As important as the \u2018big five\u2019 religions are in the modern world, my hunch is that most of us don\u2019t think about God the way any of the major religions do. If we think about God at all, most of us prefer to make up our own ideas about him (or her, or them, or it!). I\u2019ve found that people often talk about God in one of two ways.<\/p>\n
On the one hand, people often talk about God as if he\u2019s a kind of cosmic Santa Claus: he\u2019s big and friendly, but a long way away and irrelevant for most of the year. Maybe he created the world, but he\u2019s now not directly involved in the things that happen here. Heaven doesn\u2019t have much to do with life on earth. When we die, God will welcome most of us into heaven, because he is kind and forgiving. On this view, God is real, and kind, but mostly irrelevant.<\/p>\n
I can certainly understand why people think about God like this. Many of us don\u2019t feel like we\u2019ve ever really had anyexperience<\/i>\u00a0of God. We can\u2019t see, hear, taste or touch God, so it seems just too hard to find out anything reliable about him. It\u2019s much easier to \u2018believe\u2019 in him like we \u2018believe\u2019 in Santa Claus: it\u2019s a nice story, but it doesn\u2019t have much to do with everyday life in the real world.<\/p>\n
On the other hand, people also talk about God in a much more sinister way. They agree that he isn\u2019t really involved in the world, but like the comic artist Gary Larson, they picture God sitting at his computer watching us, ready to hit the \u2018SMITE\u2019 button every now and then (Google it!). This God gets a kick out of hurting people. He keeps an eye on us only to punish us when we are least expecting it.\u00a0According to this view, God is not only distant and uninvolved in the world \u2013 he is also cruel and unkind.<\/p>\n
Again, I can understand why people think about God like this. We see reports on the news of people suffering from famine and disease. We hear of horrific natural disasters and heart-wrenching human tragedies, and we face difficulties and death in our own lives. It is easy to feel like God is out to get us.<\/p>\n
Which, if any, of the many \u2018gods\u2019 on offer is the real God? How can we know the truth?<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t![\"WHICH](\"https:\/\/newzealandmarketing.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/God-in-a-test-tube-300x200-1.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
God In a Test Tube?<\/h2>\n
Our cultural tendency, at least in the modern West, is to turn to science at this point. The scientific method is so useful for understanding life in the world and making real progress that perhaps it can also help us find the truth about God?<\/p>\n
On this most important question, however, science doesn\u2019t get us very far. This is because science relies on observing things in the natural world and conducting experiments under controlled conditions. This scientific method is exactly the right method to use when we want to discover anything from the temperature at which water boils under different atmospheric conditions to the effectiveness of different vaccines in a global pandemic.<\/p>\n
As any scientist will tell you, however, the scientific method has its limits. There are many important questions that science simply can\u2019t answer. Whom should I marry? Is it OK to tell a \u2018white lie\u2019? What is the purpose of life? Science simply can\u2019t help us here. The scientific method isn\u2019t designed to answer these kinds of questions.<\/p>\n
In the same way, we can\u2019t put God in a test tube and conduct a science experiment on him. If we want to know if God is real and what he is like, we need to find some other way forward.<\/p>\n
How Do You Get To Know The God Of The Universe?<\/strong><\/p>\n Most of the religions teach that God is not merely some supernatural force, but a\u00a0personal being<\/i>. Many people seem to think about God like this as well. If this is anything close to the truth, it follows that the only way we will be able to get to know God is if he tells us about himself.<\/p>\n This is true in all personal relationships. We can often find out quite a bit about a person from a distance by observing their behaviour, looking at their social media profile or \u2013 if they have a public presence as a politician or a celebrity \u2013 watching and reading reports about them. But that is the point: all of this only gives us some information about a person. If we really want to get to know someone \u2013 who they are, what they stand for, their likes and dislikes, what really makes them tick \u2013 the only way to find out is if they tell us about themselves.<\/p>\n If God is a personal being, it follows that it is the same with him. The only way we can get to know a personal God is if he reveals himself to us.<\/p>\n One of the most striking things about Jesus is that he claimed to do just that: to know God in a way that no-one else does and reveal God in a way no-one else can. Here is what Jesus says in the Gospel of Matthew:<\/p>\n \u201cMy Father has given me everything, and he is the only one who knows the Son. The only one who truly knows the Father is the Son. But the Son wants to tell others about the Father, so that they can know him too.\u201d(Matthew 11:27)<\/p>\n Jesus here claims to know God in a unique way \u2013 as the one and only Son of God, his Father. This claim is breathtaking: Jesus says that\u00a0no-one\u00a0<\/i>else knows God like he does. Neither Moses, nor Buddha, nor Mohammed, nor Einstein. Certainly not you or I. Jesus\u2019 knowledge of God his Father is unique. But more than that, Jesus says that he has come to reveal God so that we can know him too. If Jesus is right, this means that the best way to get to know God is by learning from what Jesus shows us about him.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t But still, how can we know if Jesus is right or not? It is one thing to claim to know God and reveal God in a unique way. It is quite another thing for that claim to be true.<\/p>\n The biggest reason why I am convinced that we can trust what Jesus teaches is that God raised him from the dead. According to all four Gospels, Jesus was crucified under Pontius Pilate and buried in a tomb, but he did not stay there. God raised him to new life on the other side of the grave \u2018on the third day\u2019. Now, I recognise, of course, that sceptical readers may not find this convincing in any way. There is obviously a lot that needs to be said about Jesus\u2019 resurrection, and we will get to that. For now, it is enough to say that if God really did raise Jesus from the dead, it would vindicate everything he said; it would be God\u2019s stamp of approval of Jesus\u2019 claims, including the claim that he came to reveal the truth about God.<\/p>\n There is, however, also a second reason why we can trust what Jesus said about God: it is his unparalleled life. While anyone can claim<\/i> to know God as Jesus did, the proof of the pudding will be in the tasting. Does their life match up with the claims? And this is where Jesus really stands out. When you dig below the surface of any person\u2019s life, you sooner or later find reason for disappointment. Selfishness. Hypocrisy. Moral failures. Even the best of us is fundamentally flawed.<\/p>\n But this doesn\u2019t happen with Jesus. The more you dig, the more impressive he gets. He called on his followers to love and serve each other, and then he showed them how, at the cost of his life (Mark 10:45). He commanded people to love their enemies and forgive those who hurt them, and then, on the cross, he prayed for God to forgive the very ones who killed him (Luke 23:34). Even before you get to the amazing things Jesus did (the \u2018miracles\u2019), you can\u2019t help noticing that his was one incredibly impressive life. At every point, Jesus\u2019 life matched up with what he said about God.<\/p>\n All of this means that Jesus\u2019 claim to know God is worth taking seriously. If you\u2019re still reading at this point, then I guess you probably agree with me. You might not yet be convinced, but you may be willing to delve a little deeper.<\/p>\n But there\u2019s one more thing to say. If God is real<\/i> and personal<\/i>, as Jesus said, then you will only get to know him if he reveals himself to you<\/i>. This is why I encouraged you right at the beginning to start talking to him. So, if you\u2019ve started doing that, why not pray again, right now, and ask God to show himself to you?<\/p>\n![\"One](\"https:\/\/newzealandmarketing.co.nz\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/One-impressive-life-300x200-1.png\")
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\nOne Impressive Life<\/h2>\n