Is There a God? Why Should I Care?
LOOKING WITHOUT AND WITHIN
Years ago, when the cosmonauts of Russia began to go into space, one of them cracked, “I have been above the skies and I have not found God!” Apparently he thought that heaven was a place that could be gotten to by travel.
Yet he raised a good question, “What evidence is there for a God in this universe?” The fact that the universe exists at all is some evidence, unless you really believe it could have all happened by chance. After all, no one upon finding a quality Swiss watch proposes, “Oh, I think there must have been an explosion and this watch was produced as a result.”
Yet, there is a greater evidence for God than this. You see, studying the universe has its limits, because we can only observe so much. The things of the universe are outside of us and are closed to us in many ways. How do we know, for example, that rocks can’t think? We suppose that they cannot because we can’t observe anything that looks like thought. But there is one aspect of the universe on which we are all experts and which is open to us completely. We can get inside of it and know how it feels. I am talking about ourselves.
RIGHT AND WRONG AS A CLUE
Since we know ourselves, it is possible to say with certainty that there exists within all of us a certain moral order. That is not to say that we all follow it, but we all know the concept of right and wrong. It is universal. Some will object, “Right and wrong are taught and are not universal.” The confusion here is simple. Just because parents teach their children right and wrong doesn’t mean that they create the idea. Parents and teachers also teach multiplication tables. Yet even if progressive education someday leaves off teaching that 4 times 4 equals 16, it will be true anyway.
Besides that, we may see a parent teaching their children something wrong. A mother who taught her child to throw temper tantrums at school to get whatever they want would be scorned by others. Even though she taught her child something, a higher standard would tell us that she was wrong.
Some people say that right and wrong changes with every society. It is true that certain elements at the edges change, but central virtues like honesty, cleverness, wisdom, faithfulness, and love are universally admired. And societies can judge one another. During WWII, the allies were convinced that Nazi ideals were evil. So there is a higher moral standard than society. But what is this moral standard?
THE MORAL STANDARD AND GOD
The moral order which we observe in ourselves and in all humanity, whether it is followed or not, is the greatest evidence for God. You see, isn’t it sensible that if God exists and he desires holiness, that he would give us a sense of what holiness is? What else can explain our sense of moral order?
Some might say instinct, but we have many instincts that go against our sense of right and wrong. We have a strong instinct for self-preservation, but we abhor cowards who choose to save themselves and allow women and children to die. What is it that causes us to go against such powerful instincts if not a moral order?
Dostoevsky once observed, “If there is no God then anything is permissible.” Yet we cannot deny that there is a right and wrong and thus we cannot deny that there is a God. Even people who claim to disbelieve in right and wrong still live as though they believed in it. Try breaking in front of them in line and see if they think you are wrong! So, if there is a God and a moral order, why should we care?
WHY SHOULD I CARE?
A devout worshipper of God named Blaise Pascal (the famous mathematician) once formulated the importance of God as a wager. Here is a paraphrase of Pascal’s wager: “If I am wrong and there is no God, then I have nothing more to lose than all other men. But if there is a God and I disbelieve in him, then I have everything to lose.”
Why do we spend more time working on solving inconsequential problems and learning things that can only help us in this life, but ignore the great realities that will affect us forever? Who cares what the smallest sub-atomic particle is? What is God like?! Who cares if I can balance a ledger sheet? How can I live forever in the presence of God?! Who am I? Where do I come from? Where am I going? Why should I care if there is a God and find out what he is like? Because it makes all the difference in the world!
For a more in-depth discussion of the existence and importance of God, read the classic book by C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity. It was written in England during the World War II when many in England were thinking about the meaning of life. It has been on and off the best-seller lists ever since. Even though it was not written specifically to a Jewish audience, it is a one-of-a-kind piece of literature.