Monday, May 7, 2012

3 Reasons Why I believe in God



Someone in the Mensa Philippines Facebook group page posted this question for discussion: "Do you believe in God? Why or why not?"

I was reluctant to post an answer there because (1) such online discussions usually lead to long debates, and (2) only one person has posted an answer so far. Nothing wrong with debates with people who have different viewpoints from you, I just feel that the Internet isn’t an ideal place for it. But it got me thinking, why do I personally believe in God?

I thought of 3 major reasons why I believe in a Creator who is outside of time and space.

1. Someone thought of all this 
Known as the teleological argument, this argument satisfies me intellectually. Basically, the teleological argument states that the universe is so complex and amazing, that someone must have designed it. The illustration of this (from William Paley in the book Natural Theology) is if you find a pocket watch on the beach—you won’t think that the metal gears and glass and all of the parts came together “by chance.” Similarly, the more science discovers about our natural world and the universe, the more things seem to be purposed by an ultra-intelligent Creator. For example, the Earth’s distance from the sun, the oxygen content of the air, the existence of the moon—all of these seem purposed to allow humans to thrive and flourish here on this planet.

2. The existence of “unexplainable things”
When children are slaughtered, why do we feel horrible? What happens when two people fall in love? Where does the concept of justice come from? Where does the concept of “right and wrong” come from? These are questions that will never be answered satisfactorily by science.  Yes, love can be observed as a quickening of the heart rate, the release of endorphins in the body, and love can have a sociological and psychological function, but WHY does it exist and WHY does it feel like it does? Can you really “explain” a mother’s love?

If you investigate these questions carefully and with an open mind, they will lead you, once again, to someone who purposefully designed these “unexplainable things.”

3. The changed lives of people
I have personally seen the changed lives of people due to the work of God in their lives—family members, friends, classmates. Drunkards become sober, womanizers become loving and loyal husbands. Human nature is completely changed. Of course, I’ve also seen His work in my life.

Any one of these reasons can be explained away, if I didn’t really want to believe in God. But the three combined make for compelling evidence that can’t be simply ignored (again, unless I really wanted to ignore it).

Don’t be fooled—ultimately, belief in God is not merely a matter of intellect. It is a matter of both the intellect and the heart. If your heart doesn’t want to believe (e.g. you don’t want somebody making you “liable” for your actions here in this world), you’ll find dozens of intellectualisms to “disprove” God.
If you haven’t really taken this topic seriously, I urge you to devote time and effort to finding more about this God I’m talking about. Your eternal life is at stake!


6 comments:

  1. and i can attest to that work of God in your life kuya! God bless you more!

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    1. Thanks, Carole! Keep up your blog writing also! God bless!

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  2. Thanks Rocky for sharing your faith, simple yet profound. God bless you more!

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  3. Rocky, Tag-us is me ( uncle tito c. )

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  4. Brother, I remember this one time when we used to hang out a lot, and I asked you regarding your opinion about the existence of God, and although my question didn't seem to fit the occasion (it was a typical "inuman"), you still obliged me by saying, "There must be a God. Everything in this universe seem to be in order." That is just one of my great memories of you, and even if we haven't seen each other for a very, very long time, it seems like it just happened yesterday.

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