An answer to “Why believe in God?”

Right after I complained about the Christian over-reaction to the “war on Christmas,” the American Humanist Association went and upped their commitment. Sigh …

“Why believe in a god? Just be good for goodness’ sake!” is the ad running on the side of buses all over Washington, DC now.

So, I’d like to take this opportunity to answer the question.

First of all, I believe in God because I look around the world and can’t possibly see how anyone could reach the conclusion that there is no God. The oft-stated notion that the universe just happened to come into being, and life just happened to evolve, requires a bit too much faith for me.

Look at the tremendous advantage mono-cellular organisms  have over  more-complex beings. I’ve never heard a good explanation for the addition of genetic information, much less the evolution of complex bodily systems.

Choose your analogy — blowing up a print shop and winding up with a dictionary, a tornado assembling a 747 in a junkyard, or whatever else. The idea of life evolving randomly simply doesn’t pass the sniff-test.

Second, I point to the astonishing continuity of the Bible. I’m not, here, going to delve into the various alleged contradictions in Scripture. That’s not necessary right now. The Bible is a remarkably-coherent text written over the course of dozens of centuries by all kinds of different people — shepherds, kings, lawyers, physicians, etc.. Yet, they tell a coherent story, and prophecy is fulfilled within its pages.

Third, and last for this post, I know God personally. For me to disbelieve Him would be like disbelieving the existence of my wife, my parents, or anyone else that I know. I don’t expect this point to be particularly persuasive to anyone who hasn’t had the same kind of experience, but there it is.

That brings me to the point of persuasion. Does anyone really think that a sign on the side of a bus is, all of a sudden, going to cause people to doubt the existence of God? Is it going to accomplish anything?

The more I read from the “new atheism” movement, the more I think that its main goal isn’t so much to convert people to atheism, its stated goal, as it is to annoy believers. The Christmas season is going to be a lot of fun this year … Christian groups are calling home-improvement store managers to demand that their cashiers say “Merry Christmas,” and atheists are plastering “Why believe in God?” on the side of buses.

All this, and it’s not even halfway through November. I’m sure it will only get more “fun.”

My younger son said this past Sunday that Christmas is his favorite holiday. I remember feeling the same way, when I was about his age. Thanksgiving has long since replaced Christmas as that favorite, and I think it has much to do with the fact that it’s the less-debated of the two. No one gets in your face about being thankful or to Whom. While it is sometimes reduced to mere “Turkey Day,” no one pushes too hard one way or the other.

So, anyway … there’s my answer to the question “Why believe in God?” in just a little over 500 words. Since I assume that they didn’t really want to know, I don’t expect much interest. But I’d certainly like to wish the American Humanists a merry Christmas, happy holiday, or whatever else. I do rather wish that they returned the sentiment.