An invitation to seek truth.

I have yet to share much of what I want to do when I, well, how should I put it? I have yet to share what I want to do when I get a “big-girl job” with my future bachelor’s degree. I would love to jump into the realm of researching, designing, and testing prostheses. That would be amazing and as I’ve been in conversation with professionals in the field they all provide the same answer when it comes to the most challenging part of prosthetic development:

“Prosthetic limbs are meant to match the biological system, but they don’t…no matter how hard we try.”

And my foolish, arrogant, and gut response would be, “Well, duh. You possibly think we can design something better than God?” But due to the adjectives I just listed, that’s why I’ve never said it, but I think it. In all honesty, though, that’s one of the reasons I believe there is a God, the intentional design in everything. I’ve had a snippet of biology concepts presented to me compared to the depth and detail that scientists and doctors study, but even in my snippet of a class, I see intentional design everywhere. In plants, animals, earth, the galaxy, and the universe all point to such beautifully intricate intentionality. Take the “simplest” concept and try to understand it. I cannot describe how DNA works without pointing to a designer. I cannot describe how our earth is at just the right tilt for life to exist without pointing to a creator.

Yes, we’ve advanced, and people are brilliant. I mean you saw how quickly the coronavirus vaccine was discovered compared to previous pandemics. You see all that we can do with a smartphone in our hands. You have seen the complexity of cars these days. We’re intelligent beings, God gets all the glory, but my point is people are smart. The snarky part of me wants to say, “Come on, people. We have cars that drive themselves but we still have problems via creating artificial limbs”, yet the part of me that is baffled by creation just humbly smiles and I think to myself, “God, you are intentional in all your ways, of course, you are.” I cannot see this world without a designer. Listen, I know this is an extremely sensitive topic and I am not necessarily here to change your mind, but I am here to share with you why I believe the gospel to be true and Christianity is not some blind faith for me. Hebrews 11 paints it beautifully.

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands. ² Day after day they pour out speech; night after night they communicate knowledge. ³ There is no speech; there are no words; their voice is not heard. ⁴ Their message has gone out to the whole earth, and their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun. ⁵ It is like a bridegroom coming from his home; it rejoices like an athlete running a course. ⁶ It rises from one end of the heavens and circles to their other end; nothing is hidden from its heat.” Psalm 19:1-6

I personally do not see the conflict between science and religion. I can think of many times where they actually agree with one another. Read the book of Job and the Psalms to start. Back when the Bible was written, people disagreed with the way it described innumerable stars, spherical earth, the weight of air to name three examples. Science today and the Bible agree more now than they used to. But when we do think about science and the Bible going head to head, or using solely science to prove the existence of God, specifically the Christian God, we run into one major problem that is overlooked by nearly every skeptic.

The definition of science reads: “the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment.” As I read that, I think of pursuing knowledge through observation, measurement, experiment, and repetition. We’ve all learned this in school. Maybe this sounds like a cop-out answer to you, but I do not think we can prove that God exists given that definition. We have no authority to tell God to just “repeat” creation in the name of science. If you took the Bible for what it is and considered the context before bashing Christianity, what more does God need to truly reveal to you?

For ever since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through His workmanship [all His creation, the wonderful things that He has made], so that they [who fail to believe and trust in Him] are without excuse. Romans 1:20

But this is not necessarily about convincing you to become a Christian, this is about inviting you to seek truth. I believe that to at least attempt to understand an all-knowledgeable, infinite, and unimaginably powerful God, we cannot look at it through one lens.

Rather we must look at truth through theology, biology, philosophy, cosmology, astronomy, etc. “Alright everybody, put your best foot (theory) forward and fight to the death muahaha!,” and of course it would not exactly be like that, but my point is I think disproving God’s existence is much more complicated than an outdated dated evolutionary diagram. Similarly, I think proving God’s existence is much more complicated than saying read the gospel of John. Let me be clear, you can absolutely solely read the Bible and nothing else and my hope is you would conclude that Jesus is Lord and through grace and by faith, you can join me in heaven. That is my hope. The Bible shares all it needs to share.

He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He is before all things, and by him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,²⁰ and through him to reconcile everything to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Colossians 1:15-19

The Bible shares all that it needs to share, but people are brilliant. In this day and age, look at all of the different theories and fields of studies. Take advantage of the research! Rather than having an agenda based on what you want to be true, and seeking evidence that way, I invite you to seek truth, without an agenda and do so in a way that puts all of these theories head-to-head. Consider the cosmological, teleological, and moral law arguments and objections for and against God. You want to be marveled, start by looking at the anthropic principles of the universe?

I know it sounds like a lot of work, but I think what you decide to place your faith in will ultimately be the most important decision you will need to make. C.S. Lewis said it best, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.” I believe people should proceed with caution with their conclusions. I don’t think you should completely dive in headfirst without considering the logical inconsistencies and flaws of concluded beliefs. On the other hand, do not get stuck in this cycle of never landing on a belief system because you’re afraid of believing without seeing. Here is the spoiler alert, every belief system and every theory must include a leap of faith, but the question is, how far are you going to allow yourself to leap?

If someone could provide reasonable answers to the most significant questions and objections you have about Christianity, reasonable to the point that Christianity seems true beyond a reasonable doubt, would you then become a Christian?

You see, my research has pushed me into thinking that Christianity is a reasonable faith. From studying evolution, the origin of the universe, the different possibilities of why we are even here, I have found that it only makes sense for there to be a God. Researching further, I see the Bible to be inspired by God, Himself, and I believe that salvation is through faith in Christ alone. I don’t have all the answers to this, but I have enough to the point where I can make that leap comfortably. Check out my Evangelism 101 series.

At the end of the day, all I am is an imperfect college student that loves Jesus. That alone tells you that I am biased towards Christianity. Though my greatest desire is for all of you to fall in love with the God who created you to be, that’s not the reality of it. So when it comes to my “agenda”, I just ask that you humbly consider the research that exists. I humbly ask that you give this Jesus guy a chance.

In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. ² The earth was formless and void or a waste and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep [primeval ocean that covered the unformed earth]. The Spirit of God was moving (hovering, brooding) over the face of the waters. ³ And God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. ⁴ God saw that the light was good (pleasing, useful) and He affirmed and sustained it; and God separated the light [distinguishing it] from the darkness. ⁵ And God called the light day, and the darkness He called night. And there was evening and there was morning, one day. Genesis 1:1-5

USEFUL LINKS: Evidence for God, Science of God