“Show Me Proof That God Exists”

In a recent Facebook discussion, two friends who claim to be atheists made the request that is the title of this blog. They wanted proof that God exists. By “proof,” they mean experimental, test tube kind of proof. As I pondered this request, two verses came to mind:

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. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

Romans 1:18-21 (ESV)

Without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.

Hebrews 11:6 (ESV)

These two verses, taken together, indicate that everyone knows God. We come from the womb with an instinctive knowledge that He exists. It is an active decision made by those lacking faith to choose not to believe. Faith is the way to exercise our belief in God. We run all of our experiences through our faith-based reasoning systems in order to continue to draw near to God.

This is one of the responses I gave to my unbelieving friends:

The proof for God is simple…look around you and ask yourself “Is it REALLY possible that all of this self-organized into what I see today? The stars, the intricacies of the human eye, male/female sexual reproduction…could it all just happen with absolute no plan, purpose, or pattern?” Design is everywhere and design is evidence of a designer. In the observable world there is no evidence, none, zero, zip that well-designed things, whether living or machines, can come into existence with no intelligent designer and/or no previously designed blueprint. Inanimate objects cannot create themselves and reproduce. The natural world with all of its wonders is the evidence that an intelligence is behind it all. Follow that imaginary evolution tree down all the way to its roots. At the bottom tip of that root what gave birth to it all? If lightning struck a pool of slime, where did the lightning and slime come from? When did it create itself? Talk about fantastic fairy tales! Nothingness suspended in an eternal state of non-time does not spontaneously start to create itself. If we took a giant glass sphere and sucked out everything, I mean everything from inside it and closed it off permanently, we could watch that glass sphere for 10 million years and nothing would spontaneously start to form and evolve and reproduce inside. If something did start to happen inside that sphere it’s because we didn’t remove something. We left a seed. You may fairly ask me “OK, then where did God come from?” My answer…He is GOD. That’s for Him to know and for me to find out!

As Christians, we must choose to believe and act upon what the Bible says – everyone knows God, and it is by an active and willing effort that they become futile in their thinking resulting in darkened hearts. As we interact with people in a cynical world, we must come from a strong position that the truth is weighted against those who claim not to believe in God.

One more point should be made. Jesus said the reason people make this choice to deny God is because they like their sin too much:

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

John 3:19-20 (ESV)

These are cold, hard truths from the Word of God. Unbelievers may be offended if we say these things to them. It is possible, however, to speak the truth in love. We should strive to that end.