GOD IS NOT A QUESTION, HE IS THE ANSWER

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Ps 14:1-3).

The Doubting Atheist

In The Sunday Times of April 3, 2016, an interesting article entitled “God is a question, not an answer” was published. The article was written by Dr William Irwin, a professor of philosophy at King’s College (Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA). In his article, Irwin said, “Any honest atheist must admit that he has his doubts, that occasionally he thinks he might be wrong, that there could be a God after all.” Is this surprising? No, not at all, at least not to God, and not to those who believe Him! One might think that all atheists are bombastic dogmatists who think that those who believe in God or that He exists to be incredibly stupid. Irwin does not think so. He calls for honest reflection. He thinks that atheists and theists can have intelligent interaction. Hence the title of his article, “God is a question, not an answer”. Now, is this an honest question that truly seeks the answer? Or is it a question that seeks to drive the inquirer into the bottomless pit of postmodern uncertainty? Irwin says, “There is no easy answer. Indeed, the question may be fundamentally unanswerable.” So, I am sceptical about how honest the honest atheist truly is.

At any rate, does God entertain any question concerning His existence? The simple answer is no. God simply asserts His existence, “In the beginning, God …” (Gen 1:1), and He expects man to know it. This is not an unreasonable expectation, for God created man and created him special—in His own image: “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Gen 1:27). As such man possesses an innate knowledge of God. Man cannot run away from this fact. It is always there. He may try to deny God, but there is always this nagging sense that He is real and He is there. Irwin is correct to observe that an atheist is simply dishonest to deny that God could exist after all. Indeed, this is what God says as well, “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” (Ps 14:1). An atheist might have a PhD, a genius, but he is incredibly stupid, yes even foolish, if he asserts with any kind of dogmatism that God does not exist!

The Atheist before God

Why? The evidence for God’s existence is plentiful and abundantly clear. Nature shouts the existence of God. “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.” (Ps 19:1-2).

Irwin related an anecdote about Bertrand Russell who was asked what he would say to God if it turned out there was one and he met him at judgement. Russell said he would tell God, “You gave us insufficient evidence.” How convenient, blame God! I can assure you that this will not be Russell’s insolent reply. The Bible tells us that he and all atheists will know they stand before God condemned and inexcusable, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Rom 1:18-22).

In The Straits Times of 15 April 2016, there was an article called “Beautiful Science” with a photo of a dragonfly and this commentary, “The dragonfly, seen here perching over the waters of MacRitchie Reservoir, was designed by nature more than 300 million years ago. It is widely recognised as one of the masters of flight in the animal world. It can fly as slowly as a snail, accelerate to 70kmh and make all sorts of manoeuvres by beating its four wings out of sync with one another. Made of chitin, a natural material found in animals from ants to lobsters, the corrugated wing surface generates a pattern of air currents that gives the wing lift while reducing air resistance. The corrugated surface also imparts great strength and flexibility whole making the wing extremely thin and lightweight. Scientists are drawing inspiration from the dragonfly wing to design flexible electricity-generating turbine blades that can handle both weak and strong winds, unlike conventional rigid blades that work only at moderate wind speeds. The dragonfly wing even has anti-bacterial properties, owing to extremely tiny surface protrusions that can slice open bacterial cells. This has been successfully emulated on artificial surfaces that could eventually be used on clothes.” The article rightly deduced that if there is design, there must be a designer. However, the amazing dragonfly was not “designed by nature 300 million years ago” but by an infinitely intelligent Being—God Himself—who created the natural world with purpose and precision 6000 years ago (Gen 1:1). Indeed, “the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse” (Rom 1:20).

Decision and Consequences

Irwin is thus correct to observe that “there are potentially unpleasant consequences that can arise from decisions or conclusions, and one must take responsibility for them”, and it is the atheist that has everything to lose. If he is wrong, he faces terrifying, eternal consequences. “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb 10:31). It is safer to be a theist and a Christian than an atheist because if the Christian is eventually wrong, he loses nothing; he ends up like the atheist, but if the atheist is wrong he loses everything and there is no second chance. It is no wonder that Irwin says, “People who claim certainty about God worry me.” Indeed, he ought to be worried, for in the question he poses, the Christian and his Bible may well be right. Indeed, the Bible is always right! What is Truth? The Bible is Truth (John 17:17). And “we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth.” (2 Cor 13:8).

Despite his worry, Irwin tries to console himself by saying that “God does not make it easy. God, if He exists, is ‘deus absconditus’, the hidden God. He does not show himself unambiguously to all people.” Can God really be known? Irwin is agnostic. To the agnostic God is hidden, He is obscure; Let it be said that God is hidden from the atheist and the agnostic not because He has not revealed Himself with infallible proofs, but because man in his sinful pride refuses to believe Him when He has already spoken so clearly through His Word who is none other than Jesus Christ Himself. John 1:1 and 14 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. … And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” Acts 1:3 says, “To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.” Man wants to see in order to believe, but God says the opposite—you must believe before you can see. Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Truth and Certainty

Irwin says, “Indeed, the open-minded search for truth”. But his “open-minded search” is an endless questioning that really goes nowhere. As the Bible says, they are “Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (2 Tim 3:7). What is truth? The answer lies in Jesus Christ—“the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). To those who believe on Him, Jesus said, “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32).

But Irwin does not want to believe; he wants to doubt. He says, “Indeed, belief without doubt would not be required by an all-loving God, and it should not be worn as a badge of honour. … as when a Christian takes the leap of faith to believe in the resurrection.” The Christian takes no leap into darkness but steps into the light, for the resurrection is an indisputable fact. Irwin does not know the all-loving God, neither does he understand the love of God. If he will hear the truth, then let him hear this, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). The Christian is not ashamed of his God and Saviour who requires him to have faith without doubt. The Christian can assuredly say, “for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (2 Tim 1:12).

How does such sure knowledge come about? Proverbs 1:7 tells us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” True knowledge and wisdom come by way of faith, and “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Rom 10:17). “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” (Heb 11:6). God is not a question; He is the Answer. Faith is the key to knowing the Answer. “Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.” (John 6:68-69). Amen and Amen. JK

“I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.” (Ps 121:1-2)