Empirical Evidence

Good day to you.

Agnosticism. Many of you have probably heard that word before. It is a belief system that maintains as a central principle the idea that ultimate truth is unknown or unknowable. That there may or may not be a God and we as humans just can’t know for sure. I always used to think of this as a dusty old idea that wasn’t very relevant anymore (probably due to my first learning about it in bible history classes in junior high). As I have gotten older I have realized it is quite common, I might even say that is has become pervasive in our culture. You may not know it but if you are reading this blog in America, there is a decent chance it plays a part in how you think today. Of course, I could be wrong, so let's find out…

Today I am going to present you with some empirical evidence that God does exist. Evidence that not only clearly supports the Biblical claims of God's existence but that can also be tested and repeated with verifiable results.

Now stop and think about that for a second. What is your first reaction to that? A little incredulous? Perhaps a touch of disbelief? It’s not wrong to be skeptical by any means, but if your first thought is that it isn’t possible, then you have a little agnosticism in you. After all the Bible claims to be the true account of the creation and history of the world, inspired by the infallible God who created it. If we have some idea that it couldn’t be tested or withstand logical/scientific scrutiny, where did that idea come from? Not from the Bible… But I digress and time is short, so enough with the philosophy and on to the hard science!

The evidence.

The scientific method is a wonderful thing, especially to people like me who love logic. Basically it goes like this:

1.       Form a hypothesis to explain something in the world

2.       Logically derive predictions from your hypothesis that can be tested

3.       Preform tests to prove or disprove it

4.       Make sure your tests are repeatable so others can confirm your results

5.       Rejoice when you have found Truth! *

* I may have made that last one up ;-)

We Christians have a tremendous advantage when it comes to scientific inquiry due to the fact that we have the inspired Word of God to start with. We therefore have the luxury of being able to form high quality hypothesis' right from the start.

In this case my hypothesis is thus:

God created man in His own image and impressed His laws onto our hearts.

(From a theological perspective we can say this is True because the Bible clearly states it, today I will show how we can prove/confirm it scientifically)

My predictions are:

If the Laws of God are imprinted onto our hearts/souls in some fashion, we should see evidence of that in almost every single human being. Some measurable result that proves the Laws or some base level awareness of the laws are there.

My experiment:

A few simple questions that provide a directly observable result.

Have you ever lied?

Have you ever stolen something that doesn't belong to you?

Have you ever looked at a person (not your spouse) with lust?

Ever coveted or been jealous of someone else's belongings?

If you are being honest, what would you have to call yourself? (Liar,Thief, etc)

You see, if you answer these questions honestly you will feel guilt. Why? Because we all have done these things? Well that is part of it, but if God hadn’t imprinted His law on your heart then there would be no logical explanation for why all people, no matter what region or background or race or creed, respond the same way. In our hearts we know these things are wrong even if we have never seen a Bible. 

And it is repeatable!

Ray and Kirk have taken this "experiment" and repeated it with hundreds if not thousands of different people from all over the world. Some get mad, some may try to hide it, but when you see them react it is clear, they feel the guilt and know that it is true.

How about you? If you know its true and still suffer under the weight of the guilt you have built up with your sins, don't wait another day. Cry out to God in the name of Jesus his Son. Beg His forgiveness and ask Him to count Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as a punishment for your sins, paid in full. Give glory to God for Him sparing you from the judgment you know you deserve. Then get up and begin to live out the gratitude you will feel in your heart when you feel that burden lifted from you. You are not stuck where you are, you can know God. You can be forgiven.

See here for a much higher quality version of this experiment.

This is empirical evidence that supports the existence of God and confirms that what the Bible says to be true matches what we see in the real world. So rejoice with me, that we do not follow an unknowable God. But rather we worship a Real God, who has a real and knowable impact on the world all around us.

Chief