Every Person Believes
Every person believes. This is inevitable. Christians believe that God exists, the atheist believes that God does not exist, the agnostic believes that there is insufficient evidence to decide, the indifferent believe that the matter does not concern them. But one thing is certain: everyone believes. The difference between these is that the believer has something that the others do not have. He experiences the transforming power of God and he is aware of the effect on how he relates to self, to others and to the environment.
Deciding whether to become a Christian is a decision that takes us into a reality that transcends our limited understanding and the limited experience of daily life. We are about to start out on an adventure and we do not know where it will lead, but from the moment we take our first steps our lives will not remain the same. If you have had the courage to begin this journey ask God to give you the strength to persevere. Of course you can decide to give up half way or even immediately but if your desire to know the truth is sincere you will not want to give up: "when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you".
Origins Matter
Origins matter. They are important because they reveal to us our identity and our identity gives meaning and purpose to our lives. We were born to a particular couple in a particular time in history, in a particular country, into a particular ethnicity and in a particular social and cultural setting. All of this explains who we are, it explains certain aspects of our own body, certain traits of our psychological makeup, and certain aspects of the way we think and behave. Our spirit, soul, and body are the result of a whole chain of factors involving our parents and their environment. The result is the beings that we are. Our origins tell us who we are, what we are, where we are, where we are going. They explain our journey in life. Some do not know their immediate origins, their parents, and they feel a big gap in their lives and never seem to find rest.
Our parents are our immediate origins. But this is only a small part of a much bigger picture. Our parents themselves had their origins in their parents, and so it goes on back in time through endless generations, to the beginning of humanity itself. We have an immediate identity, and we have a shared identity, an identity that we share with the whole of mankind, with humanity as a whole. We, together with the whole of humanity, have our origins in someone other than our parents. What or who is that origin? Is it chance or is it God? Together with the whole of humanity we need to discover our common identity, our common origin. What can be said of humanity can be said of each of us as part of that humanity. We have a shared identity. We need to discover our origins. Every intelligent person asks about the meaning of life and the world he lives in. He wants an explanation of the origin of the world and wants to know about his ultimate destiny. Why is man here? Where is he going? Some have found the answers to these questions, many have not.
Until we find that common identity, there will be no inner peace and therefore no happiness. There is only one time-tested answer, the rest is speculation.
In this picture we have outlined there is one more important truth expressed by the prophet Jeremiah. That truth is that our identity as persons began to take shape well before we were born:
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you (Jeremiah 1:5)
Each one of us has been consecrated, has been set apart from thousands of others, to start the journey towards our roots, our origins, to our true identity, to the meaning and purpose of our lives, to he who has formed us and has guided us here today.
Are you open to discovering your own real identity? Remember the words of the prophet Jeremiah
You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord (Jeremiah 29:13, 14) (Jeremiah 29:13-14)
God or chance?
There are essentially only two explanations of the origin of the world: God or chance. Either there is a giver of life, an organiser of life, a first cause outside of the temporal sphere or everything has come about by chance. There is no alternative.
Christians believe that everything comes from God and is sustained by him. Some say that life came about by chance, that it is the result of natural evolution, left to chance because there is no one to give origin to, guide or organise things. The atheist believes this. A person who believes in evolution "by chance" cannot explain the principle of cause and effect that is evident everywhere and that science itself reveals.
What are the characteristics of those things that exist "by chance"?
• Things that exist by chance are disorganised, uncoordinated and can never be organised or coordinated if there is no one to organise or coordinate them.
• The result of any interaction that might take place between things that happen "by chance" is not regular, it cannot be reproduced each time this interaction takes place.
• Any form of interaction that takes place "by chance" is without purpose, without order and does not contribute to the achievement of a particular goal. The characteristics of all that happens or that exists "by chance" are irregularity, disorder, lack of meaning or specific purpose.
Let's imagine that a fragile object falls from the roof of a building and it shatters into a thousand different pieces. Would it be reasonable to assume that even if it were possible for another identical item to fall from the same building "by chance", and that "by chance" it landed in exactly the same place, that it would "by chance" break into the exactly the same number of pieces that, without a single exception, each piece would be identical to those of the first object? It is reasonable? This is the faith of the atheist who says that everything has originated and has developed "by chance" because there is no organiser. Is it reasonable?
Let us now take a look at a human being. He is conceived, he has a gestation period of nine months, he is born, grows up and eventually dies. This cycle is repeated for each individual. It is a predictable cycle because it happens all the time. The cycle can be interrupted by natural or human causes, but until that interruption everything happens with the maximum predictability. This is not something left to "chance", this is a development that follows the law of cause and effect. The numerous stars and planets move on a predictable and regular basis. All this shows that the universe is something organised, regular and according to a precise plan. These elements do not have the characteristics of things that happen by chance. Is it reasonable to think that all this began and developed by pure chance?
One day a man arrived at a house in search of refuge. He knocked on the door but got no answer. Then he went in and saw that the floor was clean, the furniture there was well-arranged, that there were pictures on the walls, the table was prepared, the coffee was warm so he came to the logical conclusion that the house was inhabited. Would it have been more reasonable for him to believe that all this order had happened by chance because he could see no one inside the house? This is the conclusion of the atheist although he sees the ordered universe in which we live just as the man in the story saw the well-ordered house.
Was the man's conclusion reasonable? Was it more reasonable to assume that the house had not been occupied or was it more reasonable to think that everything had been ordered by someone? Was it more reasonable to assume that the order in the house came about and just fell into place "by chance"?
So also in nature everything is balanced, well-organised and functional. Is it not impossible or at least terribly unreasonable to think that everything came about by "pure chance", that "chance" was the originator of everything?
One can understand that there are atheists in the world but we can also understand that atheists have never built any valid and lasting civilisation. Attempts have been made to establish "atheism of the state". That did not work because it was contrary to the very nature of man. They soon degenerated into a succession of political dictatorships. The hallmark of state atheism was hatred and oppression, not life, love and freedom.
Belief in God, however, has characterised many societies both primitive and modern that fully respect human nature and dignity. This is because belief in God corresponds to a desire inherent in human nature. This is not to deny, of course, that men professing to believe in God have sometimes manipulated religion for their own political ambitions and caused moments of intolerance.
For a Christian "chance" does not exist, everything is part of a plan. Man is an all-important part of that well-organised universe that reveals the presence of God. God has a plan for all. That plan is to bring each and every one of us to experience the fullness of life, love and freedom. If you decide to continue on our journey we shall discover that plan together.
We know that all things work for good for those who love God who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:29)
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Introduction to the Christian Faith Index
Part 2 > > > Introduction to the Faith: God or Chance Part 2 > > >
© R W
bsgbiblestudyguide@gmail.com
