God doesn’t exist. Prove it. I can’t. God DOES exist. Prove it. I can’t.
I’ve never been a huge fan of absolutes. It puts us in positions we can’t really defend by conventional means. You can’t prove the absence of God any more than I can prove the existence of God. That’s the problem with making a definitive proclamation about something that exists on faith. What is faith?
Faith
1) allegiance to duty or a person: loyalty
2) a. belief and trust in and loyalty to God b. firm belief in something for which there is no proof
3) something that is believed especially with strong conviction
*Merriam-Webster Dictionary
When we talk about faith we’re really talking about a belief that exists deep within us. A belief that at the heart of this incredibly complex, nuanced, diverse, mysterious, beautiful, but often painful and tragic existence – there is something greater at its core. Something that brings order to the chaos, restoration to the corruption in our human nature, a gentle hand that smooths our jagged edges.
Faith is a deeply personal experience. All evidence of God is inherently anecdotal. I believe that God exists because when I see images from the James Webb telescope of deep space – I see the beauty of creation – God’s own artistic vision. I believe that God exists because of the unquantifiable love I feel for my daughter. The overwhelming, unmeasurable, and sometimes even illogical amount of love I have for her that changes my view of the world and my place in it every single day. A love that is beyond just chemical doses of serotonin or dopamine. A love that is beyond just “feeling.” Something far greater and often unexplainable.
We need to change our definition of God. Even if that means calling God something entirely other. The Divine, Yahweh, The Universe. We need something appropriate for something that is truly indescribable – something that is outside our realm of human concepts – something so much bigger than any box we could possible create. We need to allow for mystery and acknowledge the fact that if something greater than us exists… “the ground of all being” or “Source” or “Spirit” or however we attempt to name it…that it is something that must exist outside of human understanding.
I don’t know about you but I want a bigger God. I want a God that is so great that it defies any box we would attempt to place it in. A God thats love is so endless and overwhelming that it defies human logic. And I do believe in that version of God. I believe that when we melt away all of the dogmatic debates that there is a God whose love and grace is simply illogical and absurd. A God that is wild and untamable despite our best efforts. I have faith. And if you can’t quite get there that’s ok. I believe that there’s space for you too.
