You’ve probably heard of the various kinds of arguments for God’s existence. People throughout church history have crafted these kinds of theological and philosophical justifications for belief in God. Here are some of the various arguments…
Cosmological Argument
- Whatever begins to exist has a cause.
- The universe began to exist.
Therefore, the universe had a cause.
3. If the universe had a cause, then an uncaused entity apart from the universe created it.
Therefore, that cause is God.
Conscience Argument
- Either our sense of right and wrong is from God, animal instinct, or abstract ideals.
- Our conscience is not an animal instinct or an abstract ideal.
Therefore, our conscience comes from God.
Perception Argument
- It is common sense to trust our sensory perception unless we have reason to believe otherwise (i.e. intoxication, hallucination, other cases of impairment).
- Many people have sensory perception of God.
Therefore, we have evidence to believe that God exists.
Arguments like these can be very helpful for some people, particularly those who are more analytically-minded–perhaps you or someone you know really enjoys picking apart the details and facts of the world around us! Our relationship with God is no different. We can indeed use our mind to glorify God and even witness to other people about God’s existence and purpose for our lives.
But one thing to keep in mind with Christianity is that God is not some abstract idea. Instead, God is deeply personal. Think about that for a moment…
God calls you to follow him. God wants to have an encounter with you. Jesus wants to know your personally and for you to feel the love of God. Christianity is meaningful in many ways because of the transformation or conversion experiences Christ offers us.
We don’t primarily learn about God through textbooks or even human reasoning. There isn’t a test or a philosophical “proof” that reveals God’s ultimate nature to us. Instead, we have experiences of God. God is personal in that he wants you to experience his grace and love in your heart.
Likewise, the wisdom God offers us is closely connected to knowing God in a personal sort of way. Jesus’ commands to serve one another may not make sense according to the world’s standards. Instead, commands of Christ make sense because when we experience the love of God, our heart is changed and we see the deeper truth of the cross.
As you reflect on the sermon this week about Godly wisdom, remember that God wants you to experience him. It may be difficult to believe the sorts of things the bible teaches us–on Sunday we highlighted how “blessed are the poor,” “serve one another rather than being served,” and “God loves you unconditionally” go against human wisdom and logic. But the more you fall in love with Christ, the clearer these teachings become. They might not make sense according to the world around us, but when we have experiences of God, they become clearer and truer than anything we could ever imagine.
Concord United Methodist Church 