Why should I believe in God?

That's a very important question - one you must answer for yourself.

We can’t dictate that answer, but we can explain why we believe in God.

We'll start with the Bible.

For all its complexity, there is a thread that runs through it. God loves, and the love that God models—though sometimes difficult to see—is always there.

More importantly, God doesn't simply tell us to love. He demonstrates what love looks like. That model of love shows us the kind of life we should pursue ourselves.

The teachings of Jesus, in particular, reinforce this again and again. His parables remain as relevant today as when he first told them, and the moral principles that underlie his teaching continue to challenge and inspire people around the world.

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,” – Jesus in Matthew 5:43-44

When we apply Jesus' teachings about other-centered love to our lives, and when we frame the remainder of the Bible around Jesus and his teachings, we think they have a strong ring of truth to them. It is simply fundamentally true that agape, or unconditional love, is a better foundation upon which to build our world.

Is God the Creator? Is he the one who made everything?

Can science alone answer that question?

No. It can offer hypotheses—maybe very good hypotheses—but it simply cannot answer that question conclusively.

Why?

Because our knowledge, however vast it appears to us, is finite. The universe—or perhaps multiverse of possibilities, what we Christians would simply call creation—is effectively infinite.

Think of it this way.

Is one quintillion closer to zero or closer to infinity?

Here's what one quintillion looks like: 1,000,000,000,000,000,000

So, what is the answer?

The answer is zero. And it’s not just a little closer to zero; compared with infinity, it’s infinitely closer to zero.

Now multiply that number by itself one quintillion times.

What would that look like?

Well, that is hard to put into words. Imagine all of the memory of all of the data centers in the world today, sharing the task of simply storing that number. Would they succeed? I suspect not.

Does the answer change?

No. In fact, no matter how large a finite number becomes, it remains infinitely closer to zero than to infinity.
The same is true of human knowledge.

We have learned an extraordinary amount about the universe. 

But our knowledge is still finite, and always will be.

"And these are but the outer fringe of his works;
how faint the whisper we hear of him!
Who then can understand the thunder of his power?" – Job 26:14

That means every worldview—including Christianity, atheism, agnosticism, and every other religion—must ultimately deal with questions that cannot be answered with complete certainty.

Does that make science pointless?

Of course not.

Science is an extraordinary tool. 

It simply isn't a tool that can answer every possible question.

“Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them and greeting them.
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger into my hands. Put your hand into my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”. “My Lord and my God!” Thomas said.
Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. But blessed are those who haven’t seen me and believe anyway.” – John 20:24-29

Christianity recognizes our limitations. It doesn't ask us to pretend we possess certainty. It calls us to faith.

Faith isn't the same thing as certainty. It is trust placed where we believe the evidence, experience, and reasoning lead us. Regardless of where you stand on this issue, our genuinely limited knowledge base requires whatever you believe to be a statement of faith. This too is something that Christianity recognizes.

Why, then, do we believe?

• Because we find the Bible and the life and teachings of Jesus compelling.
• Because Christianity offers a remarkably honest description of both the beauty and brokenness of humanity
• Because it provides purpose and hope.
• Because following Christ has transformed countless lives, including our own.

 

• And because many of us have experienced God's presence in ways that are difficult to dismiss.

What does that experience look like?

Like creation itself, the possibilities are infinite.

This is why we believe.