Nothing can legally take the mind of a person further way from itself than to stand outside on a clear night and look up at the stars. To imagine the incredibly vast distances to even the nearest star is more than this poor head can understand sometimes.
When I was a young boy I can remember standing outside and looking up at the moon, a few hours after Neil Armstrong had made his “one small step for a man.” As I looked, I found it easy to grasp the huge, empty distance between the Earth and the moon; it made me feel so small and lonely in comparison. Then I thought of those astronauts who were, at that moment, exploring the surface of the moon and I began to understand how proud we could feel as humans. We had left the confines of our Earth’s gravity, traveled 238,857 miles through the cold, dark, void of space, touched down on the moon and walked on its surface. What an accomplishment!
Since then space flight has become so common that there are very few who would be able to tell you if there is anyone in space at any given moment, or even when the next flight into space would be. We have become familiar and satisfied with our backyard. True, another moon landing, or even better, a manned flight to Mars would capture our attention, but I still feel we would become complacent again after a while. Those who were alive and aware back then knew where they were when man first walked on the moon, but there are probably not very many who could tell you where they were when man last walked on the moon.
We always have to be striving for something new. It is as much a part of our natures as walking and breathing. We do it without even thinking about it. We are a naturally curious people and if we do not have the answer to something, you can be sure that we will be looking for it. That is why it is important for us to remember that we are the an image of the one who created us; we are made after his likeness. - Genesis 1:26.
You already know the biggest question I have always had. The one answer I have spent the majority of my life looking for was whether God did, or did not exist; and if so then what is he like? There are as many answers to those questions as there are religions on the Earth, but who is right? Is everyone right?
Here is where I am going to have a hard time making my point…I just know it. Some people will think that I am coming across with about as much tact as an eye surgeon with a chain saw. It cannot be helped though.
When dealing with something as controversial as truth I know that some extremists would just as soon kill themselves, along with a large group of people, rather than allow someone else the freedom of speech and opinion to which they are entitled. Speaking contrary to someone else’s way of understanding can be a deadly thing. History speaks for itself on that subject and I do not need to give any examples here.
Is our understanding of God like those three blindfolded people describing an elephant? One person touches its tail and says an elephant is skinny, another touches its leg and says it is big, round and firm and the last one touches its trunk and says it is long and flexible, like a snake. They all have a correct knowledge of certain parts of the elephant, so they must all be right in their complete understanding of an elephant...is that right?
Of course we disagree with that kind of reasoning, so why do we accept it when it comes to describing God? Sure, everyone sees God in a certain way, but that does not mean that everyone sees him in all of his fullness; as he truly is? If God does exist then there has to be one true description of him in the same way that there is one true description of an elephant…or of anything else for that matter.
Once again, put yourself in God’s place and consider what you would do to make yourself known. Would you give everyone a partial and different description of yourself and hope they can all get together someday, compare notes and finally come to an understanding of who you are? There is enough confusion in this world without God adding to it. So, where do we start then?
As far as the eye can see the field is wide open; which direction do you want to go in? First of all there are hundreds of religions that you can choose from. After you have chosen a religion you then have to ask yourself the question of whether you want to view things as a creationist, an evolutionist, an existentialist… Would you also like that point of view to be according to the new age way of thinking; how about orthodox, liberal, conservative, fundamentalist…? After those choices you will of course want to find a specific sect within each of those choices...and on and on...
Although I have looked into a fair share of religions in my lifetime, I would in no way even begin to leave you with the impression that I have personally studied every type and form of religion there is. It is as if you are standing in front of a large selection of apples and you have to pick only one.
I do not want to sound like I am being judgmental, because I have always liked to think that there is not a judgmental bone in my body. When you get right down to it though, you have to admit that not all of this world’s religions are going through the same gate. Some of them are going in completely different directions from each other. If everyone says they are headed for the same destination and yet many people are going in different directions from each other, will they all logically end up at the same place? If you wanted to go to Seattle, WA and you end up in Altoona, PA instead, would you be in the right place? Would you be "close enough"?
I would like to make myself completely clear on the following position. Every person on this planet has the right to worship any way they choose…or choose not to for that matter. I might not agree with someone else’s choice, but it is their choice to make.
However, suppose someone with a duck in their arms were to ask me what I thought of their rabbit. First, I am going to ask them to repeat themselves because I could have sworn they called their duck a rabbit. When I am sure they called that duck a rabbit I am not going to belittle them for not knowing the difference between a duck and a rabbit. They could seriously believe that what they are holding in their arms is, in fact, a rabbit.
If I did find myself in a situation like that I would kindly and tactfully tell the person that what they were holding was, in fact, a duck. I would then have to let them decide if, from then on, they would want to keep calling a duck by any other name. It is their choice to believe what they want and I am obligated to give others that freedom to choose, even if they are wrong, and I know it.
Most people are that way as far as I can tell. If we know someone is wrong and it can make an improved difference in their life to know the truth, then I believe it is kindness on our part to let them know what is right. If we cannot kindly and tactfully help them understand where they are wrong then we have to allow them the freedom to be wrong; even if they want to be wrong. People do not need to be preached at, threatened, beaten or killed just because someone thinks they are wrong.
Controversy should be approached this way; when you show someone what is right they should then be able to see what is wrong. In that way you have helped them learn and also left them with their dignity intact.
I was at a friend’s house a while back and while we were talking in the living room I kept hearing a high pitched “chirp” every few seconds. In fact there was more than just one chirp; there were three and they all appeared to be coming from different parts of the house. I am familiar with the sound and I realized that the chirps were coming from the smoke alarms in the living room, the kitchen and the hallway leading to the bedrooms. I mentioned the chirps to my friend with the comment that it sounded like the batteries in his smoke detectors needed to be replaced. His reply was, “No, those chirps mean that the smoke detectors are working properly.”
Anyone with any experience with smoke detectors knows how annoying and ear piercing that little chirp can be after a while.
It might not be a bad idea to take a little time to explain the workings of a smoke detector for those who, like my friend, could be a little bit technically challenged.
All smoke detectors have batteries in them. For some detectors that battery is the only power source they have. Other detectors can be wired into the house electrical system but they also have a battery in them so they will continue to work in case the household power goes out. When the battery, over time, has lost most of its power the smoke detector emits a single high pitched “chirp”, about every minute or so, to alert the home owner that the battery needs to be replaced. My friend was under the mistaken impression that the high pitched chirps he was hearing...twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, from three different parts of his house...were a normal sound that let him know that his smoke detectors were working fine and in no need of maintenance.
I could very easily have allowed my friend to continue thinking that way and he and his wife would have continued to live in their house, listening to the constant warning chirps that meant their smoke detectors needed fresh batteries. However, I could not allow them to live in ignorance. I knew what the problem was, but how do I tell my friend that he is wrong without insulting him?
My solution was to, humbly, tell him that he was mistaken…and of course he replied that he was not. I then asked him if he had any new nine-volt batteries. He did and I convinced him to allow me to replace the battery that was in the living room detector. To his amazement the chirping sound stopped and when I pushed the test button on the detector it emitted its normal high pitched squeal that lets you know that the detector is working properly. My friend then replaced the batteries in the rest of the detectors and the warming chirps stopped. Later, my friend’s wife thanked me, more than once, for the peace and quiet that had finally come to their house.
As I said, it is important to let people know the truth; especially if it can affect their quality of life. My friend also had the right to not listen to me and then refuse to let me mess with one of his smoke detectors. If he had decided not to listen to me then I would have had to have allowed him the right to be wrong. Do you believe I was wrong to have interfered? I will go to my grave believing that I was not.
Earlier, we were in the apple section and I was talking about choosing an apple. To carry the apple analogy a little further...the best way to choose an apple is to compare one with another. It is surprising how much you can tell about an apple just by looking at it. Color, blemishes, texture; all are important when choosing. If you pick the apple up you can really tell what it is like. You do not necessarily have to damage the apple to compare it with another; all you have to do is feel it and you will know if it is hard or soft, juicy or dry.
Here is where the apple analogy begins to break down though. Making a choice among all of the religions in this world is not the same as making a choice between apples. Choosing among religions for the right one is a life changing experience. On the other hand, if you get a bad apple you can always throw it away and get another one. OK, if anyone reading this book has had a life changing experience while they were choosing an apple…well…I guess if you have, then I am happy for you.
There has to be one fail-safe way to determine if there is such a thing as a true faith, or if it is nothing more than just smoke and mirrors. Is it is substantive or is there is only form with nothing inside?
When you follow the spiritual lines of ALL religions, all the way back to their origins in recorded history, you find one source that has a common thread that travels through the entire length of its fabric. It travels back in time long before there was a Christian religion. Belief in a monotheistic God predates even the Jewish belief in God. If we follow that thread all the way through then we see Abraham, who was at one time an idol worshiper before he was called to leave his homeland, dedicating himself to the God who created the heavens and the Earth. Previous to Abraham, there was a line of people who were called the sons of God; some people call them the patriarchs. That thread, or line, travels all the way back to when God first began the whole show in the first place; long before there was such a thing as religion. It travels back long before Mohammed, long before Jesus and long before Buddha...and it tells us EVERYTHING...from the beginning.
Now wait a minute, you might be thinking, we started out looking for ways to discover God and now all of a sudden it seems like we have been sidetracked onto the line leading directly to the God of the Bible?
Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Persian, Indian and Chinese literature do go far back into the recorded ancient history of each of those civilizations. Those above-mentioned civilizations do an excellent job of verifying the history of the Bible but they do not begin with creation and list the genealogy of the earth and give descriptive details concerning many of those people listed in that genealogy in the same way that the Bible does? As far as I know the only ancient manuscript that covers the entire history of humanity, from both a historical and spiritual perspective, in that much detail, is the Bible.
If everyone claims to have the right channel directly to God himself then what we need to do is put them all together, ask a few, very personal questions, and see what comes out on top.
The first question we need to ask ourselves is, where is our proof that we are on the right path? Do we have any? If not, then why not? If we cannot show absolute proof for what we believe to be right, then maybe we should reconsider what we believe in. Does that sound too harsh?
A scientist can tell me that the Earth was created when the sun ejected a mass of material out into space and that all life on this planet has evolved from a single cell, billions of years ago. They can make all the claims they want, but making claims does not make them right. The number of theories concerning those two topics alone is tremendous and just when science believes they have it all figured out another scientist comes up with more information, taking them back to square one. Show me some proof and then I will seriously consider what you have to say.
Some people will say it is impossible to know for certain; you have to have faith they will say. True, there are some areas where faith is all you have to go on, but when it comes to the existence of God there has to be some absolute proof. If God does exist then we should be able to put him to the test and see if he is real.
Here though, is where some who believe in God will quote Luke 4:12 where it says, "Jesus answered, 'It is said: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test."' They will tell me that we do not have to have all of the answers to the questions about God’s existence; all we have to do is believe he exists and we will know in our hearts that we are on the right path.
I will not now, nor will I ever, belittle faith. Faith has its place in everyone’s experience in life. However, you will find, as you continue through these pages, that there IS a God in Heaven who does give you the privilege of putting him to the test. In fact, you will find that he welcomes as much scrutiny as you care to throw his way.
If God has communicated with the people of this planet then we should be able to test that communication and see if it holds up to scrutiny. We should be able to test God if he makes a claim for being God. I believe that, and I believe God expects us to put him to the test.
When it comes to something as serious and life changing as the existence of God, he does not expect you to just accept, without any proof, the words of someone else who lived 3,500 years ago.
Those ancient words however, will be used to convince you that he does exist and that he is concerned with every aspect of your life and the lives of everyone who live on this planet called Earth.