Dear brothers and sisters, peace be to everyone! I am Rev. Dr. Caleb Su who shared New Hearts, Fresh Beginnings with you a few months ago.

This is the second series called Ancient Teachings for Modern Man. In this series, we shall look into the Christian faith from different perspectives and discover what they are about! Today, let’s start with the topic many people ask frequently, “does God exist?”, and then I will talk in detail about the gospel of revelation, the gospel of forgiveness of sins, the gospel of salvation, the gospel of peace, the gospel for being born again, the gospel of victory and the gospel of resurrection.

Proving that God exists is difficult, however proving that God does not exist is more difficult

Immanue Kant, an extremely intelligent and wise German philosopher once said, “It is difficult to prove the existence of God but it is more difficult to prove that He does not exist.” Why did he say so? Firstly, we need to ask: Who is God? He is the most-high and supreme God who surpasses all other rulers. If God surpasses all beings, humans are unable to use anything to prove His existence because he is beyond our means to prove it. If God can be proven, He will be ‘smaller’ than the ‘proof’ itself. Don’t you think so? I can prove that frogs can swim in water and jump on land. This is because I am a created being higher than the frog and am able to dissected it in order to understand its bodily structure. However, God is above me. How can I catch Him and bring Him to my laboratory for dissection and analysis? This is impossible. Therefore, it is difficult to prove the existence of God.

Why is it more difficult to prove that God does not exist? Someone said to me, “Prove to me that God exists.” I turned around and replied, “You prove to me first that God does not exist.” He kept quiet.

Today, many people say that God does not exist because they cannot reconcile with the fact that the world is so broken and unfair. They are usually wondering, “Why is there so much confusion in this world? Why are there so many wars? Why are some people born poor or handicapped? He is an unfair God. If God is fair, how can there be such issues? Thus, God does not exist.” As a great philosopher, Immanue Kant contemplated in-depth about the existence or non-existence of God. He knew that there were flaws in past arguments about the proof for God’s existence so he denied those methods that prove His existence. However, Immanue Kant also discovered that the arguments for the non-existence of God were rare and arbitrary. Thus, he claimed, “It is more difficult to prove that God does not exist.”

Dear brothers and sisters, when we discuss if God exists, our minds already have pre-conceived thoughts (concept, notion and thought) about God. And more often than not, we do not accept the existence of god BECAUSE of these views on how god should be, which were created by US. For instance, the god whom the Africans worship must have tanned complexion, the god whom Westerners worship has fair complexion and the god whom the Chinese worship has yellow complexion. Thus, the concept of God is the extrapolation of our thoughts. Such theology is the evolution of human studies. When we think in such a way, it is only expected that God does not exist. Dear friends, brothers and sisters, God is not the result of your preconceived thoughts. God exists because of our ability to reason, and this ability was given and created by God. Thus, it is inappropriate to use your logical reasoning to conceive the notion of God. The god whom you have in mind is not the God in the Bible. So when you say that you do not believe in God, let me tell you this: “I also do not believe in the God whom you do not believe in, because that god is conceived by you. He is not God himself.” Our God is the God of creation!

If you believe in God, He exists; if you don’t, He does not exist.

Also, quite a number of people like to say “if you believe in God, He exists but if you do not believe so, He does not exist.” Do you think that such a statement is reasonable? This is the perception of idealists. The existence of God is determined by our inner belief or unbelief. If we believe in God, He exists; if we do not believe in Him, He does not exist. So, does God really exist? You can have that ‘reasoning’ but it is extremely illogical if I believe in your ‘belief’ because your ‘belief’ is not greater than god himself. Your ‘belief’ does not determine if He exists and your ‘unbelief’ also does not determine that He is non-existent.

Why do people have a natural thirst for God in their spirits?

Today, we will explore the God who is mentioned in the Bible. Typically, before people accept the Christian faith, they will already have some knowledge about the concepts of God. For example, you ask: “Does God exist?” When you ask such a question, you already have some preconceived thoughts about God in your mind. When I ask “Does John exist?”, I already have John in my mind. If John is not in my mind, why would I ask if John exists or if God exists? Thus, you already have some notions about God in your mind.

Is God righteous? If God is righteous, why is there so much inequality? If God is love, why does he not save those who are in need? We ask similar questions like that. Why do we have such doubts or thoughts?

According to Genesis 1:26-27 from the ESV Bible, it is attributed to the fact that humans have the image of God. It said, “God created man and woman in His own image.” This image possesses his spirituality, morality, eternity and other characteristics. Therefore, humans will have some concepts of God or a longing for eternity in some circumstances. God has planted eternity into man’s heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Dear brothers and sisters, when I walk past the cemetery, I will have feelings evoked in me so I ask, “Will he come out?” However, when the cow walks past the cemetery, it has no feelings. Why? It is because I possess a spirituality that is not present in animals.

What methods or ways does God use to reveal His existence to people?

The existence of humans is physical but it also transcends the physical level, which is the spiritual level. We are created in the image of God so we will naturally ask: Does God exist? What does the Bible tell us about how God reveals his existence to us? I say once again: not to ‘prove’ his existence but to ‘reveal' His existence. According to Romans 1:18-20 from the ESV Bible, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

Romans 1:18 mentioned about “ungodly and unrighteous people”. God’s wrath will be revealed against them. What is ‘ungodliness’? ‘Ungodliness’ refers to people’s sins against God, that is irreverence. This points to the first four commandments of the ten commandments. It was written in the first four commandments: You must only worship God; you must not bow down to idols because there is no other god besides Him; you must not take the name of God in vain; you must keep the Sabbath. All these give priority to God. When we worship idols, we are treating them like gods. When we vow and take the name of God in vain, it is irreverence towards God.

What about unrighteousness? Unrighteousness refers to the sins that are committed among people. It points to the last six commandments of the ten commandments – when I am unfilial towards my parents, curse them or when I murder someone, commit adultery, steal another person’s property, am a false witness to harm others. These are sins of ‘unrighteousness’, and it means that I am unrighteous towards others. For example, someone works for me and it is agreed that the monthly salary is two thousand dollars. However, after a month, I only pay him a thousand and eight hundred dollars. This is unrighteous because I am not being fair to him. Also, if someone has worked overtime and I did not reward him with extra pay, that is unrighteous. Brothers and sisters, God’s final righteous wrath will be revealed against ‘irreverent and unrighteous people’. Only then will people know that justice exists through God’s righteous judgement.

Now typically, people believe in “retribution”. Through history, we know that the tyrannical ruler would cause the rapid destruction of his country. He might even have the court’s judgement pronounced on him in his lifetime. This is apparent to everyone. If you are corrupted, unrighteous or have murdered someone, you will have to face judgement after you have stepped down. Some people think that everything is smooth and easy for evil people, but this is because they are yet to be condemned. Even though such people have power and enjoy great wealth, they have no peace in their hearts. This is another form of punishment. What’s more, one day, there will be final judgement before the great throne. This is the ultimate judgement of all. Just like what the average people believe – good has its reward and evil has its retribution. Evil people are unpunished because their time has not come. God’s retribution may not be seen in this present time but when Jesus Christ returns, the judgement before the great throne is the ultimate judgement.

Dear brothers and sisters, we believe that “there is judgement on sins, justice in people’s hearts, righteousness to be revealed one day…” This shows that God truly exists. Therefore, we need to take heed if we think that God does not exist. If you do not see God, it does not mean that God does not exist. If you do not see the air, it does not mean that air does not exist. You cannot see your mother’s love but you can experience her genuine love. In the same way, righteousness is revealed in this world and so it tells us that God exists.

Let us pray!

Dear Heavenly Father, we are thankful to you because you love the people in the world. You do not desire that we leave you or to drift away from you. You shine on us so that our rational minds can comprehend your truth. May you open our minds so that we are willing to return to you. O God, may Your righteousness and love continually be revealed in this world and lead sinners into repentance. May those who experience your love pray with hearts of thanksgiving and come to you. May you hear our prayer. In the holy name of our Lord Jesus Christ we pray, amen.