Nine common questions about God

Here is (almost) everything that you always wanted to know about God but were afraid to ask!

How can you know if God exists or not?

If God exists, His existence does not depend on anybody's belief on Him. If He does not exist, Christians believe in a lie.

It is impossible to scientifically research the issue. Various scientists, experts, priests, etc. may have various opinions about it, but if anyone claims to be able to prove it scientifically, he is lying. They are just opinions, which are not proved to be right or wrong. Do not believe blindly what anyone is saying. Think and try yourself!

Believing is like swimming. You can listen lectures about swimming and research it, but you can learn to swim only when you try yourself, if the water supports you or not. If you want to know if God is real, read about Jesus from the New Testament, and pray Him to prove Himself and enter your heart.

What is sin?

Sin is not an act, but attitude. Basically it is turning the back to God, as if you could live happily without Him. You can not use sin, but the sin will start using you. Sin is like manure wrapped in golden paper.

God loves us! He wishes to give us a quality life.

The reasons of sin are many and deep down. For example obsessive drinking is a problem between the ears. It is a good idea to talk about it with some understanding people. Why does anyone want to drink? Is he escaping his problems? Does he try to fill his inner void? Is it an attempt to get more self-confidence?

Don't all the religions lead to the same destination?

This is a beautiful thought, but it just won't work. When a blind person asks directions, do you tell him: "Oh, just go to any direction. They all lead to the same. You'll eventually get there".

The various religions are so different from each other, that they all can't be true. They claim so contradictory things about the world and God. For example, how could God be personal and impersonal, or only one and multitude deities at the same time?

Our outlook on life is like a map. If the map is corrupt, you'll get lost. If it is correct, you'll find the right path. If you want to find the truth, look for it. Read what different religions say, and think yourself, which is the truth. It makes no sense to believe lies.

The truth is always the truth, no matter who says it. There are many good things about all religions, although you can't find the full truth there. The religions are human attempts to reach onto God. The Christian setting is that God tries to reach onto the escaping people.

Jesus told that He is the only way to God. If He lied, you can forget about Christianity. If He spoke the truth, then there are no other ways.

Millions of Christians claim that Jesus is a contemporary person, still living among us, and that only by knowing Him you can find the living God. How about starting your quest from Him in order to save some time?

If you get into this Jesus stuff, do you have to forget about your brains?

NO! If believing and thinking are not aligned, you become intellectually schizophrenic. Genuineness, openness, honesty and the will to grow are very important in believing anything.

Blind faith (to anything) is not nice. It is very dangerous to submit yourself to anything or anyone without reasonable basis. You can get quite good intellectual foundation for Christianity, and it works also in real life. But after all, no worldview, religion or philosophy can be proved true. Every one of us have to believe on some assumptions, also the atheists.

What about inquisition, crusades and mass suicides?

True, lots of bad stuff has been made in the name of Christianity. But hey, all Christians are selfish and bad people. This is the reason that Christians need the mercy of God.

Even though the Christians may sometimes twist Christianity, it is not God's fault. If you want to know what God is like, think what Jesus said and did. He loved and forgave His enemies.

Besides, not all "Christians" believe in Jesus. Many people go to Christian churches or believe to some "God" in their own way, but that does not make them Christians. How many inquisitors adored and loved Jesus? Not many, I guess.

There are also many cults, which appear to be Christians. They pray, read Bible, but they are not considered Christians. Examples of these are e.g., Jehovas and Mormons.

Even wars that appear to have religious reasons, usually have not. Religion is a nice way to hide the real reasons and to agitate people.

If God is good, then why there is so much suffering?

Suffering is not God's fault. He planned the Earth to be something very different, governed by love. Sin, that is man's evilness and separation from God, has spoilt the world as it is today.

Most of suffering is caused by man. For example there would be enough food for all in the world, but due to our selfishness, it is not distributed evenly. Men start the wars, not God. And so on.

Part of suffering remains a mystery. Why does earthquakes take place? We can't know all, but we can trust God and his goodness. The better you know God, the better you know, how good He is.

Why God does not stop evil, if He has the power for it?

Can you blame the crucified Christ?

God allows evil to happen, because free will is more valuable than the absence of evil. He would like to have a quality relationship with us, as He loves us all. He does not force us into love, though, as we would then be only robots without will. Love does not come by forcing, but by choosing.

God has the power and He loves, but He is also just. If He would prevent one selfish act, would not He have to get involved with everything? He should remove evilness from everywhere, also from our lives. Then the life as we know it would end from the earth.

God is very interested in the future and well-being of the world and each of us. God does not however stop evilness by force, but by changing the human heart.

Even though this all makes God sad, He will not end it yet. Some people can still learn to know Him. Once He tried to remove evilness in the form of the Flood, but it changed nothing. Evilness continued.

God does not look this all from distance and indifferently. He himself came to suffer for our place. The resurrection of Jesus was the victory over suffering and death. He has promised His victory to everyone, who believes in Him.

When Jesus will return, there will be no more cry and death. Then evilness will be finally conquered.

Why good God punishes people to Hell?

Once again, the problem here is our evilness and selfishness. Just read the news, or recall some of your past relationships.

God is just, and He will judge our deeds. If He did not do so, e.g., Hitler and Stalin would go without a punishment. Then we all could just live a selfish live, doing whatever we happen to feel. The world without Hell would be an endlessly cruel world. If God did not punish evilness, He would be enormously evil.

If it feels cruel to send some people to Hell, then what do you demand God to do? To forgive all? To remove their guilt? To help them start a new life? To teach living by example? He has already done this all!

If someone does not want to be near God, he can freely choose the eternal separation from God, that is Hell. But when you get rid of God, at the same time you lose the last drops of love, goodness, beauty and mercy.

Some day Jesus will return to earth, and that fill finish up evil once and for all.

Going to Hell is always man's own choice. It is incredible that somebody does not want to know God.

I do believe in God, but where do I need this Jesus?

Jesus is the core of Christianity, as faith is a personal love relationship with Him. Jesus is a God incarnated. He showed us, what is God like. You can know God only by knowing Jesus.

God hates sin, but loves sinners. God wants us near Him from this corrupt world, but He can't accept to Heaven anyone, who has any remains of sin and evilness. Then it would not be a Heaven anymore, would it? Soon it would be again like on earth now.

You can't buy God's acceptance by good deeds, and you can't peel off your selfishness or evilness.

Jesus has a solution to the problem. Only Jesus can remove our sins. He died for us, so that we would not go to Hell, but could know God. If you do not let Jesus to suffer the punishment of your sins, you will have to suffer them by yourself. It's your call.

We have free will to choose, but we can not choose the consequences of our choices. Also not to choose is a choice. What do you say to Jesus. The choice is yours.

Ismo Rakkolainen. Copyright 1994.