Reasonable grounds for God and faith?

Issues that make it difficult to believe in the existence of God can sometimes be better understood by considering that if God were indeed who he says he is, how might those same issues appear from his perspective, rather than our own.

An example can be found in questions, commonly raised, about the validity of believing that the Christian God is the one and only true God, when there are many different religions and cultures around the world with their own Gods and sincerely held beliefs. Common sense would suggest that such a diversity of belief enshrines a great deal of human wisdom and philosophical insight, such that to consider one belief system correct and all others false, would seem to be both arrogant and divisive.

However, if we were to suppose, for the sake of argument, that what the bible teaches was true about an alienation having come between humanity and its Creator God, with a loss of spiritual intimacy once enjoyed. If so, it would seem not unreasonable to find among people a resident sense of wonder and awe about life on this planet, with an enduring and widespread desire to find meaning and purpose in something greater than themselves. If such were the case, it would be not unexpected to find a significant diversity of thought and belief developing throughout the world about issues such as the meaning and philosophy of life, and what things to be venerated as deities.

From such a perspective, a world of diverse religions and beliefs would seem to be not inconsistent with the biblical assertion of there being ‘One God’ who is seeking to become reconciled with a lost and alienated humanity.

References:

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8‑9 NLT

In those days . . . all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. Judges 21:25 NLT

No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honour each other, but you don’t care about the honour that comes from the one who alone is God. John 5:44 NLT

“Come now, let us reason together”, says the LORD: . . . Isaiah 1:18 ESV

God is not like people. He tells no lies. He is not like humans. He doesn't change his mind. When he says something, he does it. When he makes a promise, he keeps it. Numbers 23:19 GW

What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 1 Corinthians 2:12 NIV

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The propositions offered in these remarks are not intended to convince on the basis of this writer’s views alone. They are an attempt to share what the bible itself offers about finding a pathway to belief and faith in God that does not require an abandonment of reasoned thought, but is imparted in getting to know and responding the heart of God. This happens through the receiving of his word in the human heart, where he reveals his desire and longing and to reveal himself personally to every person who seeks after him, and to become known through a relationship of faith.

References:

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. Luke 19:10 NIV

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart [and] I will be found by you,” . . .  Jeremiah 29: 11‑14 NIV

This . . . pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and [all]mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people. 1 Timothy 2:4‑6 NIV

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV

And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees . . . Ezekiel 36: 26‑27 NLT

No one can please God without faith. Whoever goes to God must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6 GW

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The hope of faith is to gain an understanding from God’s perspective, rather than our own, of his (eternal) reality and greater purposes of goodwill toward all – purposes that are being played out in this (passing) dimension of time.

This is not to deny or minimise tragic issues of pain and suffering that occur in human experience, or death and destruction from natural disasters, and cruelties that happen in nature. These realities are among the most difficult issues about God to come to terms with, which highlights the importance of reaching right conclusions in coming to understand them. Similar issues exist as a result of exploitation and abuses perpetrated by people, including those done in the name of religion by Christian movements, past and present. Nor is it the purpose of this site to promise or imply that faith (in God) will ensure an idyllic lifestyle, free from trouble and adversity. Yet it urges serious consideration of the initiatives taken by God and offered to us (if we will seek him) bringing reconciliation, redemption, salvation and restoration into his original purposes for a world of people he longs to be in relationship with and to live among.

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