It is a sunny day in downtown Toronto. A street side vendor is cooking smokies. Tempted by the smell, I fork over $3. I wonder how much money the farmers who produced the food earned?
While I am adding onions and relish, an ad on the side of a passing bus catches my attention. “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.” I say to myself: “I am not worrying and I am enjoying my life, thank God.”
At the airport I pick up a newspaper. A group called “God Exists” has purchased ads on Calgary buses and transit trains. Their message is “God cares for everyone… even for those who say he doesn’t exist!” A Muslim cleric, Imam Syed Soharwardy, apparently paid for the ads with his credit card. Calgarians of various faiths are donating to pay off the $12,000 bill.
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An online bookmaker, Paddy Power, is taking bets as to which side is correct. How will Power decide who wins the wager? His spokesman says: “Confirmation of God’s existence would have to be verified by scientists and given by an independent authority before any payouts were made.” Who would be the independent authority? Power is not certain of the outcome, or he is a clever strategist. He suggests putting money on both sides. “We advise anyone still not sure of God’s existence to maybe hedge their bets for now, just in case.”
There are many things we know with a high degree of certainty. We know, for example, that the sum of the angles of a triangle is 180 degrees. We know that the distance around the earth at the equator is approximately 25,000 miles. We know that water is made up of two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen.
But there is much we do not know for certain. Most of the truly important matters — assumptions we live by — cannot be proved. We cannot prove that the sun will come up tomorrow morning. We believe it will. It has always done so, and we assume it will do so again. But we have no way of being sure. We live by faith.
During a long cold winter the snow lies heavy on the ground. All nature seems to be dead. When the frost is still in the ground, farmers gather their seed and prepare their machinery. They believe spring will come and the earth will be ready for another crop. We climb aboard a plane believing that the pilots are competent and the equipment is operating properly. We drive down the road trusting that other drivers will stay on their side of the line. These are acts of faith.
Nevin C. Harner in his book I BELIEVE says, “If we were limited to things we can nail down with absolute proof, we could scarcely move about at all.” He says going beyond the evidence is a “leap of faith.”
I cannot prove conclusively and finally that God exists, but I believe in God. It is a matter of faith, not knowledge. That does not mean my belief in God is untrue, or guesswork or unreasonable. It gives me an explanation for existence, and a reason for living.
“There is no unbelief, Whoever plants a seed beneath the sod And waits to see it push away the clod He trusts in God.” — Lizzie York Case
Suggested Scripture: Hebrews 11:1-3, 1 John 4:7-21
Bishop Rod Andrews is with the Anglican Diocese in Saskatoon
