One Reason I am a Christian

The other day I ran across an article on the "new agnositicism" that I found both thoughtful and thought provoking. If you are interested, you can read it at: http://www.slate.com/id/2258484/ I appreciate the honesty of the author. And, I agree with his characterizations of the "new atheists." I have long contended that atheism is a type of religious belief, at least as defined by the atheists themselves. Basically, to be an atheist in the strictest sense, one who have to have omniscience in order to claim absolute knowledge that there is no God. Agnosticism only claims to have inadequate knowledge to claim that there is a God. The underlying assumption of the article referenced above, "An Agnostic Manifesto" by Ron Rosenbaum, is that there is no scientific, positivistic evidence for the existence of God, and therefore, while one can claim to believe that there is one, it is an "irrational" belief, sometimes referred to as "blind faith." Let me begin by saying that I agree that I have not found enough scientific, positivistic evidence to prove beyond doubt that there is a God. Nor do I expect that this will ever be possible. But that is because scientific, positivistic (s/p) inquiry begins with a set of assumptions which would rule out the possibility of finding any such evidence. For you see, s/p inquiry only deals with this universe. Since this universe is subject to the second law of thermodynamics, and since it is subject to the laws of causation, then the Christian God cannot possibly be a part of this universe. I am not saying that He sould not be able to insert Himself into this universe at any point He might desire, but to be a part of this universe would make Him a finite being with a definite beginning and a certain end. And, since I do believe that Thomas Aquinas has shown logically that an uncaused cause is an absolute necessity for this universe, then God must be that uncaused cause and must exist outside of this universe. So where does that leave us? How does that qualify as a reason why I am a Christian? Just this: It means that if we are to have any knowledge of God at all, it will have to be as a result of His taking the initiative and making Himself known. We will not and cannot discover proof of His existence on our own. But as an historian, I find credible proof that a man known as Jesus of Nazareth, also called the Christ, did indeed live some two thousand years ago and that, after being crucified on a Roman cross, rose from the dead. I also accept the s/p evidence for that being impossible. Dead people do not come back to life again. So if Jesus did, then there must have been some kind of intervention from outside this universe. And, given that Jesus predicted that he would indeed raise from the dead, then I have adequate reason to accept the other things he said, including that there is a God, who was the one who would raise him from the dead, and that this God loved fallen humanity so much that He sent Jesus to provide us with a way of transcending not only our own sinfulness, but the limitations of this universe. I have chosen, therefore, to trust him with my life. I have found that the instructions he gave to his disciples and which were written down and preserved for me provide the best possible foundation not only for the life to come, but for this life also. Having entrusted my life to this God, I have experienced a quality of life and an experience of that God that serves to reinforce my faith. And that is one reason why I am a Christian.

Pastor Ken