Why I believe?
Psalm 27; Luke 19: 1 – 10
It is easier not to believe than to believe in God today?
110 years ago we were a big Church in a small world. Today we are a small Church in a very big world. Before WW1 the Church was right at the centre of a small world. Britain, Europe and North America were predominantly Christian and dominant in the world. For all concerned the world was Christian. Other countries were seen as mission fields. Before the Church became a small Church in a big world it was the conventional thing to be a Christian. The Church was where everything happened: births recognised, marriages performed and burials undertaken, along with all social activity. It was easier then to be Christian, or at least go along with the notion of faith in God than it is today.
Today it is entirely different. Two world wars ensured that by the second half of the 20th Century the Church was a small institution in a big world. The 20th Century saw three major currents that changed the way we saw life. Science gave us pragmatism and we demanded things to be proved according to scientific methodology. Democracy superseded fascism and communism and we now prize our independence and rights. Intellectualism came to the conclusion that god-is-dead.
What has this meant for us? What has it meant for me? I will speak personally. Since my 18th year I have struggled with the Christian faith not because I don’t believe in God or found Christianity not to be meaningful, but because when I entered the wider world I encountered a society that didn’t believe in God and deliberately denigrated faith. Even within the Church doubts and questions about God and the Bible were bandied around. I have ministerial colleagues who reject core beliefs of the faith. I live – we live – in a world that is secular, atheistic, pluralistic and materialistic. And yet much of the Church carries on as before. To be a Christian today requires commitment. Being a member of the Church is no longer a matter of convention. It is not easy to be a Christian and that is why we need to know what and why we believe.
Over the next few Sundays I want to share with you my understanding of Christianity in as fewest words possible – Christianity in a Nutshell. By the way, Shakespeare coined the phrase ‘in a nutshell’ in his play ‘Hamlet’. The overall theme is Christianity in a Nutshell. There will be four sermons – Why I believe in God? What is God like? What is the Christian life? Why is the king a servant?
Why I believe in God is easy to answer in one sense. I believe because I have encountered God. This is my experience, which may be similar to yours. Are we simply foolish people looking for some spiritual crutch to help us with life? What I have to say now I hope you will find encouraging and help your walk with God.
Firstly, we must say we cannot prove that God exists according to scientific methods because those methods apply largely to material objects, not spiritual and personal beings. More importantly we cannot prove God’s existence because God is incomprehensible. God is so great, so complete, and so awesome that our minds cannot hold that knowledge. Proof always assumes two things: firstly that we know the subject thoroughly; and secondly that proofs might be demonstrated.
So what can we say?
There is convincing evidence that humankind is innately orientated to something
beyond themselves (transcendence) which they strive to know.
Here is the evidence for stating that humankind is naturally orientated to transcendence. By transcendence I mean we naturally look for something greater than ourselves. Transcendence refers to an existence or experience that is beyond the normal or physical level.
Firstly, from the dawn of humankind’s discovery of fire and light we notice that humans believed in something bigger than themselves. The most telling evidence comes from burial sites. Archaeologists have uncovered signs that most burials demonstrate a belief in the afterlife. The stiff dead bodies have been forced into a foetal position before burial suggesting that the dead were now going into a new life. Another birth was taking place. Supporting this interpretation is the placement of implements and money they might need in the next life, and food for the journey, so the very least we can say is that they did not see death as the end. The reverence and planning that took place indicates a reverence for something that transcends this life. We may simplistically conclude that they believed in gods and spirits.
The second piece of evidence for believing in transcendence you might find surprising. It is our questioning. We tend to treat the questions of children as signs of an inquiring mind. However further reflection on our questions reveals something significant. All questions presume that the ‘asker’ already knows something and wants to know more. A little child who asks, ‘why is the sky blue?’ has already noted the colour blue and distinguished blue from other colours. Our questioning demonstrates a desire to know more. When we consider what questions do and how often we use questions we realise that questions form an essential part of the human spirit to know and expand the horizon of knowledge.
We ask questions about everything. We always want more information. In asking we presume there is a reality to be found. When an answer emerges we don’t stop there for long. Even a perfectly good answer doesn’t allow us to rest for long, because the answer received nestles in a background of related things that trigger our curiosity anew. The answer has become the basis for a new question. The human tasks of weighing, judging and defining continue to push us further out into the unknown. I boldly declare that with out our natural enquiring minds we would be less than human.
Immanuel Kant pioneered transcendental philosophy, which believes that our thought processes help us understand the principles of reality. Such research leads to the conclusion that the human spirit is characterised by an unrestricted drive for truth, freedom and love – that we cannot deny. There are no bounds to our search for these things. This seeking for truth, freedom, love and such like things characterises our humanity and our desire to transcend life, as we know it. In other words we intuitively know there is transcendence in life. I hope you can begin to see that what makes us human points beyond a merely materialistic view of life, and that beyond-ness begs questions about the reality of transcendence.
Thirdly, we humans are seekers of truth. It is interesting to note the Bible’s many references to seeking truth and God. One might expect to find in the Bible some certainty and clarity about God, but right through the Bible there is a strong encouragement to seek God. That is, God is not simply known or ever completely known. Faith in God is an ongoing journey where we continue to seek God and through this seeking find freedom and joy in God, but it remains a journey. It is always a search. The Biblical writers knew the importance of seeking God.
Moses knew that when the people had settled in the new country they would go astray if they did not continually seek God and so he reminds them saying; From there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find him if you search after him with all your heart and soul. [Deut 4:29]. Moses astutely knew that when people settle into a relatively routine and prosperous lifestyle they tend to take for granted their beliefs and values.
After the disaster of the Exile when the people of God’s faith was sorely tried, Jeremiah reminded them of God promises; when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me [Jer 29: 12-14]. God’s promises fed their faith and hope as they still do. God’s Word remains true for us today.
The Psalmists encourage the people to seek God despite God’s promises:
O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; [63:1] and,
“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, LORD, do I seek [27:8].
All that has been said in this sermon is reflected in the Bible including such stories as that of Zacchaeus who wanted to see Jesus. Zacchaeus had heard about Jesus. Something in Jesus spoke to Zacchaeus’ deepest need for freedom and peace with God.
I believe that this yearning in me for truth and freedom is God given.
I believe and trust that the Living God meets us in Christ Jesus. I certainly don’t fully understand and certainly don’t know completely, but I experience enough love and my hope is set ablaze by that love.
I believe because in my search for truth and meaning nothing is more convincing than that this universe is not an accident of random events. I believe there is transcendence in this universe – a dynamic spirit of energy that I happily name the Living God. I believe we humans are born for this search and will only find our true peace and vitality in seeking God. So like Zacchaeus, I want to see Jesus.
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Peter C Whitaker, Leighmoor UC: 03/11/2019
/ www.leighmoorunitingchurch.org