50 Erroneus Proofs of God's Non-Existence 1:54-58

First, I would like to broach a subject that got passed over in our earlier conversation, but now seems proper to me that we use it to open this new portion of our dialogue. This matter is in itself one of the very first things that must be considered whenever one prays. What is the “reason” for the prayer in the first place?

We know your stated reason, which is to disprove the existence of God. After all, your opening question is, “How might we prove that God is imaginary?”  I must point out here that this does not seem to leave any room for actually proving that God might exist, which is a perfect example of the very worst type of pseudo-science. You are starting out with a pre-conceived notion, and are merely attempting to confirm that which you already choose to believe. Should you ever decide that you would like to take up the practice of science, please remember that at least part of the job of a scientist is to observe, and then to draw impartial conclusions based upon those observations, and not upon his personal opinion. Weighed upon the scales of your obvious bias and lack of belief, your petition cannot be expected by anyone who has any understanding of sincere belief, or faith, to produce any results of any worth whatsoever, other than to serve as a confirmation of the fact that your offered “prayer” is not a prayer at all, and thus, there was nothing for God to reply to in the first place.

So then, what about the hypothetical situation that I suggested a little earlier? What if the prayer came from a sincere believer, as opposed to one who has such an obvious axe to grind? In that case we would have to return to the previously made stipulation that a prayer must be made in “accordance with God’s will”. If the one who prays cannot show biblical evidence that such a prayer is indeed regarding something which God has promised, or if he/she cannot at least offer as support for their petition the fact that this prayer is the result of much soul-searching and guidance from the Holy Spirit, then this prayer, innocent as it may be, is no more acceptable than yours. As we discussed earlier, there is no Biblical record of God ever promising the removal of all disease, or suffering, from this earth, whether general or specific, anytime this side of heaven. Let me offer two more scriptures as my biblical support for my above-stated beliefs:

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.”

            1 John 5:14 (Emphasis mine.)

And,

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

2 Corinthians 1:3-5

So it is clear to see that suffering is something to be expected at times in our lives, but we may take comfort in knowing that our sufferings were shared by Our Saviour, and He asks nothing of us that He has not already experienced Himself.

As believers, there are many instances where we can determine God’s will by a diligent, and Spirit-directed, reading of the Bible. As long as that which we seek is clearly stated in the Holy Word, and is understood correctly (spiritually) by the one who prays, we can be assured of a definite answer to our prayer. But there are also times, where one may not be able to determine God’s will in that exact manner. Perhaps, the Lord’s views on a particular subject are not to be found in the Scriptures, or possibly, God’s will regarding that specific matter is in fact contained in His Holy Word, but has yet to be discovered by the one offering the prayer, or yet again, perhaps the one who seeks, has no access to a Bible. It is at times like that that the importance of conversing with God on a regular basis (praying) is truly made apparent. We take the matter that is on our mind to God, through Christ, (very often, repeatedly) until His Spirit convinces our spirit of just what God’s will is in the matter. Then we may pray regarding that matter, very carefully, “according to God’s will”.

Now I am not so naive as to reject the idea that many wrong things have been brought into this existence of ours by the misuse of the above-stated ideas. It is a tragic fact that in this fallen world in which we live, there will always be those who will claim to be doing the work of God, when in fact they are only carrying out their own evil and wretched designs. This is a most troublesome, and far-reaching situation, which has brought much grief to an already troubled world. However, to suggest that a believer, especially a believer who has diligently sought out God’s will through much prayer and sincere soul-searching, should not use the available, and God-sanctioned, means of Divine relief at his disposal, would simply be a terrible case of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater”. Furthermore, the apparent eagerness of such a large portion of our populations, both here in Canada, and among our favourite neighbours to the south of us, to vilify organized religion in general, and Christianity specifically, at the mere drop-of-a-hat, only complicates things.

If you, as I'm sure you do, follow the news, than you are aware that both of our countries have recently experienced at least one very high-profile tragedy. The people of Aurora, Colorado, have had to deal with the effects and the aftermath of that horrific theatre shooting, while we here in Canada are trying to understand how an person could first murder an individual on YouTube, then dismember the body, and mail individual portions to various politicians and others around the country.

The point I wish to make, is that in both of these instances, the alleged perpetrators have entered pleas of "insanity", and now the world sits and watches while the various authorities try to determine the veracity of those claims. In articles which I have read concerning these cases, I am always somewhat surprised to see the comments of those who would seem to think these defenses are valid, which they may, or may not be. My surprise has to do with the apparent "willingness to forgive one who has erred, as long as there is a good reason for it" that seems to come across in so many of the comments.  But I have to wonder what the situation would be if either of the defendants had claimed to be motivated by religious beliefs. 

Even though the "insanity" defense might be maintained along with the religious claims, I can't help but believe the public outrage would be increased by a factor so large as to be impossible to define. Also, the anger would not likely be focused on the individual's misuse of his religious beliefs, but on the entire religious body within our countries. "Insanity is an excuse, faith is not", is a sentiment that I totally agree with, since I know as a Christian that no true faith leads one to an act of insanity. My foremost desire in this matter, is not about letting a criminal off because he claims he was only following his faith, its about putting the blame where it belongs, on the criminal, not the religious body whose teachings he has distorted. But I digress. So for now, let me gather my thoughts, and we can continue tomorrow.

TO BE CONTINUED.....