Why

When I was 19, I spent a lot of time travelling by myself to and from school. At the time I felt very lost. I had no idea who I was or who I was meant to be. I remember constantly thinking that if I belonged to some ethnic group that I could take from it some sense of identity, some sense of who or what I was. Of course I'm white Canadian male and as such I can think of no distinct cultural identity within which I fit. So I continued to despair and search but found nothing on earth which could / would answer my questions.

It was then that God began to speak to me. I learned that I was God's creation and called to by him to be his child. I began to read the bible and ask questions of my uncle who was a Christian. I had gone to church as a child but stopped going when I was 12. I had been open somewhat to God, but had never opened myself to him truly. As I continued to read, things began to make sense. As I continued to ask questions, I began to get answers. It was a beautiful spring day in May 1993 that I too became a Christian and finally ackowledged within my heart and mind who and what I was. I was a child of God, created by him so that I might know him and be loved by him.

Over the years since I have discussed God with many people. People who believed as I did and those who did not. I found I enjoyed discussing my faith and God with non-believers because it challenged me to confront areas of my faith that I may not have chosen to by myself. I have as of yet to encounter anything that has shaken my faith in God. Perhaps the lowest point I've had was when my wife left. It was then that I felt most keenly the presence of God.

Recently I was reading some online forums and read a post by a gentleman that stated that he used to be a Christian but was one no longer and was now definetly sure that there was no God as he had prayed for years, received no answer and as such had proven the non-existence of God. This got me thinking. How did this person 'prove' that God did not exist? He of course did not, but rather embraced and confirmed his own personal unbelief. I read tonight a person's confession that the death of their child proved that God did not exist. The simple fact of the matter is that one cannot 'prove' the existence or non-existence of God.

The most common proofs for the non-existence of God is 1) bad things happen and 2) "I've never experienced him". I find that these two arguments are rather week. First the simple notion that bad things happen proves nothing. The same people that claim this don't want God to stop everything 'bad' from happening. What they want is for certain 'bad' things to stop happening not all of them. Because in the end 'if' God exists his definition of 'bad' is vastly different from the world view of 'bad' that if he stopped all 'bad' thing from happening these people would be unhappy that they no longer had personal freedom to do 'bad' things. In reality this is a personal excuse or reason for unbelief and that is fine, but it does not prove that there is no God. The second claim for proof is also a personal reason for unbelief and poor philosophy. I've never experienced Brad Pitt's parent's therefore they don't exist. Its poor logic. I can't prove that Brad Pitt's don't exist through this reasoning but it may be enough for me to not believe in them. That of course is up to the individual.

However, what proves to me that God does exist is the fact that I have experienced him. Of course in turn this is my excuse or reason for belief. And that of course is what faith is all about. When I was 20 I was baptized and as was the tradition in my church people would give their testimony, how one came to be a Christian. I did not. Instead I related to those in attendance the reality of my experience with God. That is why I believe.

The Creation of Adam - Michaelangelo