I have often heard people ask "How do you know that God actually exists?" It's a fair question; so long as those who ask are not simply putting up a smoke screen to avoid a genuine confrontation with finding a real answer. But that's not for me to judge.
So... how do we know that the idea of God is not just a mind burp from man's desire to make sense of the world around him? As I was thinking about the idea of knowing God, I remembered a talk from an astrophysicist who was discussing the study of light particles. He indicated that the very act of putting light under a microscope causes the particulate to move. Like a magnet that pushes against it's polar opposite, the mere act of trying to study the thing moves it; the instrument of study affects the environment so that the particulate can only be observed (from an objective point of view).
Whether this is a correct understanding of what I heard or not I cannot judge since I am not a scientist. But, to the extent that there is some truth to this study of light, I find an interesting correlation to the idea of "knowing" God--studying the facts of His existence. On a personal level, my life-experience and faith informs me that God does indeed exist. Not because I can prove "Him," but for the same reason I believe light exists. I don't need to understand the properties of light to know that it is all around me. In the same way, the moment I try to get my mind around the idea of God--to study Him in an effort to understand Him--I find that He becomes elusive, forever moving under the microscope of my finite mind.
Perhaps this is what keeps me pursuing Him. It's not that I don't believe facts about God are important. I do. But knowing about Him and actually knowing Him are two entirely different things. If I have learned anything about light, it doesn't ask me to believe or study it's existence. It just IS and gives me the benefits of its existence whether or not I think it exists. I wonder if the same might be true about the existence of God. Maybe it's not so important for me to know all the facts before I believe. Maybe it's more important to rest in the thought that because I am known by God, it's okay to simply bask in the light of all that is good about life; and in this experience know that He IS.
"In the beginning the Word already existed. the Word was with God and the Word was God... He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity." (John 1:1, 4.) [GW version of the Bible]
So... how do we know that the idea of God is not just a mind burp from man's desire to make sense of the world around him? As I was thinking about the idea of knowing God, I remembered a talk from an astrophysicist who was discussing the study of light particles. He indicated that the very act of putting light under a microscope causes the particulate to move. Like a magnet that pushes against it's polar opposite, the mere act of trying to study the thing moves it; the instrument of study affects the environment so that the particulate can only be observed (from an objective point of view).
Whether this is a correct understanding of what I heard or not I cannot judge since I am not a scientist. But, to the extent that there is some truth to this study of light, I find an interesting correlation to the idea of "knowing" God--studying the facts of His existence. On a personal level, my life-experience and faith informs me that God does indeed exist. Not because I can prove "Him," but for the same reason I believe light exists. I don't need to understand the properties of light to know that it is all around me. In the same way, the moment I try to get my mind around the idea of God--to study Him in an effort to understand Him--I find that He becomes elusive, forever moving under the microscope of my finite mind.
Perhaps this is what keeps me pursuing Him. It's not that I don't believe facts about God are important. I do. But knowing about Him and actually knowing Him are two entirely different things. If I have learned anything about light, it doesn't ask me to believe or study it's existence. It just IS and gives me the benefits of its existence whether or not I think it exists. I wonder if the same might be true about the existence of God. Maybe it's not so important for me to know all the facts before I believe. Maybe it's more important to rest in the thought that because I am known by God, it's okay to simply bask in the light of all that is good about life; and in this experience know that He IS.
"In the beginning the Word already existed. the Word was with God and the Word was God... He was the source of life, and that life was the light for humanity." (John 1:1, 4.) [GW version of the Bible]
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This is a GREAT blog "Uncle Dough." I have struggled with the "science" of wanting to prove my faith. I always end up realizing I have nothing to prove, my faith is real because my SAVIOR is real. He has continually saved and restored me and that is all the proof I need...
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