Prologue
‘Is God Real?’ is a four-part series aimed particularly at those who can’t accept that God is real. Does this mean that this series is not for you if you are already a believer in God? Not at all.
Firstly, in your walk with God, you will meet many who don’t believe in God. Secondly, only the dead stop learning, which makes sense because since they have passed, they now understand everything.[1]
So, since you must be alive reading these words, I suggest you don’t stop learning and keep reading.
There are three questions that no one can answer categorically without faith.
- Where do we come from?
- What is our purpose in this life?
- Where do we go after our death?
Why my above statement? Read on:
Where do we come from?
Even if scientists produce proof, with passing years and improved research, what they stand firm on today may be proved wrong later. Another way to look at this is that if I want to believe Darwin’s theory, I have to stand alongside less than 1% of the globe’s population who say they can prove his theory.
By comparison, 85% of the world’s population believes in a God of one form or another.[2] It might be reasonable to assume they may not go with Darwin’s theory (which disputes the existence of God.) If we consider that, of the above percentage, about 50% of the world’s largest religions (Christianity and Islam) are mono-theistic and most assuredly will not accept Darwin’s theory.
In addition, among scientists today, there is a growing trend disputing Darwin’s theory. [3] So, who knows? Only time will tell.
The believer, however, does not rely on absolute proof but on something more powerful – faith!
See the words of Thomas (I think he must have been a scientist):
“Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”
Jesus replied to Thomas: “Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”[4]
What is our purpose in this life?
I think I am right in saying that the scientific community does not have a consensus on this.[5]
The believers in Jesus, on the other hand, do. Their purpose in this life is clearly explained in the red letters of the Gospels.
Where do we go after our death?
I think it fair to say that scientists might be a little grey in this area. In researching the subject (not deeply), I came up with this comment:
“We can’t always trust scientific findings. One thing that we’ve learned about these new findings is that we can’t always trust scientific research. That’s not to say that we shouldn’t rely on what the experts say, but rather, we should use caution in accepting everything as factual. Scientific researchers, just like doctors, can be wrong.
Not everything exists how we see it just because someone in a lab coat thinks it’s real. There are different perspectives on everything. It would be a disservice to our humanity and our society to discount the spiritual aspect of life after death or reject the new scientific findings because they don’t align with what we once thought to be true.”[6]
Because of the gift of faith, believers know what happens to them after death. Jesus said, “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you.”[7]
Well, I have given you a large bite to digest here, so let me summarize:
I’m sure that you, like billions of others passing through life on this planet before you, have wondered about the three issues we have discussed.
Over the subsequent three editions of ‘Is God Real,’ we will look deeper into this fascinating subject.
As we move forward, I must mention something essential for us all. I don’t believe in contentious discussions.[8] I gave my life over to God forty-three years ago. I spent a large slice of those years in the mission field as a discipler and bible teacher. As a result, God has planted much knowledge and wisdom into my soul. But with all that – I still know nothing! I pray the words I pen are from God’s Spirit, but even so, before you speak or act on anything you read, consult God first.
I look forward to you joining me in the next session.
Peter James