Why is it so hard to believe in God?’ – or why is his existence not overtly apparent (to many)? There are a few reasons one could mention, but I’m focusing specifically on the challenge, or perception, surmised best in the above question, and it focuses on the need for "faith". If God exists, then why doesn't he just show himself already? Or perhaps you've heard the question of 'where's your proof that God exists?' Many think there’s an onus on the believer to convince or prove the existence of God, but the truth is that they, or many Christians (theists) for that matter, haven’t thought about this issue deeply enough. Those same folk want to have it both ways. Put simply; you cannot have God reveal himself and show up on every proverbial doorstep, AND maintain our freedom of choice. Once God's existence is 'proven beyond all shadow of doubt' - everyone will be forced into action. And the key word here, is ‘FORCED’! There will be no time for choice (in the final days) because as the saying goes "there's no point in saying 'I choose to kneel' if kneeling is the only option. Here's a scenario to explain what I mean: Lets for a moment say that God came and revealed himself to every individual on the face of the earth (no faith required), producing a complimentary miracle to prove he is who he claims to be, and then said "you are now free to choose: Follow me, or don't follow me. BUT, if you decide to turn away from me, after you die you will burn in the fiery pit of hell for all eternity." This, is essentially a threat, forcing people to choose, or live on without God and eventually die and then suffer damnation. This technique is also known as coercion. And according to most courts of law, any testimony offered under duress, is inadmissible or invalid because any choice you make is not genuine. A genuine choice involves a 3rd option - the choice NOT to choose, or to avoid the issue entirely. Also, the way in which many people want God to reveal himself, is a way that completely negates the relational aspect that God seeks. Incidentally it’s also why torture is seen as an unreliable method to gain information, because people will say anything to stop the pain. Why do I escalate this to torture? Well, God turned it on its head - the flip side of this is that the disciples of Jesus were all tortured for their testimony in claiming that they saw Jesus resurrected. All of them had to answer a simple yes or no question – if they denied their claim to seeing him, their lives would be spared… But all chose to rather suffer and die for the certainty of the truth [although Apostle John was the only 1 of the original 12 to survive and live to an old age, albeit exiled/imprisoned to the isle of Patmos, He still had to make the same decision the others had.] If you look a little deeper here you’ll see that, regarding coercion, even if someone had denied seeing Jesus alive after being crucified, that testimony could not legitimately be trusted because their motivation was not the truth, but simply to escape their torment. I don’t know anyone who would willingly die for something they knew was a lie [unless, for example, it was a lie they concocted themselves to save a loved one in immediate danger]. Hence the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the testimonies of his resurrection were ‘purified’ through the martyrdom of the disciples. Here God used death (the very thing Jesus came to overcome) to seal the convictions of these men. Their testimonies are now canonized and accepted as historical record. The Gospel of Luke in particular, is credited as the most accurate historical account as it was written using the Historical Method. Immediately after Christ's death, the proverbial 'Jesus movement' was also dead. The disciples had gone back to their usual jobs where Jesus had first found them... but 3 days later something happened, changing their lives and inspiring these men to take the gospel to the nations, and then suffer and die horrible deaths for what they had seen and believed. It speaks volumes that the very empire that killed the man claiming to be the messiah, then abandoned their false gods – Jupiter, Apollo etc. – and adopted the faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God as the cornerstone of Roman Catholicism. The Bible though, for all its claims, does not force anyone to believe in it. Hence we have a choice. For instance atheists have made their choice; though in recent years many have ‘evolved’ into anti-theists, antagonizing people for their belief in God (or a belief in any god), trying to convince many to adopt atheism. But, atheists Austin Dacey and Lewis Vaughn write: I've added the two images above from the film "Watchmen" (2006) because I thought of it whilst imagining what a god-like entity would be like if it revealed itself to humanity in the way we humans envision a god-like entity to "behave". The graphic novel dealt with the question of 'what would it be like if superheroes really existed?', correctly assuming that they would be seen as god-like figures (its a common theme in comic books, from Marvel Xmen's Magneto referring to Mutants as "God's among men", and even the title of the DC comics video game "Injustice: Gods among us". In the above scenes the Vietnamese soldiers are either running in fear of Dr. Manhattan as he enters the battlefield, or later yielding/submitting to him. There isn't a legitimate choice here - either run and die as the enemy, or yield and become his subjects. [photos from youtube.com & flickriver.com] The Bible is the most controversial and attacked book ever written, surviving every acid test known to man who has (rightfully) tried to dissect/scrutinize/disprove it for centuries. And yet, still it remains... because the fact is, mere men could not have written a book of this kind based on his wits alone (a book of prophecy, historical and scientific accuracy, inspiration, and without fault, spanning 1000s of years). Even in studying it, many have failed to grasp its significance and power. “It is possible for men to be very studious in the letter of the Scriptures, yet to be strangers to its power.” – Commentary by Matthew Henry on John 5:39, which reads “You pore over the Scriptures because you think you have eternal life in them, yet they testify about Me.” – [Holmann Christian Std] God subtlety and perfectly inserted himself into our story here on earth, in such a way as to keep our freedom of choice in tact. So that those who choose to follow him, come voluntarily, motivated by their own yearning for truth and salvation. This is the foundations of a relationship and the basis of the Love the Bible speaks of. And even when God humbled Himself, taking the form of man by sending his son and performing miracles, even then, people rejected him, and then crucified him. This once again illustrates the defiance and rebellion of man, wanting to be master of his own soul. A person (intellectual or philosophical) may come professing the message of God, but people would rather listen to intellectuals or philosophers outside of faith, because then whatever they say is subjective andi smore open to acceptance or dismissal because they are under their own authority. But God’s Word means wrestling with our nature, and truly submitting to the truth, that there is an absolute right, and an absolute wrong - and this means submitting to an objective all powerful authority that is above man. As mentioned, it is a concept man still rebels against, today more than ever. “I have come in my father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.” – Jesus speaking to the Jews… John 5:43 [NIV] Why did God do this? Why did God send his son? - You’ve probably heard the story of repentance and salvation etc. But the story of the whole Bible is how man (Adam) turned from God, condemning man to sin and death; and how God, through his love for us, has been working to bring us back to himself. It sounds simple, because it is. But the ramifications and impact on our lives and deeper meanings of how all this plays out in the world, is not so simple. - A Relationship
So then what does it mean to fear God? We’ve heard of being ‘God fearing’, but many do not understand it. They only recognize it as an attachment to slavery. But to be God fearing is similar to when you feared your parents (or father) as a child. It was a fear born out of respect, and not wanting to disappoint. But here its a natural fear, born from the knowledge of God's incomparable Power and Authority. Another note on “fear”: The phrase “do not be afraid” appears In the Bible 365 times (one for every day of the year); this is not by chance. An ALL powerful God, a spiritual and supernatural realm – these are things that could easily frighten us, just the thought of the possibility of another realm alone… But God has sent a message to those who choose him, through all the mess of humanity and worldly distractions, defiance and insecurities… a simple message that entails peace, love and to ‘not be afraid’, meaning in addition to faith, we need to exercise Trust... the foundations of a relationship. Make no mistake; experiencing the heart of this message carries unspeakable comfort, but our journey toward that place of comfort, begins in a mess of inner turmoil as we wrestle with our soul and spirit, deal with repentance and the beginnings of this thing called faith. Just as a chaos ensues within a seed just prior to germination as it breaks open and 'dies' for the plant to grow, similarly we go though a deep inner turmoil at the start of this journey with God. “…but Lucy never thought…stopped to think whether he was a friendly lion or not. She rushed to him. She felt her heart would burst if she lost a moment. And the next thing she knew was that she was kissing him and putting her arms as far round his neck as she could and burying her face in the beautiful rich silkiness of his mane. “Aslan, Aslan, Dear Aslan,” sobbed Lucy. “At last.” The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent forward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all round her. She gazed up into the large wise face. “Welcome child,” He said. *** "Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you." --- C.S. Lewis, 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe'. Photo: 'Aslanlucyreunion' from narnia.wikia.com *of course in the book, Aslan represents God* "things we obtain too easily, we esteem to lightly"
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- A factional short story - She sat as she usually did at the beginning of one of her more philosophical lectures, with her one thigh resting on the edge of her desk. When she brushed her short dark hair behind her ears, tucking the strands neatly into the arms of her slim spectacles, as she did now, it somehow lured onlookers, in this instance, her students, to sit forward in anticipation. It was her way of readying herself, and us, for what was to come. She interlocked her fingers in her lap and with a vaguely shaky voice, she began. “How hard is it, to believe in the invisible… how hard have we tested our perception of invisibility? An ‘invisible God’, for instance? Why, why is he invisible in the first place? And is the concept of invisibility even believable, I mean, it’s been the subject of many art pieces - films, scientists have actually been working on an actual ‘invisibility cloak’. But can there be any truth to this concept, anything more than fiction? Is it yet another fruitless pursuit of some impossible goal?” She turned her gaze to the open window now. “The more we know, the more we clutter ourselves. Travel to a rural town, experience a slower paced life and it will begin to lend some appreciation, not only for our creature comforts, but also to how simple life can be, or once was. I’ve met people whose only concern, quite literally, amounted to “when was the rain coming?” – that was and still is their main cause of stress. I’ve met farmers who’ve prayed for rain… I started in this manner because I want you to take a mental step back for a moment and think about life differently, to clear the clutter of bills, work, study, even family, from your plate, and let’s just think about life… the roots of it. When it comes down to the essentials, it becomes a matter of perception, because your life is less cluttered, you get to focus on the real things. I think of rural dusty towns because on such outskirts you become most aware of life in general.” She said her two fists together, “You’re conscious of it all the more, and just like that your perspective changes because quite literally, you’re relying more of your five senses to interact with your surroundings. City life often involves things or people jumping out at you, asking for your attention, making a noise, shrouding your vision… assaulting your senses. In remote places, that is removed, and you’re suddenly aware of the sound of your own footsteps, natural smells and aromas of nature, the cleaner air, being able to see to the untouched distance, and after a while you’re perhaps aware of the sound of your own breathing, because it is the only sound punctuating the air. You become fully aware of your own existence because now that everything, family, friends, TV, wifi, noise, is all gone and nothing is begging for your attention, everything around you just is. So your own existence… it feels, strangely “close” because now your senses are required to fetch stimuli from around you." She grabbed fists of air. "What does this have to do with God and invisibility? It’s simple; it’s how we perceive life. How we see this material world before us. Our senses, are our gateway to this world, allowing us to experience it. What we sense, governs what we determine to be invisible or not. The ancient peoples and rural cultures all had a sense of the spiritual, yet city life has diminished that sense by simply droning it out. We’ve become desensitized on a spiritual level. Think about this a moment: Dogs have more powerful olfactory sensors, said to be 1000 times more powerful than ours. So their sense of smell is richer, and broader, detecting odours that we can’t. They’re able to hear certain frequencies that we cannot. Crustaceans, in particular, the Mantis Shrimp, has one of the most elaborate visual systems ever discovered. They’re considered to have the most complex eyes of the animal kingdom. Some species possess 16 different photoreceptor types, of which 12 are for analysing colour. What does this mean? Well we only have 4 visual pigments of which 3 are used for colour perception. The rainbow stems from 3 colours. What this means is that they not only possess a better visual spectrum than we do, but it’s even better than our best technology can offer. It easily outperforms Blu-Ray optical technology. Mantis Shrimps can perceive more colours than we can. Does this mean there are more colours than we know? It makes sense if there are, since most of the light spectrum is not visible to us. What’s certain is that they perceive more than us, including ultraviolet light, and even polarization vision. What is clear to me is that even by studying the material world there’s a whole lot more than meets the eye… or ears and nose - not forgetting taste. So already we know, or are aware of the unknown… sorry to use this once laughed at idiom. But this is the known unknown… So by considering the invisibility of God, specifically addressing people who seem sure that there is no God, or spiritual/supernatural realm, we can already ascertain that even within our humble finite existence, we cannot see all there is to see, or hear all there is to hear… and this is about what we know exists out there. To us, they are known invisible entities. There are definite elements that exist outside our realm of perception. Now, spare another thought for the invisible world of . . . your mind.” Her head cocked to one side, “Wait what? – Yes,” She nodded, looking at our faces, “everything happening inside your mind, your thoughts, your imagination and your dreams. ALL this takes place outside, or apart from the natural material world, and are, by their nature, invisible to others. They are intangible. So already we’ve established 'perceivable' unknowns or invisibilities, and thence indefinable invisibilities. Again, these are invisible elements we know exist. Now think about this: If you’re in an accident, you may lose limbs, have an organ transplant, become paralyzed…" She waited, "the point is, that despite these things, you would still remain who you are, in mind, your personality… the essential things that make you, YOU. And guess what, it’s those invisible things that make us different. I’ve seen a couple of medical cases where patients lost portions of their brain, and though their lives were adversely affected, they still remain essentially who they are as people. So what makes us who we are? This is the existential question, because even through all that I’ve mentioned, there’s still more to us. A relative of mine recently suffered a stroke which has drastically impaired her speech. As a result, she could only enunciate two words: 'Willy boy' – this incidentally is what she used to call her now deceased husband. So of all the words in the two languages that she was able to speak, somehow her brain and mouth 'chose' those words as their default setting as she now learns how to speak again. Is this due to habit, muscle memory, or Love, or all of the above? Either way, its food for thought. We are already more than what we can perceive. Is believing in an “invisible God” really that hard? Ask yourself this: Is your idea of God too ‘provincial’? – The Bible is, well, its like a Vladimir Nabokov quote – ‘not like one wave... and to experience it does not mean you’ve grasped the whole sea. To truly understand it, would mean getting in the boat, going out to open waters until you can’t see land anymore. You then experience the waves that the sea can muster, and in the midst of it, find out what God’s Grace is really about… but still, you would be in the dark as to the teeming life beneath the surface, and the endless undercurrents... Many want to think of God as a simple timekeeper, who wound the universe’s clock, and then let it tick on,” she wafted her hand, “leaving it be, to run its course. But no, when we were created, the first of us, we were created holy, and righteous to stand in God’s presence – it was only Good. So what is Holy? – It means to belong to, or derived from, or associated with - a divine power. Something sacred. Regarded with veneration or specificity. Something reverent. But we disobeyed God, and thence removed ourselves from holiness, from God’s presence, as we descended into sin. And what is Sin? - A condition of estrangement from God, resulting from such disobedience. Romans 14:23 “… and whatever is not from faith is sin” – thus we are born into it, because we are born separated from God – we’re on opposing sides. But this creator of the universe, who sits on his throne in heaven, then stepped off that throne, to be born of a woman, and live amongst us, knowing full well what would happen. He knew he would be killed. But God planned this since our fall in Genesis 3. He planned it perfectly. He chose to dwell among us, to demonstrate his love… and true love is sacrificial – caring not for oneself, but for others. And Sacrifice? - A Relinquishment of something at less than its presumed value. === Imagine you were sentenced to death for a crime you were guilty of - which we all are, in this life - and someone came, and they said they loved you… even though we did not deserve the love, and they said they would take your place,to be executed in your stead. THIS is the type of love God has for us. God didn’t just choose to die, he chose to be beaten, tortured, laid bare and humiliated… reduced to a bleeding chunk of ripped flesh nailed to a wooden cross. - When this was prophesied in the Old Testament, this method of death, and punishment, hadn’t even been invented yet. God not only humbled himself, but Jesus subjected himself to hours of pain for our sake. It would be simple for God to show up and exercise his power, much like the miracles he performed throughout the Bible, with the same universe-creating power, making it obvious to us that he is the one true God, the almighty, brandishing his majesty in a visual feast of splendour and authority, essentially asserting that man choose to follow him, or choose death. But instead, God chose death first, overcame it, and now offers his hand gently, to follow him. God does want obedience, yes, like a father wants from his child, but he doesn’t want to enslave us, or to force us. He cannot make us Love him, because that is not true love. Read the Book properly, and you’ll find that it is in fact a love story, with a hero, fighting for us. The facts are that historians are unanimous. There was a man named Jesus, and he lived, and died, under the rule of Pontias Pilate. The bone of contention is whether or not he rose again. If he did not, then the entire Christian faith is based on a lie. In fact it would then mean that Jesus lied, since he said he would rise again, as it is written in Mark 10:34, Luke 9:22 and Matt 16:21. In fact, the majority of sceptics who studied history and the Bible, to search for evidence, came out of it a Christian. It could be claimed that the ones who were not converted, were never sceptics to begin with, but were rather cynics who presented no evidence to back up their claims that the Bible Story is false. Bertrand Russell admits his take on Jesus was, and I quote 'not concerned with historical facts'. Even outspoken critic Friedrich Nietzsche referred to Jesus as 'the only one true Christian' – whilst the Hindu religious leader Dayanand Saraswati made the wildly ridiculous claim that Jesus is 'a hot-tempered person destitute of knowledge and who behaved like a wild savage' – which he said without producing any evidence. So what we have, is historical evidence, and specifically a first generation of martyrs, who either saw what they claimed to see, or they were lying. All of them could choose to end their suffering, instead they chose to die for their belief. Understand… this is not one man’s testimony, this is the core testimony of Twelve men. Or shall I say thirteen, for after Judas Iscariot killed himself, the Apostles elected Matthias to replace him, and thence there was Apostle Paul. Both of these men died for their faith. So there was twelve apostles who died for their testimony of Jesus. Only Apostle John lived to be an old man, though he endured torture and beatings in his life time. Thus they fulfill Revelations 21:14, where John writes about the names of the Twelve on the twelve foundations of the New Jerusalem. So what does all this have to do with an Invisible God? Simple. These are the signs, the evidence of things unseen. The 'knowns'. Are we to suppose that what we see with our human eyes are all that is there? Let us think about that for a moment. We are claiming that all that our human eyes can see, is the extent of existence. And we do not even know how the human eye works. That is to say we don’t even fully understand the mechanism that allows us to perceive the world around us, and yet we have the audacity to claim “This is all there is”. Primitive men, or people of older times, in rural places, believed in a spiritual realm. It was part of them. Yet modern man has sought to eliminate this aspect of life. Secularism has sought it educate spirituality out of us, to show that it was simply a reflection of the primal uneducated thought patterns. This of course makes the false assumption that you cannot have both spirituality and intellect. And yet, intellects have failed to tear down the Bible. Whether you are an intellect or a simple man, the battle is always in the mind. This is why it is written in Luke 24:45 – “Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. Our physical bodies are visible, yet that which comprises who we really are, our mannerisms, character, personality and thought patterns… these are all invisible. We live finite lives, yet what we are made of, mentally and spiritually, is not finite. Stepping aside from Jesus Christ for a moment, we can reason that God being 'invisible' as we understand invisibility, is simply because our natural finite human eyes cannot perceive something as vast as a creator of the entire universe. Something so immense cannot fit into this world. Yet he ‘inserted’ himself into his creation a number of times in subtle ways. Moses beheld a burning bush, and as a result he had to wear a veil because his face was glowing due to the encounter he had. Every heavenly encounter in the Bible comes with the words 'DO NOT BE AFRAID'. Because we, as humans, have three principle fears," she held up three fingers which she lowered one at a time as she listed them "the unknown; that which we cannot understand; and lastly, the truth. Spirituality, the supernatural... ticks off all three. ... To believe in God, you need to have an open mind. Class dismissed.” [Image credits: fotocommunity.com, pol-ubeda on flickr.com, imgkid.com]
Article by Steven Benjamin I've heard it said that there are three types of men in the world (intentionally generalizing and painting us with very broad strokes); worldly men, religious men, and men of God. The first is those who are subject and governed by worldly things and desires, the second are those who practice religion but live worldly lives (riding the fence so to speak), the third are those seeking God in earnest (still fallible and not without sin or immune to temptation, but who truly and humbly seek God and live for Christ.) Finding the nude through the lewd, with Faith It’s a tricky thing, narrowing this topic down in one article, but I’ll try to zero in on the basics, though there’s enough material here to write a thesis and more. It’s always been difficult to differentiate, especially in the photographic arena tiptoeing through nude-Art, sensuality and sexuality. It’s one of the reasons that any topic involving sex or bare flesh, has been shunned by the church for so long, and that neglect, when looking at the current state of society, well let’s just say it’s telling… These days (in the modern age), the vast majority of men have seen or ‘experienced’ or ‘been exposed to’ pornography at some stage or level. But is there a need to differentiate between the mediums, to find when something actually becomes pornographic, – In short, yes there is. Of course this issue/debate is subjective, but there are discernible lines, however faint they may be at times, made so mostly by the people involved in it – in the making and perceiving - and it is important to find these lines. Many ultra conservatives in the church have a blanket regard for anything involving sensuality and nudity, and see it ALL as sin, actually, not just sin, but SIN – THE Sin of all SINS, because some still abide by the belief that there are varying degrees of it. But of course the Bible outline’s it quite simply, that everything that is not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23). I was given a word by a total stranger some time ago whilst going through my own encounter with pornography, that I should “stop doing whatever is not of God”. Now, as God has been working in me, I must highlight that it was interesting that the message was worded in this way. In my experience, when someone has a God sent word for you, it’s usually quite specific… and this got me thinking (something I do very well), additionally, it set me into a pursuit - of what? A pursuit of the truth. But why is this issue important? Simple - It is Fundamental. – It is a fundamental struggle of man, as God reminded me, when ‘taking me’ back to the beginning to the Garden of Eden. This though, was sparked by a question I had had since I was a teenager, to which I already knew the answer, that of; Can a man love [a] woman more than God? I simply needed to understand why I knew the answer was [of course] ‘Yes’. |
[Banner illustration by Joel Kanar]
WRITING
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