing I can say that will convince you otherwise. I'm just telling my story.
Let's stay on the subject of fathers for a minute. Just over 18 years ago I lost my own dad to a heart attack. The only way that I'm ever going to see him again is in the next life. Am I only believing in God as a desperate hope to see him again? Maybe partially, but not fully. Let me explain.
After my dad died we were forced to sell the house. Talk about a big change for a 13-year old. Anyway, a few strange things happened around that time. Me, my mom, my cousin Donna her three girls were packing boxes in the living room. Everything was sealed tight and ready to go. Just then, we heard some music. We weren't sure where it was coming from. The TV was already out of the house, as was the radio. It sounded like piano music. We soon realized that it was coming from one of the boxes. We found the box the music was coming from, and tore it open. We found the source.
The music was coming from a miniature figurine, which was a girl at the piano. My mom loved pianos, and my dad had given this to her as a gift the year before. The thing is, it only plays when running on batteries. And, you guessed it, the batteries we out. The music had stopped just when we opened the box. I took that as a message from God, and from dad. He missed us too, but that was his way of saying goodbye. He was truck driver, and he died on the road, so he never got that chance.
That story had no scientific merit. And, I'm sure that people on this site will have a perfectly suitable explanation for why it happened, and if you do, I'd love to hear it. Was it a sign? I'd like to think so. It sure did ease our pain at the time. A few other strange things happened around the time of the funeral, but that was the most prevalent by far.
I don't consider myself a "Bible-thumper" by any means. I've read the articles about Mary Magdalene. I've read how "virgin" as it pertains to the virgin Mary also means "young woman". I've read the theories on how the crucifixion was rigged. And, I've seen specials on how flooding the world in 40 days is scientifically impossible. But even all that doesn't tempt my faith. Was Jesus a mortal man? Very possible. Was Mary just a "young woman, and not a virgin? Hard to say. Was the crucifixion rigged? I have a hard time believing that one. And, did God flood the world in 40 days? Very possible. If He can perform miracles, He should be able to do anything, right?
I think I'm more open minded than a lot of Christians are to be honest. I don't consider 'The Da Vinci Code' to be blasphemy... I find it interesting. Evolution makes sense to me too; just because species have evolved, that doesn't mean that still isn't a work of God. I think a lot of the Biblical stories have been misconstrued over the years, but I think that at their core the message is still there.
Take someone like Billy Graham. He's probably the only evangelist that I enjoy listening to (other are out for the money). What fascinates me about him is his total conviction to his faith, and I really respect that. He has absolutely no doubt in his mind as to what he believes. None. And he's a very well educated man.
As far as 'evidence' goes... atheists say that over the course of thousands of years, there hasn't been one shred of evidence of the existence of God. But I think the problem is that we're thinking like human beings. God is beyond human comprehension I think. Thousands of years to us equals mere seconds in God's eyes.
Atheists seem to think that they have it all figured out. And to be fair, a lot of Christians do to. Atheists and agnostics alike fault Christians for being close minded. A lot of Christians are, but so are a lot of atheists and agnostics. It works both ways I think.
So there you have it. Like I said, no evidence, and no scientific explanation. Just one person view as to why my faith is so strong.
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