can we know there's a god?

life's big questions

lights

can we know God exists?

It all depends on what we mean by "know". If we can only know things if we can prove them scientifically, then I don't think we can prove God exists. In fact there are many important things we can't prove, such as whether someone close to us really loves us, whether we can trust our best friend with our new car, or what is right and wrong in a situation. Or that God doesn't exist, for that matter.

does God probably exist?

But there are ways to test whether God exists, and to know that he probably exists, or that he probably doesn't.1 Here are some of the ways people have tried to answer this question.

  • The universe. Scientists believe it hasn't always existed, but came into existence about 14 billion years ago. Either something caused it or nothing caused it. You can take your choice which seems most likely to you. And, amazingly if it was just a random event, a whole swag of laws and physical constants had to be just right for the universe to survive. It seems inconceivably improbable that they could have taken on these values by chance. Some people, including some scientists, believe God is a more logical explanation that any other; others, including other scientists, do not. Your call.
  • Human beings. Most of us believe human beings really matter, that it is wrong to take another's life or deliberately harm them, and our choices matter. Mostly we believe we can trust our logic and that love is important. It seems that God is a better explanation of these beliefs than no God. Many atheists believe that there is no objective morality and that we humans do not have free choice. It is hard to explain how we feel about ourselves and each other if there is no God who created humanity and gives it dignity. Again, there are arguments either way and each of us has a choice to make about our conclusions.
  • Human experience of God. Many people, of many different religions and no religion, report that they have experienced God. Some claim to have been miraculously healed by him. While many of the stories cannot be verified, and some seem quite unplausible, there are some that are not so easy to explain away. These stories present problems for both sides of the debate. There are so many stories that the atheist cannot possibly disprove them all, and it is hard to believe thay are all lies. But because there are miracle stories in many very different religions, it is also hard to know which God the stories point to.
  • Personal experience of God. Other people's stories are one thing, but if God healed you or appeared to you in some way, that would be something else. You can always hope.
  • God showing himself. All the above can leave you a little dissatisfied. It may leave us feeling God is a little distant from us. But what if God did something to show himself? That is the claim of some of the world's great religions. We can check them out, and ask ourselves, did God really reveal himself through Baha'u'llah, or Jesus, or Muhammed or Guru Nanak? Did these prophets and teachers offer any reason to trust them? Did what they say stack up? If we can answer yes to any of them, we have our answer.

why might we think there is no God?

People who think God doesn't exist also have their arguments:

  • Scepticism. Some peope just think the above evidence isn't enough. Many think that science explains everything better than religion.
  • Evil. The world is a wonderful place, but there's also a lot of evil. How could a good God have allowed this to happen? This is a strong argument, but (i) there does seem to more good than evil in the world, and (ii) without God it is hard to find an objective standard of good and evil to support this argument. For more on this, see god and evil.
  • Inconsistencies. People find inconsistencies, or things they find distasteful, in the beliefs of the various religions, especially in their sacred writings (the Bible, the Koran, etc). The behaviour of followers is sometimes used to argue against a religion (although the same argument could also be used about some atheists). These problems lead them to conclude that none of them can be true.
  • Many religions. There are so many religions, how can anyone believe any one of them is true and the others false?

    • can we know God personally?

    If you believe, on the basis of the above, that God probably does exist, the next step would be to try to get in contact. If God's great enough to create the universe and people, he may be willing to make contact too. Why not simply ask him, something like: "God, I think you're there. If you are, please show me." It's worth a try, and if he shows you, then you have gained knowledge of a different kind to scientific knowledge, and even more fulfilling.

    what do I think?

    I think the arguments stack up. I find it difficult to see how the universe could appear out of nothing, and that it just "happened" to be the one in a zillion universe that could survive and produce life. I believe we can only see ourselves as truly human - ethical, rational, loving, freely choosing and important - if God made us. I believe God does sometimes show himself to people in many different ways. And I believe in Jesus we see God more clearly than we see him anywhere else.

    But that's my view. What do you think?

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    read more

    This is only a brief outline of these matters. Read more and check out what other people think:

    note:

    1. I've used "he" for God, but I know God might just as likely be a "she" or an it" - it's just simpler this way.