The question that has haunted the minds of men since the dawn of time was the question of God. Does God really exist? Is there intelligence behind the universe? Or did the universe merely twist and spiraled until it birthed a being that asked “Why?”
Though I’m only fifteen, I am intrigued by this question. It serves as the basis to walk both paths, philosophical and theological. For the existence of God changes the foundation of man, origin and purpose.
With that being said, let us first tackle the question of the existence of God.
Why I think God does exist.
The first and most reasonable argument for God that was given to me was the argument of intelligence behind the universe. A universe so intricately woven, so detailed and thoroughly complex could not have been the produce of randomness or chance.
There are physical constants like gravity or the speed of light that are incredibly precise. If gravity was even slightly weaker, star’s wouldn’t form. Conversely, if it was just slightly stronger, they’d collapse into black holes. The world shows that it abides by certain laws, and it shows up in places we expect the least. The pretty flowers, to the stiff shells and even the turbulent hurricanes elegantly showcase the Fibonacci sequence. Why would mathematics appear in nature unless there was some underlying intelligence behind them?
The existence of God also explains the origin of our reason, rationality and our desire for truth. The key problem I see with the theory of evolution is that it does not explain it’s origin, after all reason, rationality and truth is not really needed for survival. Take the example of fire, surely Man needs to know that if there is smoke, then there is fire, and so he must avoid it. But it does not explain why Man would need to learn more about either. Why must he ask questions like “Why did either of them happen?” or “What is smoke’s relation to fire?” If our brains evolved purely for survival, then these questions become impossible and illogical.
Therefore, this leads me to conclude that there is in fact a Creator who is responsible for creating and shaping the universe. Nevertheless, it does not explain why I believe in Jesus; what makes Christianity the most reasonable out of all the other religions?
Why Jesus?
The paramount pillar of reason to believe in Christ is simply because of the abundance of historical evidence. There’s both historical and non-historical evidence in support of Jesus, accepting at least the fact that he existed.
Putting aside Christian evidence, Tacitus mentions “Christus” in Annals, Josephus mentions “James, the brother of Jesus, who was called Christ.” and Suetonius mentions disturbances caused by a man named “Chrestus” in Rome during the reign of Claudius, which could refer to Jesus indirectly. So, it wouldn’t be illogical to assume that Jesus did exist. But was he God? Did he really defeat death and rise alive again?
To this we can only refer to a logical argument for evidence. If Jesus had not been resurrected and it if it was fruit of the disciple’s mind then we can rightly assume that:
- It wouldn’t have spread so quickly right after Jesus’ death, when witnesses were still alive that could have refuted the disciples if it was all a lie.
- It wouldn’t have taken root in the very city Christ was crucified. Especially given that Christianity had quite an embarrassing foundation. A messiah being a crucified criminal was not only foolishness to the Romans but also a scandal to the Jews.
- It shouldn’t have spread under the cruel persecution of the Romans and the Jews. Christianity survived despite all of it’s sufferings and both the disciples and numerous believers died for their belief that Jesus is alive.
This all leads me to a infer to a rather simple conclusion. There is, behind the universe, a rational and intelligent creator, and that the Creator is Jesus.