I hate to try to sum it all up as one specific thing but some of you hit on it. You can't prove God exists or doesn't exists. Neither can you prove man or any present day creatures evolved from something entirely different millions of years ago. Why? None of us were there.
We either have to go by faith in something, or we have to go by so-called science. Not all science is science. Just as anyone can manufacture statistics saying whatever they want, there is a means to produce whatever "facts" you want by manipulating the evidence to come to the conclusion you want it to. It happens in court every day right? It also happens in labs.
Science is highly debatable because scientists of faith can "prove" biblical findings and scientists of no faith can "prove" evolutionary findings. Even that takes faith of a sort- who do you believe (put your "faith" into)?
So, the only way to prove God exists is on a personal basis- you can't prove it to anyone else. I was raised by a Catholic father and a Baptist mother. I believed in God and Jesus and prayed to them often. I considered myself a Christian because of this. But it wasn't until I turned 19 that I realized I was a sinner who needed God's forgiveness.
So right there in my bedroom I prayed to God and asked Jesus to be my savior and shortly thereafter the revelation came to me (no one had to tell me) that I was a new creature (hence my tag)- all my sins were gone and forgotten and I had a new life.
It's the same with every experience in God. You can "believe" it but until you expierence it you really have no "proof" other than hearsay. I have experienced many other things that gave me concrete evidence (on a personal basis, the only way it can be) that there is a God, His Son is Jesus, and Jesus is the only way to the Father.
God wants Christians to share their faith, so that is part of us. Don't be offended by the fact we are doing that, it's ingrained in us. We might not always say or do things the right way and we may from time to time offend people, which is never our intention. But then again sometimes we do say and do things the right way and people can hate you all the more.
The Bible says those of faith will be persecuted by those who lack faith. I'm not saying that's going on here because I believe real persecution is physical violence or serious harrasment/violation of personal rights/freedoms. What we have here is hopefully just some serious debate.
And for those who have abandoned their Christian faith as stated here, I don't want to insult anyone, but maybe like myself some of you thought you were "Christians" in name only merely because of your beliefs or that you prayed "the sinner's prayer." I prayed the sinner's prayer years before I became a Christian, it didn't save me. I did it out of an emotional response, I was under pressure to do it. But when I realized on my own that I needed God that's when it became real. Maybe some of you have had emotional conversions but not spiritual conversions. If so reevaluate your situation.
Maybe you left your faith because God didn't come through in the way you expected Him too. Man I've been disappointed so many times- not because God failed me- I just had some foolish assumptions. That's no reason to leave your faith anymore than it is for you to leave home because mom and dad didn't buy you the red bicycle for Christmas. I've prayed for people to be healed who ended up dying. I was ticked off and upset but I didn't leave my faith.
I hope none of you have genuinely been born again and tasted the good gift of God and still chose to leave your faith. For those I can offer no condolence.
The sum- The only way you can prove God exists is to experience Him for yourself. That's it.
Thanks for reading
Alan
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. II Corinthians 5:17
