To Believe or Not to Believe

Does God exist? Were we created or did we crawl out of some primordial soup to become who we are? The question of the day: evolution or creation?

Did human beings evolve from apes? If so, why are there are still many types of apes living?

Did all life evolve from single celled amoebas? Then why do some have four legs, some two, some fly, some swim, some are herding and others independent? Why are some completely instinctual, some animals have a mild intelligence, and humans are superior in intelligence? How did each one decide what he would be, how he would eat, travel, procreate, etc.?

Friend, where is the evidence to prove any of the evolution theories? They are in fact today, still just theories. There is no more proof for that type of evolution than for creation. While an evolution of a specific species is natural to all life (we adapt to suit our environments,) no creature that exists today ever evolved from one type to another - say from a fish to a bird.

Those of us who believe in a world created by a superior being, God as we understand Him, believe so by more succinct evidence. I'm not a scientist. But I didn't come to a position of defending faith without some consideration. The fact is, this universe is so amazingly complex, for all things to be held together, for any one creature to live and move and procreate, is just so phenomenally convoluted that it's absurd to think it happened by pure accident. This video explains far better than I can what I now understand. http://www.allaboutscience.org/origin-of-life-video.htm. There are several other videos on this website as well that really make sense from various scientists points of view.

On to the issue of fundamental faith. Every man has faith in something, whether himself, a dog, another person or nothing. You obviously have strong faith in what you believe to put yourself out there for all the world to hear or read. To profess anti-theism is in itself a form of faith. And those who spend a good deal of time writing about their lack of faith, their disdain for those who have faith in a Creator, is proof enough. If you don't believe, why on earth do you care if someone else does? And don't give me that line that all people of faith try to cram their beliefs down unbelievers throats. No, they don't.

I'll grant you there are some so-called people of faith who do strange things to try to convince others they're right. There are those who do downright stupid or ungodly things in the name of faith. They are sadly misguided. But they don't represent the larger community of believers as a whole. They're mentally unbalanced individuals. You can't judge all priests by the few who have done irreparable harm to children. You can't judge all pastors by one foolish sinner who took his family to the very gates of hell by his filthy behavior with a male prostitute. You can't judge all Christians by the idiots who bombed abortion clinics. But the fact is, we are all broken. We all fall short of perfection. We all screw up. And some people are just plain demented.

The greater majority of believers are decent people trying to live out their faith, simply stating what they believe, just as you do, except from a standpoint of love and concern rather than ridicule and criticism. Why do so many atheists get so upset with them just for believing in God and sharing what they believe will help people live happier more fulfilling lives? Perhaps because they're happy, satisfied and full of love? Are atheists envious?

Don't read emotion into this that doesn't exist. I'm not being mean-spirited or judgmental of atheists - it is genuinely painful to be lambasted by them time and time again for simply expressing what I believe. I am not the enemy. I don't wish you any harm. You'd think Christians were trying to feed unbelievers some kind of poison when in fact they believe what they offer is living water - the gift of eternal life. Who could fault anyone for wanting to share such a gift? Atheists spew venomous comments at them with hatred. I can't understand it no matter how hard I try to put myself in their shoes. To be fair, I was once on the other side of this argument. I wasn't always a Christian. But I didn't hate Christians. I just thought they were deluded and living with false hope. I now know different.

People of faith spend a lifetime filled with hope for something better, strength to endure trials, and the comfort of those who see them through the darkest times. If in the end we find there is nothing beyond the grave but ashes or dirt, oh well, nothing lost. We lived a great and fulfilling life helping others through missionary outreach. On the other hand, if the atheist comes to the end of life and faces our Creator to learn he was wrong and is sent to a fiery pit to suffer for all eternity, who laughs last? Frankly, I'm not laughing at anyone spending eternity suffering. It's just downright sad.

If a person is truly on a quest for truth and not just validation for his own existence, the logical course is, if I believe in a supreme being, who is it and which religion if any has it right? How can we know?

I don't waste my time and energy writing with concern for atheists without reason. I openly shared my false belief that there was no God and if there was He had certainly died a long time ago and left us to fend for ourselves. Now I see an opportunity to help amend that mistake. I'm certain God does exist. There is abundant evidence. He who sincerely seeks the truth will find it.

A fellow traveler on the path of life,
anne