DOES GOD REALLY EXIST? 1

People from all walks of life including Christians have in one way or the other asked this pertinent question before in their lives. As Africans it’s easy for us to believe in God since we totally depend on him for everything including food and water unlike my brethren in the Western world who may have the necessities of life at their beck and call and for that matter may not appreciate the existence of the Almighty.

Some even go to the extent of debating God’s existence on social media, radio or television stations. For me, these people do such things because of some reasons and I don’t blame them for that at all because as sincere as they maybe they still do not know the truth.

Some disbelieve the existence of God because of the presence of evil and pain. Innocent people die through terrorist attacks. Some Christians are plagued with inexplicable and life threatening sicknesses whiles evil people are free and fine. Bread winners with good hearts get involved in ghastly accidents and their families later suffer because their bread winners are gone. So the big question is if God really exists why should all this evil be happening to good people? I have asked myself that question before. What about you?

Injustice is rampant in our societies and it’s the wealthy who mostly perpetuate such evil against the weak and poor in life and it looks like God isn’t concerned and the wicked continues with his evil activities but remember the Bible says “ evil shall slay the wicked and they that hate the righteous (u) shall be desolate “ – Psalms 34:21

If God exists and is love why did great men of God like Reinhard Bonke die through sickness, Myles Munroe die in a plane crash? Do these occurrences really negate the existence of Elohim?

To prove to a Christian God exists is simple but to some unbelievers or atheists it’s always difficult without you having light. If we cannot prove the existence of God to our family members, friends and colleagues or loved ones, a time will come our children will doubt His existence and consequently refuse to come to church or have a good relationship with God.

You proving the existence of God to a critic or an unbeliever in ur midst of challenges that plague humanity could make you win them for Christ. What then would you say?

There’s what is theologically known as cosmological evidence. When we talk about the cosmos we are talking about the universe. In other words, we use nature to prove that God exists without necessarily pointing to the scriptures though they are very helpful. God exists on His own but other things depend on Him to exist. Nothing apart from God exists on its own. In fact, the entire creation depends on God to exist and if there’s creation, it’s logical to believe there’s a Creator. How did the sea, mountains, humans, the skies, sun, stars, moon etc come into being? Remember, nothing exists on its own, the earth exists because someone created it and the one who created it cannot be man but an entity and He’s God. Man may try to debate this theory but he’ll always fail and confirm that he’s fool like the Bible says “ it’s a fool who doesn’t believe in the existence of God”. I’m not a fool and I know you are also not one.

Besides, the theory of teleological evidence cannot be overemphasized in proving the existence of God.

The teleological argument comes from the Greek word telos, meaning “purpose, end, or goal.” It is an argument from design and purpose. Everything in the universe has a purpose and everything appears to have been specially designed to fit that purpose.

This theory also stipulates that creation is too orderly to have come from a random occurrence because someone must be behind and sustaining it. Hebrews 1:3 says : “ The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word…”. See the way nature is designed, see the way the sea is, its waves roll and toss but never go beyond their limits. Birds are of different kinds and colours. The heavens are beautifully separated from the earth by an invisible pillar. The sun governs the day and the moon and stars the night.

If everything observable in the universe has a design and purpose, then why not the universe itself? There cannot be poetry without a poet, there cannot be music without a musician, and there cannot be design without a designer. The original or ultimate designer, or purposer, is God.

Although not directly arguing for God’s existence in this manner, the Bible assumes this to be the case. The psalmist wrote the following about the God of the Bible: You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for people to use, to bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the human heart, oil to make the face shine, and bread to strengthen the human heart. – Psalm 104:14, 15 NRSV.

The biblical writers saw God behind the intricate design and balance of the universe. We read the following in Proverbs.

Ears that hear and eyes that see—the LORD has made them both. (Proverbs 20:12 NIV)

The design of the human body is credited to God and not man or established institutions or medicine.

The psalmist also noted how wonderfully the human body was made. He gave praise to God for such a marvelous creation.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. (Psalm 139:14 NIV)

There is a majestic harmony in the universe. The order and design we see everywhere tells us that the Creator is not disorganized or that He does things some sort of haphazard way. The Creator has a purpose in everything that He does. From the most distant objects in space, to the minutest material detected by a microscope, we find order and design. This is the sign of an intelligent designer.

Based on the two points given in support of the existence of God above, I strongly believe that “ And 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 – Hebrews 11:6. Hallelujah!

Dr. David Tobi Ogoudou