Why don’t we see God in His glory?

The above picture is of the sun shining through clouds.  The dark silhouettes at the bottom are tree tops.

One of the purposes of Light from Light is to share past writings with another audience.  Atheism and different types of evidence have been recent topics here:

• Is there Evidence for Christianity?
• “Heavens… where?”

Continuing in a related vein, here is a letter of mine that was published in the Appleton Post-Crescent on January 9, 2008:

• God the world needs not one perceived by visible power:

Recently, many letters in the paper have said that God does not exist.  Most demand a physical sign.

What if almighty God did appear in majesty and glory?  What if God did demonstrate his terrible power?  All the people in the world would become “believers,” but our hearts would not be changed.

We would all serve this visible God, but not out of love.  We would serve Him out of fear of his power or greed for his wealth.  One way or another, eventually his mere presence would force us all into obedience.

In the end, we would all be thralls, toadies, and slaves.  Is this the God the atheists want?  Consider the forms of government the atheists have established:  From the Reign of Terror to communism, they have been murderously totalitarian.

If this is not the God or the government we want, then we should not demand that the Christian God behave that way in order for us to believe in Him.

God is not our puppet.  And the fact that we do not fully understand His behavior is a poor argument that He does not exist.  Any “God” that men could fully understand, would be no god at all.

Instead of mighty miracles that create only toadies, God gives us words: words of truth.  (Exodus 8:19, 1 Kings 19:11-13, & John 6:26).  Even a whisper of truth is mighty with invisible power.

We may not believe the eyewitness testimony of the apostles; but if testimony is valid evidence for judges, juries, journalists, and historians; then it should be valid evidence for us all.  We can demand to see the God of Sinai, but we need the God of the manger in Bethlehem.  We need Jesus who is the Word of truth made flesh.  (John 1:1).

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“Heavens… where?”

Recently, an atheist commentator issued a challenge on one of my posts.  Specifically, in response to the post “Is there Evidence for Christianity?” the commentator quipped, “Heavens… where?”  The phrase “the heavens” in the original post referred to creation, and I suppose a legitimate answer could have been, “Go outside, and look up.”  However, I think the commentator’s real question was, “How can you believe in an afterlife, if you do not know where that afterlife physically is?”  Maybe a better question might have been, “Where did Jesus physically go when he ascended into heaven?  And if you don’t know, then how can you believe the witnesses who saw him ascend?”

Recently, I visited the commentator’s blog, and enjoyed the experience like a splash of cold water in the face.  None of what he had to say was particularly convincing (in part because it was mostly just ridicule), but it is good to experience bracing challenges to one’s own beliefs, if only to see whether they can stand the exercise.

In the end, the real question here is not mathematical or scientific, but rather it is whether we believe the eyewitnesses who say they saw Jesus die, rise, and ascend into heaven.  Was Jesus truly God, relating to us on our own level, as he so boldly claimed?  Test tubes and telescopes cannot answer that question.  Only the testimony can.

The Apostle Peter said, “We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”  (2 Peter 1:16).

Photo credits: via PicApp.

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Is there Evidence for Christianity?

Through the millennia, Christianity has faced numerous challenges.  Today, many say that there is no evidence for our faith in a Creator.  However, that is nonsense:

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.  Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.  No sound is heard from them, but their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.  [Psalm 19:1-4].

Nonetheless, even though the heavens themselves are compelling proof of intelligent design, our saving faith is not based on science.  This is because our belief in Jesus is based on a different kind of valid evidence as contained in the Scriptures.

The Scriptures are not cleverly invented stories, but rather they are eyewitness accounts of the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  (2 Peter 1:15-16 & Luke 1:1-4).  And as judges, juries, journalists, and historians know, eyewitness testimony is valid evidence.

In fact, testimony is the foundation of all evidence, including scientific evidence.

What would happen if a prosecutor provided scientific DNA to a jury, but did not call a witness to explain what that evidence meant?  Pure science without any explanation means nothing.  A witness needs to testify that the sample was taken from the scene, that it was kept secure and not tampered with, and that it does match the defendant’s DNA.  All evidence must be authenticated with testimony, and ultimately, any trier of fact must first decide whether they believe the witnesses.

What about the gospel writers?  Are they credible witnesses?  Consider their accounts of Jesus’ death:  They all speak in a matter of fact tone.  They do not go into exaggerated detail about the pain that Jesus suffered or the exact methods of his torture, as some modern storytellers do.  But rather, they give us the facts as needed.  And that is just what we would expect from men who were actually there, from people who saw their friend crucified.

Even more compelling than their words, were their actions: their sudden change from cowards into willing martyrs.  Very rare is the circle that gives their lives for their own lies.

Truthful witnesses do more than simply tell coherent stories, they also show by their demeanor and actions that what they are saying is true.  For example, Christians would be poor witnesses of God’s love for us, if our actions did not show that we love him.

We cannot prove that Jesus loves us with mathematical equations or test tubes, any more than we could prove that our parents love us by using a calculator.  But we can demonstrate that God loves us by sharing the testimony of the credible witnesses as recorded in the Scriptures.  Science has its place, but it can not show love.  The heavens do declare the glory of God, but only the Word can testify to the love of God.  Faith “comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.”  (Romans 10:17).

God uses his word and testimony to convict sinners and convince us of his love.  As God says, “‘I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me.  To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘Here I am, here am I.’” (Isaiah 65:1).

Do we have evidence for our faith?  Yes.  It is called the word of God, the testimony of the saints, and “the word of the prophets made more certain.”  (2 Peter 1:19).  Jesus is that word, he lived a life of faith and truth, and his words and deeds are credible and convincing.  (John 1:14 & Isaiah 55:11).

Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.  He is convincing evidence of God’s love for us.

copyright © 2001, 2010 vdma.wordpress.com

Notes:  A previous version of this article appeared in the St. Peter Church March 2001 newsletter.

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