Demand for evidence

Stuart McAllister, writing for the website called “A Slice of Eternity” entitled his article: “You Didn’t Give Us Enough Evidence.” It is very interesting and I want to share it with you.

Bertrand Russell, a renowned atheistic philosopher, was once asked: “Suppose you have been wrong about the existence of God…Having denied God’s existence all your life, what would you say to…Him?” Russell is said to have answered without a moment’s hesitation: “Well, I would go up to Him, and I would say, ‘You didn’t give us enough evidence.’”

Bertrand Russell’s sentiments are nothing new. In fact, we hear people express these same sentiments today. For many people ask, where are the fingerprints of God in this world?—a world in which humans seemingly have been able to manipulate nature, to send man to the moon, cure debilitating diseases, and communicate with someone across the globe almost instantaneously? Have we not outgrown our childish and immature dependence on God, asks the skeptic?

The question posed this way puts God under man’s control rather than man under God’s. It says, “God, if you are real, then show yourself in the ways that I designate. Here are the categories of evidence that I have constructed. Now, if you are real, then you need to find a place within it.”

Yet surely this is wrongheaded. Rather than forcing God into our categories of evidence, it seems that what we really need here is a reorientation concerning evidence itself. That is, if there is a God, can we proudly demand that He behave as we would wish?

Let me give you a simple illustration: I have a friend whose two sisters are tremendously blessed with musical talent, something that is wholly lacking in me! As they or any other musician will tell you, with practice, one can train his or her ear to identify pitches that to an untrained ear sound identical. If you don’t believe me, try tuning a guitar in the presence of a musician.

Now, is it fair for me to say to the musician that there is no evidence that there are actually two different pitches and not just one? I don’t think so! The difference in evidence between the musician and myself is founded on the fact that she has trained her auditory faculties to differentiate the pitches and I have not. That is, the difference is with our abilities and not with the world at large. If I really want to hear what she is hearing, I must devote myself to developing a finely tuned auditory faculty.

So, to return to Bertrand Russell’s statement about the amount of evidence available for belief in God, it seems that the fingerprints of God are all over his handiwork. When I look at creation, the jagged peaks and the
meandering streams, I cannot help but see evidence of the majesty of God. When I experience the intimacy of love, I cannot help but see evidence of the glory of God. So, Bertrand Russell’s position is not so much a position due to a lack of evidence, but his lack of development of the capacity to recognize the evidence as such.

Let me tell you a story.

Two sailors were adrift on a raft in the ocean. They had just about given up hope of rescue. One began to pray, “O Lord, I’ve led a worthless life. I’ve been unkind to my wife and I’ve neglected my children, but if you’ll save me, I promise…” The other shouted, “Hold it. I think I see land.”

I guess this is simply how it is. Not the lack of evidence but the refusal to acknowledge it as so.

People do not reject Jesus Christ because He could not verified to be true. People reject Christ simply because they do not want Christ to interfere with their lifestyle. But the reality has got nothing to do with whether one believes in Him or not. If He is the Truth, the Way and the Life regardless of what one believes then what action do we take and what decisions do we make today?

The focus of Christmas is not only upon the Celebrant born in a borrowed manger, but the complete story of redemption also lies in the death of the Savior who was buried in a borrowed tomb but the evidence of an empty tomb. And that is the reason why we celebrate!

(Mark your calendar, as Francis Kong runs his highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership seminar-workshop on January 16-17, 2018 at SEDA Hotel, BGC. For registration and inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)