Freiday Devotional

Believing in the Unseen

I am currently reading through Richard Dawkins' book The God Delusion, in which he tries to assert, like many New Atheists, that God does not exist. I have not finished the book yet, but so far I do not find his claims all that convincing, in fact they are nothing new. It's kind of like getting a used car with a new paint job. The old stuff is still inside, barely working, but the outside looks great and flashy. In Dawkins' case, he repeats many of the old charges against religion, and Christianity in particular, that people of his caliber have done since the Enlightment of the Eighteenth Century.

At the outset, Dawkins stated: "If this book works as I intend, religious readers who open it will be atheists when they put it down." What sets Dawkins apart from previous atheists, is his vitriolic approach to religion. Take for example this opening line: "The God of the Old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it; a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak; a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser;a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capriciously malevolent bully." That sure is a mouthful, and a dirty one at that. It is a shame that that is all Dawkins sees when he sees the God the Bible. Notice, he does not mention any positives: loving, kind, generous, just, faithful, patient, peaceful, gentle, forgiving, righteous, holy, etc. Perhaps, if he would allow himself to see these attributes of God, he would be a believer, or at least sympathetic to theism in particular, and religion in general.

However, that is not the case as it rests today. So my question to you is, how strong is your faith? If someone like Dawkins, or just a co-worker, asked you why do you believe in an unseen (and presumably unknowable) God? What would you tell them? I, myself, being a seminary student, will often wrestle with my faith, and the knowability of God. If you commiserate with me on this issue, then may I suggest two passages of Scripture that I always fall back on when I feel overwhelmed by uncertainty.

The first passage is Romans 1:20, which states: "For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes– his eternal power and divine nature– have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse." In this passage, Paul asserts that nature testifies to the existence and supremacy of God. Therefore, all one needs to do is take a close look at nature to see proof of God's existence. There are many scientists -- biologists, physicists, astronomers, etc -- that believe in God because they see his handiwork in what they study, namely creation. This should provide some consolation for the doubt we may experience as we traverse this world; knowing that people studying the created world can see the handiwork of God, and do not prop it up to evolution.

The second passage is from 1 Corinthians 15:3-6, where Paul says: "For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received– that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep." I believe, like Paul, that Jesus was raised from the dead after being crucified and buried. The interesting thing in this passage, besides the resurrection of Christ, is that there were numerous witness to verify this account. If what the Apostles were preaching was untrue then there would have been more than enough witnesses to testify against them. But, that is not the case, as no one has been able to refute the resurrection of Christ no matter how hard they try. They still cannot produce a body.

Therefore, even though I may go through periods of doubt, it is reassuring to know that my faith rests, not on the presupposition of an atheist, but on the indisputable fact of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as testified by numerous witnesses. So, may I encourage you, if you are going through a period(s) of doubt, read Romans and 1 Corinthians 15, and the Gospels. May you find the risen Christ there!