John 1:47-50 (ESV) Jesus saw Nathanael
coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there
is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him,
“Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.”
Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of
Israel!” Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig
tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”
A friend and I had some conversations
about Jesus. I could tell this was not his favorite topic, but, fortunately,
our friendship was strong enough that we could deal with the uncomfortable
topics as well as the easy ones and still look forward to our next time
together. One day in the midst of one of these talks I realized something. He
had decided he would not consider
believing in Jesus no matter how persuasive an argument I or anyone else
presented. I asked him, “What would it take for you to believe?”
He replied, “I cannot believe. There is
nothing you can say or do that would change that.”
He was correct in his statement. If he
had made the decision beforehand, he closed himself off to the possibility of
any other consideration. Yet, think of the implications. Suppose you were the
chief account of a multinational bank who started in your role in the late
1960s, but you still (in 2015) refuse to allow any of your staff to use
computers for any activities because you “do not trust them.” Instead, you
demand all your accountants all over the world to make hand written notations
and mail them to the head office. Think how inefficient and risk-prone your
methods would be. Your entire company would be at a competitive disadvantage
because you were unwilling to even consider the possibility that a computer
could improve your work.
Nathanael started off hardened toward
considering Jesus to be anything other than an ordinary man. He was not
inclined to believe. Note his response when Phillip invited him to check Jesus
out: “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” (vs 46) Yet it took just three
verses for Nathanael to become a believer. Jesus’ accurate foreknowledge of
Nathanael sitting under a tree was all it took for him to decide Jesus was the
Son of God. You might need more than that. Jesus even gives allowance for those
who need a little more: “You will see greater things than these.” The real
question is are you willing to consider who Jesus is. We have to be willing to
believe.
If you have not yet fully trusted
Christ, I sincerely ask you today to answer the question for yourself, “What
would it take for you to believe?” Be willing to ask for it and look for it. He
sure beats a pen and paper.
6 comments:
Evidence.
Tim, this is a serious question, and I would love to hear your response: What would be adequate evidence for you?
I would like an independently verifiable observation (in 'nature') for which there is a better supernatural explanation than there is a natural one. For example, man used to think that the different seasons were caused by the gods. Now we know that the Earth's revolution around the Sun and the tilt on its axis leads to our seasons. And for the record, a theist saying that no amount of evidence could change their mind displays a level of willful ignorance equal to that of an atheist with the same philosophy. I also believe the burden of proof lies with the person proclaiming the existence of an entity.
Thanks you for your reply, Tim. I do not have as much time as I would like to give you a detailed reply, but here are the evidences I have found to be compelling:
- Consciousness
- A sense of ethics from the earliest age
- A sense of purpose from an early age
- Shared sense of the presence of God
- Theism of one kind or another in nearly every culture throughout history
- Miracles & other inexplicable phenomenon in response to prayer
- The functional, interdependent complexity of nature and its evident design
I am working on writing more on this, but in the meantime I recommend Eric Metaxas new book, Miracles. He deals with some of these. I can recommend several others, as well.
I see much of your previous comment as claims rather than evidence.
Do non-human primates experience 'consciousness'? Research is mixed, but a compelling argument can be made that consciousness is not exclusive to humans.
Ethics/purpose - Personally I am a secular humanist, and contrary to what many theists claim, I do have a sense of ethics/morals which are independent of belief in any deity. I steal, rape, and murder as much as I want to - which is zero, as I want neither my family or myself to be a victim of these acts.
I am 45 years old and can honestly say that I've never felt the presence of a god.
Theism was undoubtedly present in most, if not all cultures throughout history - Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, Assyrian, etc. There were more than 1,500 Egyptian Gods, thought to control everything from the sun, the moon, crops, to the Nile River. But as societies became more technologically advanced, these deities became obsolete. Why pray to the Sun god when you realize exactly the days get longer after the Winter Solstice?
I'm unaware of any studies showing a correlation or relation between prayer and expected outcomes. I would ask not only the number of times that prayer led to a desired outcome but also the number of times that it did not. Claiming that unanswered prayers are just a part of God's plan seems to be moving the goalposts right after kickoff. It's only human nature to fixate on the cases in which our biases are confirmed (Confirmation bias). For example, after coming to a red light after making 5 consecutive greens, you think to yourself, "Why do I always hit the red light?"
I believe that the notion of 'evident' design is rather subjective, no?
I would be more than happy to answer any questions you (or your readers) may have regarding my secularism, how it came about, and how I try to live my life. I'm just a normal guy who believes in one less deity than most.
I thank you for your time and attention and all the best to you and yours...
Thank you for your thoughtful reply, as well, Tim.
You are correct that my previous post included brief summary statements of lines of reasoning. I will give a little more rationale here and answer your questions with some regrouping.
My point was not to say that consciousness is unique to humans, rather that consciousness is evidence of a creator. With evolution serving as the only strongly supported view of the development of life as we know it not dependent on an outside source (what I call God), it is difficult to imagine how consciousness developed. That can be said about many aspects of the world’s systems. This is not irrefutable proof. It is instead an argument from rationality. Even Stephen Hawking and many other evolutionary scientists acknowledge a “finely tuned universe,” in which even a slight variation in any of hundreds of factors would render the earth uninhabitable, and the “anthropic principle,” in which the earth is perfectly set up (against incredible odds) to support human life. This incredible complexity and interdependence have led Hawking and others to propose an infinite number of other infinite universes (the M Theory), so that it becomes absolutely probably that our highly improbable situations exists. Yet, this is beyond reason and ultimately makes the universe eternal in every respect: size, repetition, and time. This defies many known scientific laws, such as the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states the amount of entropy in any closed system is always increasing. Astronomers see the universe slowing down. This is evidence of a beginning. Even if we accept the proposition of the Big Bang, how did it start? What initiated it? What existed before it? Ultimately, we have to answer the question: Where did all the matter that constitutes the universe come from?
I do not doubt that you maintain standards of ethics. I have many unbelieving friends who are obviously ethical people. I would sincerely ask you to tell me what you believe the source and basis of your ethics is.
You are not alone in not having experienced the presence of God. Have you sought God? In my reflections through the Gospels and my experience with others, I have been impressed that a transcendent encounter with Christ through the Holy Spirit can be more persuasive than the best argument. I cannot manufacture God’s presence, and there have been times in my life He has seemed distant, but it was such an encounter that led me to commit my life to Christ. It was preceded by a question of God by not fully committed believer. This particular post above was written in response to many people I have met who have resisted even considering the possibility that God exists and Christ is who He claimed to be. If you are sincerely open to it, I encourage you to ask God to reveal Himself to you. Attending a Spirit-filled church can facilitate this, but for me and many others, God has made Himself known outside the walls.
You are correct again in reference to other belief systems, yet faith has not been quenched in spite of our technological advances. Penn State Professor Phillip Jenkins and other non-Christian researchers claim that the church is growing rapidly worldwide.
There have actually been many studies that have substantiated the impact of prayer on physical healing and other inexplicable phenomena. The best compilation of studies written from an academic perspective is the massive two-volume Miracles by Craig Keener (2011). He writes to a skeptical audience with a scientific mind but cites many studies and other sources. The simpler book with the same title by Eric Metaxas (2014) gives homage to Keener while taking a more accessible tone and approach.
I would be interested in hearing your story some time. Do you live anywhere near Central Florida?
Thank you again, Tim, for taking the time to respond. Peace to you.
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