During the last few decades, a small number of “radical” theologians have received worldwide publicity from their announcement that “God is dead.” Some members of the secular press, hungering for headlines, raised these men to a level seldom afforded a philosopher or theologian.
While there is nothing new about such claims, we who are Christians must know how to answer them. We must be ready at all times to give a reason for the faith that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
What then is the basis for our faith that the living God yet presides over his universe?
1. Creation. The Psalmist said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork” (Psalm 19:1). As the watch demands a watchmaker, so the world demands a world-maker. Only the insane would claim, “It all just happened.” The Emperor Napoleon was one night strolling the deck of a French naval vessel. He overheard two officers speaking about God and finally agreeing that there is no God. At this, Napoleon stepped up to the men, swept his hand across the sky studded with a thousand stars, and said, “Gentlemen, if you would prove that there is no God ... you must get rid of those first.”
First tell me there are no stars, then tell me there is no God.
2. Conscience. Our conscience is that “still small voice” reminding us of the difference between right and wrong. This is not instinct, not habit, not “acquired morality.” It is Jesus Christ, “which lighteth every man that cometh into the world” (John 1:9). As German philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) said, “Two things fill the soul with ever new and increasing wonder and reverence the oftener I reflect upon them: the starry heavens above me and the moral imperative within me.”
3. Scripture. The Scriptures declare to us that God is alive forevermore. They have stood the test of time and criticism and are more trustworthy than unproven human theories.
With these evidences, it’s hard not to believe in God. As the Bible says, “The fool has said in his heart, there is no God” (Psalm 14:1). With this as the guideline, let every person classify himself.