The Proof of God - Science and Faith

I heard you’re looking for this. I will not prove the existence of an Infinite Being in general; I find it quite useless to individually prove the attributes of an indivisible God. I will only prove the existence of the God that I know. But I can only tell you what I know; it takes God to know God.

First, a disclaimer: if you’re looking for a cold, hard, scientific proof then you’re not gonna find any. You have to realize that modern science possesses this assumption akin to uniformitarianism (which you probably encountered in geology), called naturalism. It’s basically this: everything happens naturally. Whether yesterday, today, or tomorrow – ‘everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation,’ as the apostle Peter would have said it (yes, the thought is so old that it was actually prophesied). Now I don’t completely disregard this point of view either; I think it is important to science, because science deals with natural phenomena. But I want to point out that the use of the word everything is presumptuous. You might say, “What’s wrong with that? No one has disproved it anyway.” Of course not, it’s a freaking postulate. The thing is, even if science can provide a completely coherent theory of everything (which is its ultimate goal), it is completely irrelevant to the existence of God. At its very core, science assumes that miracles don’t exist, and that God does not exist, or at least that the existence of either is irrelevant. Therefore science cannot prove that God exists, simply because it has assumed that He does not.

In close relation to this, God is not a natural phenomenon; He created nature and He’s not part of it. He is outside the scope of science. But you might say, “God is faithful. We should be able to observe that faithfulness.” Yes, but faithfulness does not mean predictability. Do you think that He who created the hosts of stars and millions of different creatures according to their kind is not creative enough to show His faithfulness in a thousand different ways, in a thousand different times, and a thousand different places? God is not nature; it declares His glory, but He is not there. And neither is He that random error you find in your data, so don’t bother looking for Him with statistics. God is not a natural phenomenon - God is a being with will, intellect, and emotions. Some people describe Him as a ‘person’; while not completely untrue, in view of the Trinity I find that statement severely lacking. It will, however, be good enough for our purposes.

With that in mind, how do you prove that a ‘person’ exists? For example, how do you prove that the writer of this essay exists? How do you prove that in fact, someone wrote this, and that this is not an excerpt from a string of randomly self-generated characters? Perhaps you could say that this string of spaces and letters has grammar, has a purpose, has logical flow, etc. etc. but that does not disprove the alternate explanation that this could be an excerpt from a string of randomly self-generated characters.

If you haven’t gotten the analogy, I’ll be explicit: the writer is God and the text is Nature. Now don’t overextend this analogy yet; I find many flaws in it too. But let us tweak the question a little in order to make it more relevant. We want to prove that the writer exists, let us first believe that He does not, and see if we arrive at a contradiction.

Case 1: It is easy to imagine that if the writer has no intention of showing himself, then it would be impossible to prove that he exists. Case 2: he wants to prove that he exists. How would he do that? Well, he could send us another letter saying “Hey, I’m real and this is what I’m like.” But we could easily brush that off as another excerpt from a string of characters. Then maybe he could find a mutual friend, go write a letter to him, or better yet call him and meet him in person, and get him to tell us that “Hey, I’m real and this is what I’m like.” But we could just as easily brush that off as a friend fooled by some impostor (remember, we assumed that the writer does not exist, and we want to see a contradiction). Then finally, as a last resort, the writer gives the ultimate proof and shows himself to you and says “Hey, I’m real and this is who I am.” But, we could still easily brush that man off as a fake. If we refuse to believe that then there is no more proof left.

Do you see it now? The problem with proving the existence of a ‘person’ is that you can’t.

And in this respect, Jesus Christ is the ultimate proof of God’s existence. Of course, for your question, “if God wanted to prove Himself, why doesn’t He just show some great miracle right here, right now?” The answer? He has. The Christ was asked the same question ages ago, and He plainly says, “None shall be given you except the sign [of the resurrection].” If we refuse to believe Him then there is no more proof left for us.

To believe is to see. Now you would say, “That’s stupid.” Yes, I completely agree. But that’s the way that God has chosen to reveal Himself.

“God chose the stupid things of the world to shame the wise, and the weak things of this world to shame the strong.”
“The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
“Anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists. Anyone who comes to Him must believe that he rewards those who earnestly seek Him.”

I can go on, but I believe that these would suffice.

Of course, this conclusion inevitably brings us to the historicity of the gospels. Many have written about it, and many still are doing so. I think it would be best tackled some other time.

September 28 2014 Sunday

Today I am ashamed. I had forgotten that I was supposed to be the presider for the service. Well, here are my excuses (I'll say it here and here alone; I have no obligation to explain myself to others): mama is the scripture reader, and I just trusted that somehow she would remind me, like always. Well, at least I've learned that I'm on my own now. Maybe I should go enter a dorm, considering the current 2-hour travel time.

Edit: so apparently ate P did not talk to mama, but to dad, and we both forgot. Still does not change my realization though.

It's a funny thing, that for a moment I was afraid of being judged by Christians. It's funny that I had to remind myself "it is God who justifies." But it's not funny at all that I know that Christians will judge, that they will gossip, and then say that they "forgive" and extend "grace" so that they would feel good. I know how it feels, since I used to be like that too. It's totally pretentious. Instead, they should just say the truth that they are disappointed (in grace and love, of course).

Ah well, enough about that. The summer moon shines steadily. I hope this lasts. However, I'm thinking that the sun cannot shine brightly with the summer moon governing the sky. I'm talking about satisfaction and happiness and rest in Christ and in Christ alone, not on His chosen people (if you read my entry a few days after I met the summer moon, you'll get what I'm saying).

Nonetheless, this is only a metaphor (more like a play of words) and there is more to this issue of delighting in God than that.

September 9 2014 Tuesday

Today I'll catch up. It's been a while.

I've clarified things with the summer moon: I like her, but not romantically. Well, that saves me from a lot of future complications. It's amazing how well she handles guys; but maybe I shouldn't be too surprised with those looks of hers.

Anyway, this journal is not about the summer moon (in case you're wondering). I feel something is off with purplestar. I can't pinpoint it though (as usual). Oh and I feel unproductive. Lots of people are cramming here and there but I am not doing things. I'm not asking for more work though; it's just that it's really uncomfortable for me.

Mga Mabuting Asal sa Loob ng Jeep

I haven't been sarcastic for quite a while now. Let's give it another try.

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1.       Mag-emo
Umupo ng tabingi at magmuni-muni habang nakatingin sa labas ng bintana kahit sikip na sikip na si madam na katabi lang nung nasa likod mo. Iladlad mo pa ang iyong mahabang buhok at hayaang imudmod ng hangin sa mukha ng nasa likod mong guy. Pretty ka naman eh.

2.       I-extend ang kamay habang nag-eemo
Mas komportable nga namang sumandal sa braso mong nakakairita.

3.       Ibuka ang mga paa
at itago ang nakabukang paa gamit ng malaki mong bag. Totoo, walang nakakita niyan. Yuko ka lang at magkunwaring tulog dahil baka makita mo ang nanlilisik na mata ni manong na di makaupo ng maayos sa may gawing kaliwa mo.

4.       Sumandal sa katabi
Sino nga ba namang makakaalam kung naghahanap ng love life yan? Malay mo maging kayo. Kung hindi man, at least nakatulog ka. O nakapag-emo. At kung desperado ka na talaga, i-try mo kay #2. Bagay kayo, pramis.

5.       Magharutan
dahil tunay nga naman ang inyong pagmamahalan. Mukhang pati yung isang kuyang katabi mo minamahal ka na rin.

6.       Magdaldalan sa likod ng drayber
At wag sabihin na may bababa na. Lalo na kung matandang walang kasama na galing sa SM na may dalang limang mabigat na dilaw na plastic ng grocery para sa mga anak niya. Paki ba nila? Ang importante masaya kayong magkakaibigan! At dahil nasa likod ka na lang rin kayo ng drayber, gawin mo na rin ang #7.

7.       Wag mag-abot ng bayad
At magsuot ng earphones kunwari di naririnig si ateng ngawit na ngawit na ang kaliwang kamay at kanang balakang. Pwede ring magtulog-tulugan kung wala kang earphones. Basta kahit anong mangyari, wag kang lilingon at wag na wag mong hahawakan ang perang galing sa iba. Kadiri kaya yan! Andumi-dumi! Eww! Yuuuck!

8.       Magcomment sa lahat ng masamang nangyayari sa kalsada
Dahil kulang pa sa BV ang mundo at kailangan mo pang dagdagan. O baka dahil parang Gilas vs Croatia nga naman kung panoorin ang mga katangahan. Exciting!

9.       Pagalitan ang drayber
Dahil mas magaling ka sa kaniya. Dapat magsigawan habang nagtatalo. Mabuting gawin ‘to kapag nasa pinakalikod ka ng jeep kung saan maingay ang tambutso at hindi mo marinig ng maayos ang drayber dahil wala ka naman talagang planong makinig. Hanap ka ng #8 para meron kang katandem. At least, nababawasan ang mga nagtutulog-tulugan, lalo na’t yung mga tulog na talaga. Dapat alisto sila, para makaiwas sa mga gumagawa ng #10.

10.   Magnakaw
Dahil kailangan mo ng pera at ang katabi mo ay hindi. Mukha naman siyang mayaman di ba? Ok lang siguro yan. O kung nacucute-an ka, i-add mo na lang siya sa Facebook at sabihing nakita mo ang naiwan niyang wallet. Pogi points!

 Isa lang naman ang pinatutunguhan ng sampung asal na ito: alalahanin lagi ang sarili. Binayaran mo naman yang upo mo, kaya’t sulitin mo na, di ba? Hayaan mong magdusa ang iba. Wala ka nang paki sa kanila dahil hindi sila madiskarte gaya mo.

May mga nakakairitang drayber din naman siempre. Next time na lang yun.

September 4 2014 Thursday

Today the summer moon is late. I almost told her "you're pretty late." (I couldn't text her during the day since she's running out of load.) Apparently she got stranded due to some unusual lack of buses in Valenzuela. So they walked (three girls) for a long while in the night under the rain. That's very dangerous. Thank God He kept them safe.

And today Gilas won. Wooooo!!!

After a few more minutes of chatting and happiness, I bade the summer moon goodnight and went to sleep.

September 3 2014 Wednesday

Today things have stabilized. I managed to ask the summer moon how I should keep a respectable distance. I've made it clear that I want to be friends. I don't know how she feels though.

Today is heartbreaking <////3 Gilas lost!!!! We were winning up until the last two minutes. I won't do any commentating though. I am not a basketball fan and I don't pretend I am. But it's just so grieving to see a win grabbed away with our hopes.

September 2 2014 Tuesday

Today I have no class. Ma'am H is out on a conference and I've already done the seatwork.

I'm not supposed to go to UP today, but E2 set a meeting today for thesis and pd. I regret coming here. I thought it was a meeting but it's actually a work session, and they didn't inform me. Seriously, I could've done more work if I was at home, without needing to spend so much money. Or at least they could've clarified things much better. Siiiiggghhhh. Ah well.

Yeah, "ah well" would be an accurate description, because the summer moon greeted me a good morning. :D We began texting. I hope this continues forever, haha. Maybe forever is too much. But I really like this turn of events. :) Thank You Lord ♥♥♥

Oh and one last thing: it's so fun when you text her, but waiting for a reply is agonizing. I now understand those people who hate me for replying slowly. XD