I found 29 proofs for the existence of God on a website devoted to debates between Christians and atheists. (I'm not sure how long this link will last for but in the event of its demise, I think this post will still make sense.) I love this sort of thing. All 29 were worthy and of course profoundly tedious. Taken together, apparently they might provide weight of evidence in favour of theism. Do try to keep awake.
The atheists had a field day; at long last they had a formal statement of the case for theism. So, they systematically demolished every argument. For which the atheists have my most profound gratitude.
History is full of nutters who think they have the final conclusive proof of their particular take on divinity. Theists need atheists to rein in their excesses and ensure Christians never have any conclusive proof for the existence of God.
The one proof that has any weight for me is the proof from religious experience. Here it is:
1. Many people of different eras and of widely different
cultures claim to have had an experience of the "divine."
2. It is inconceivable that so many people could have been so
utterly wrong about the nature and content of their own
experience.
3. Therefore, there exists a "divine" reality which many people
of different eras and of widely different cultures have
experienced.
Inevitably this formal proof firmly grasps the wrong end of the stick. It is tempting to appeal to the combined might of 2 billion plus believers. But this is not the point. The Christian faith is not based upon the dictatorship of a majority (or a minority for that matter).
My story is of a journey with God and as a preacher, a teller of stories and a writer; perhaps something of God's presence in my life will mean something to others. The experience that matters first, is our relationship with God. How it makes sense, in the light of the central stories, turns my story into our story.
We are not philosophers producing final proofs but weavers of stories that make sense. Our witness is to that moment when everything slots into place and the sceptic, who believes there is nothing new under the sun, suddenly captures a glimpse of the reality behind all the old stuff.
The churches can forget theirs is a living faith. But each of us, as we struggle with the stories that have been handed down to us, can catch a glimpse of something real. This something real cannot be proved, if it could it would become just another thing we have to see through or around to capture a glimpse of the something real that always eludes us.
There's nothing magic or supernatural about any of this, just love.
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