Who Wrinkles the Pond?

Between the heavens and the earth, it is only humans who ask if God exists. They ask because they want to know.

By Fan Xue-de

Animals do not ask if there is a God

Once I was having difficulty coming to a rational explanation of the relation between the Divine and mankind. Then I suddenly recalled a line from an old poem: "When the wind blows, it wrinkles the pond." I asked myself, "Why does the wind choose the pond rather than the mountains? Yet if there were no wind, how could there be wrinkles on the pond? If we drew an analogy between the pond and our hearts, what would the wind signify? This, then, explains why, between heaven and earth, only human beings ask if God exists. They ask because they want to know."

Animals never ask whether God exists; they do not fret or argue about it, let alone come to blows or die for it.

An ancient Greek philosopher, Xenophanes, was irritated at the many Olympian gods in the works of Homer and how Homer put the blame for all human failings and misdemeanours like theft, adultery and malice on to them.. Xenophanes said, "Human beings believe that the gods are made just like themselves, that they wear clothes and look and sound just like humans. If cows and horses had hands and could draw or create works of art, then the horses would probably portray their gods in the shape of horses, and the cows would come up with gods which look like cows. Their gods would be made in the image of horses or cows." Some atheists tried to use this famous saying as a basis for attacking their opponents. They claimed that God was created in the likeness of men. But this interpretation of Xenophanes' saying is an over-simplification, because Xenophanes was not only a believer in God, he also believed that God was quite different from man in both appearance and mind.

The fact that human beings ask whether God exists at least indicates that human beings are not animals, nor do they desire to be.

Man-made gods

I have never seen any gods made by animals, but I have seen gods made by men. These man-made gods may be the wind or thunder, the sun and moon, or rivers and mountains, or maybe horses, cows or sheep, or dragons, tigers and leopards, even skunks. I have stared in terror at gods like these on altars enveloped in clouds of burning incense in bell-echoing temples. The more I stared at them, the more Chinese they looked, especially their noses and eyes. Occasionally there were some that did not look Chinese, but this was because of the changes over thousands of years of history in the cultural interaction between China and other countries.

Feuerbach, the atheist who insisted that the gods were made by men in their own image, claimed that his approach to religious issues was to "attribute all that is super-human to humans." So the mystery of theology became the mystery of humanism and naturalism, meaning that the gods were human in origin, and that their attributes like goodness, love and personality were simply the reflected self-consciousness of our own nature. He said that mankind created gods by transforming their own self-consciousness into some absolute being external to themselves.

Feuerbach had a point. Many gods in human history have indeed been created in the image of human beings. Today we are still creating them. We even declare ourselves to be gods. Though we believe ourselves to be far superior to any gods.

Man may make his own gods. But this does not necessarily mean that God was created by man, nor does it mean that God's nature is simply a reflection of our own self-consciousness. Christianity repeatedly points out that man-made gods are idols, which though they may look impressive are actually good for nothing.

Can we prove or disprove the existence of God?

While some people are busy making their own gods, others keep trying to figure out if God really exists. This has always been so, both in China and in other countries. Throughout the whole history of western philosophy, scholars like Socrates, Nietzsche and Sartre spent much time pondering on and debating the subject of God, but they made very little progress. There are believers who say that God exists for those who believe and does not exist for those who do not believe. Both believers and non-believers may have widely divergent opinions, but they are all simply trying to get at the truth, and trying to use logic to prove or disprove the existence of God.

Aquinas, the great theologian of the Middle Ages, offered five proofs of God's existence, among them 'the First Agent of change', 'First Cause' and presuppositions. But all of the five proofs have come under fire. Critics question the necessity of a first cause. Even though Aquinas' theories may well prove the existence of one or more gods, they still demand proof that the God of Aquinas' theories must be the Jehovah of the Bible. More interestingly, Kant, the great philosopher, launched a severe attack on Aquinas, yet his own theory of morality was offering a new 'proof' of God's existence. It is not surprising that Mr. Kant shared the same fate as Aquinas by being severely criticized.

Since Kant, we have come to realize that our limited human mind on its own is inadequate when it comes to offering proof of God's existence. When we deal with things outside of our own experience, the human mind fails to provide the answers, either affirmative or negative, or else it finds itself caught up in self-contradictions. As far as the majority of modern philosophers are concerned, it is utterly impossible by logical reasoning to prove or disprove the existence of God. If something can be proved, it can also be disproved. In fact, if God's existence could be proved by human reason, then He would not be truly God. Likewise, if somebody managed by the use of intellect, logic or reasoning to disprove the existence of God, then it would not really be God who was being talked about.

So, we can not prove and we can not disprove. What are we going to do? A modern philosophical approach offers an enigmatic remedy. It claims that a question about the existence of God is not a meaningful question; rather it is a metaphysical concept that is neither true nor false. But hold on right there! Even if you ignore the question of God's existence, you still can't ignore the existence of God Himself!

The autocracy of Reason

Long ago Paul pointed out that, as far as human reason is concerned, the crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God, was perhaps the most ridiculous or most stupid teaching in human history. But nevertheless God was pleased to use this apparently ridiculous truth to save those who have faith in Him. The pathway to God is an open heart, not a super-rational mind; it is faith, repentance, obedience, humility and love, not logic, reasoning and proofs. Only the heart can feel God. Reason cannot. (Pascal).

A Christian theologian in the 3^rd century suggested that we could use Athens to symbolize Greek philosophy and Jerusalem to symbolize Christian belief. He raised a serious question: "What do Athens and Jerusalem have in common? What do schools and churches have in common? Our system of faith has its roots in Solomon's temple and Solomon taught that to seek God one had to seek Him with the whole heart."

It has to be a heart as simple as a child's, a humble heart, a heart broken and contrite because of sin. God will not despise such a heart. With such a heart, one can say with confidence, "We do not care how ridiculous they hold our faith to be; it is because it is ridiculous that we believe it! We will not doubt!"

More than three hundred years ago, Pascal, the great mathematician and philosopher, made a series of premises. He said, "The spirit has its own reasons which the mind can never understand." He said, "Faith is a gift from God. Do not believe the saying that faith is a gift of reason." He said, "The last step of rationalism is to admit that things infinite are beyond rationalism. And if rationalism fails to realize this then it is only demonstrating its own fragility." So spoke Pascal, a true man. Even though he might find no support, he still had to reject the absolute authority of reason and to deprive rationalism of its 'right' to pronounce judgment on God.

Following Pascal, at the beginning of the 20^th century, a Russian intellectual named Csestov was resolved to bloody his own head trying to batter down the iron door of absolute reason. The teaching that the Son of God died is absurd, but it is just because of its absurdity that it must be true. The story that He was raised from death seems impossible but it is possible because of its very impossibility. This is what truth is like! Csestov nodded quietly. Over thousands of years, how many people have lost the most valuable thing in their lives simply because they wanted to be praised for their rationalism? The most valuable thing of all is faith. Ever since Greek philosophy invaded Christian belief, those who are afraid of losing face believe that it is their duty not only to make peace between Athens and Jerusalem, but to demand that Jerusalem offers its apologies and gratitude to Athens. Anything exported from Jerusalem must be measured in the scales of Athens. When we get excited about logical proof or inductive reasoning, we are merely putting Jerusalem before the judgment-court of Athens.

Oh, Athens, symbol of reason, temple of logic and Science's hall of fame! You proclaim yourself inventor, legislator, judge and king of kings sitting on the highest throne. You believe that reason must judge everything, that reason is capable of judging everything and that the judgment of reason is the final judgment. You believe that even if God does exist, He still needs to be proved by reason, logic and science. You believe that if there is anything that reason cannot prove it must be false, evil or non-existent. "Whenever reason is put to shame, we all feel ashamed. Whenever reason is made to look stupid, we become angry. Whenever reason declares something impossible, we all have to agree." Oh Heavens! Reason has just become the ultimate master of our lives.

Farewell, then, Dr. Freud, who insisted that our only hope was for human reason to control the human spirit. Goodbye to Lord Russell, who claimed that reason was mankind's only true friend. Farewell to all the scholars of the Age of Enlightenment, who shouted "Long live reason!" And then we went on to hear the guns of World War Two, and to see the collapse of man-made kingdoms. We live in a heavily contaminated environment. But we still believe in Jesus. And so we have the experience of witnessing thousands and thousands of men and women being born again. Therefore we can boldly exclaim, mimicking our forbears: Whenever reason is put to shame, we have no need to be ashamed; when reason declares something to be incomprehensible, we look for truth; where reason sees the Valley of Death of absolute impossibility, from the pit the children of God are calling on His name.

Reason has its value

To criticize the autocracy of reason is not to criticize human reason. God created human reason; therefore every person of reason can come to know that there is a God between the heavens and the earth. Just as Paul declared, "Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his eternal power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."

Kant echoed Paul's words by the inscription on his tombstone. It reads: "Looking at the vast sky, I see shining stars; looking into my own heart, I see the moral law." This moral law has been inscribed in our hearts by God.

Modern city-dwellers seldom have a chance to see a brilliant star-studded sky. But when Newton discovered the wonderful arrangement of the solar system, he said, "We cannot deny that this must be the work of a God who is both omnipotent and omniscient." When the American astronaut landed on the moon, he recited a line from David's psalm, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands."

Some people may ask: "How is it that I have never heard of God?" Pascal would answer like this: God is willing to reveal Himself to those who seek for Him with their whole heart, but He conceals Himself from those who try to avoid Him. He makes Himself visible to those who seek Him and invisible to those who do not seek Him. Therefore, there is sufficient light for those who long to see and enough darkness for the others. Jesus said: "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find."

Only God can tell us who God is

In our own limited strength and wisdom, we can never know God nor find Him, no matter what we do. When it comes to seeking God, all human attempts which rely on man's own resources must end in defeat.

Between God and man there is an infinite distance which cannot be eliminated by man. Man is man and God is God. For this reason, man needs God to tell him who He is. Only God can talk about God in the most sensible way. Man can only know about God through the wisdom and revelation of the Holy Spirit, who comes from God.

Through the Bible God clearly tells the world who He is. He allows us to see Him in the life of Jesus. As we have seen throughout history, God does not belong only to the philosophers or scholars. He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and Jacob, and the God of Jesus of Nazareth.

He is the God who created the heavens and the earth out of nothing, who created man in His own image, who blessed Abraham and extended His blessings to all nations because of Abraham, the God who told Moses at Mt. Horeb that His name was I AM, who issued the Ten Commandments to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, who freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt, leading them across the Red Sea and into Canaan, He who gave His own begotten son Jesus to the world and allowed Him to die on the Cross so that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

In God's presence, Moses took off his shoes and covered his face because he was afraid to see God. Face to face with God, Isaiah exclaimed: "Woe! Woe is me because I am a man of unclean lips." Facing the risen Lord, Thomas confessed, "My Lord! My God!"

Nowhere in the Bible does God bother to argue for His own existence. On the contrary, He challenges us with the crystal clear demand: Believe me and follow me.

Which god died?

Contrary to Christians' claim that God was, is and forever will be, towards the end of the 19^th century Nietsche declared: "Recently the most important news is that God has died."

What 'God' was he talking about? In Western tradition, there are at least three images of God: one is the God of the Bible; another is the metaphysical 'God' deduced by philosophers based on metaphysical theory; yet another is the 'God' preached about by church leaders and pastors in different ages. One answer to the question is: "We can only say that the metaphysical 'God' is dead, and so is the theological 'God'". Certainly we know that the 'God' preached by some church leaderss and pastors is dead.

When Nietzsche explained the meaning of "We have killed God", he claimed that our opinions about man, about morality and about truth had all died along with the death of the Christian God. As a result, there was no eternal truth, no unchangeable moral code and no absolute values. Everything was relative. Man had become his own god.

In the Bible, there are no theoretical atheists like Nietzsche, but Psalm 14 records a practical atheist: "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good." The fool says, "There is no God" because he is not afraid of God, he is not ashamed of his evil deeds and he believes that his evil deeds will never be exposed. So he does evil without any fear of judgment!

Our modern wise men are just like the ancient fools in that regard: Eat! Enjoy yourself! We have freed ourselves from the bondage of God. Do whatever you want to do! Moral standards are meant for the weak, while the strong set their own rules and expect others to follow. What's wrong with doing evil? What is evil to you may well be good to me. What's wrong with turning everybody else into a means to make my dreams come true? Life is short, so why not enjoy yourself? After death, there is nothing; so morality, achievement and words are absurd! Exploit the poor so that they stay poor. Oppress the helpless so that they lose their self-respect and freedom! What's wrong with war, drugs, adultery, abortion, or pollution? If there is no God, what is there left that we may not do?

The inexplicability of human suffering

"Human suffering forms the basis of atheism." Behena's saying gave a fundamental reason why many people reject God. According to these people, what separates man from God are all the sufferings of the human lot: the agonized prayers in Nazi concentration camps, the broken limbs of the devastating Tangshan earthquake, lonely African children starving to death.

"Why doesn't God stop all evil?" From Epicurus to Feuerbach, how many people have cried out in anger but found no way to escape from their sorrow? Now if the world is full of evil and suffering, either God is incapable of changing the world, in which case He is not omnipotent, or He is unwilling to change it, in which case He is not perfectly good. But an omniscient, omnipotent and righteous God is supposed to create a world that contains no evil.

Our own ancestors might not have gone in for as much philosophical thinking as the Greek scholars did, but they shed just as many tears. Over two thousand years ago, a poet wrote: "The wide heavens care less about morality; there are death, hunger, and wars." Songs like this did not reflect atheism, but they did express skepticism, complaint or resentment against God. For thousands of years and, since Augustine, throughout the history of Western ideology, philosophy and theology, the issue of human suffering has been under heated debate. The basic arguments have not changed much. Nobody is quite satisfied with his or her own arguments, let alone the arguments of their opponents.

Indeed, Job had asked the same question long before Epicurus did. And the question is, why do innocent people, good and righteous people, suffer?

When God answered Job out of the storm, He did not try to explain the reason for Job's sufferings. Instead He reminded Job who it was who had created all things in the universe; and asked him who could understand the wonders of God. God asked Job,"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?" Job answered, "Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know."

Why do good people have to suffer? Why must the innocent suffer? God does not answer these questions, nor did Job keep on asking. It is impossible to explain human suffering. Therefore, the question lingers through the ages: Where is the Lord when I suffer? The answer is: The Lord is on the Cross. Jesus Himself died on the Cross and He took all our suffering on His own shoulders.

The existence of suffering does not negate the existence of God. Even if you deny God's existence, your sufferings continue, and the cause of your sufferings still remains inexplicable. It was not until God in His abundant love suffered with us, not until Jesus suffered, died and rose from the dead that our sufferings began to have meaning-no matter how much we suffer, we have peace, hope and love as long as God is with us.

When disaster strikes us, would it have been any better if God had clearly explained to us its cause? When catastrophe strikes, we will be much better off knowing where we are heading than why the catastrophe came our way. What we need to ask is not how it is that God is able to suffer, but how we can share God's sufferings. When we suffer, we need to say what David said: "God is my strength, my salvation and my help in time of trouble."

A meaningful life

Two brothers grew up in a Christian family. One day they both abandoned their Christian faith, not because they had any doubts about the truth of Christianity, but because they couldn't see what Christianity had to do with them. In other words, they did not know what God could possibly mean to them. This is also one of the main puzzling problems for people who are considered successful in today's society. They don't realize that they need God in their daily lives.

What relevance does Jesus have for the people of this era? Every church in every age has to constantly deal with this question and has to continually provide an answer for it.

In fact, if you do not believe in God, you can still go to school; you can still work, marry, have children; you can still be successful and you can even have high moral standards. But are these all you care about? Are we treating wealth, career and power as our gods? Can we equate life-meaning with the comfortable lifestyle of the American middle class? Einstein was right: "I never consider comfort and entertainment to be the purpose of life. I consider this kind of moral standard the ideology of pigs."

Moreover, when we dare to face up to reality, we have to admit that in a godless world, mere survival lacks foundations, life yields absurdity and existence loses any meaning. No matter how we search for a firm foundation for our lives, we will find nothing. And we will only try to cover up the reality of the nothingness with insignificance and mediocrity.

It is not death that is frightening, because everybody has to die. This has been true throughout human history. What is frightening is that we have never lived as whole persons, not even for one day. What is frightening is that we merely live on without meaning, like walking corpses. What is frightening is that what we believe to be significant today may turn out to be nothing.

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us." So the Word has brought to our daily life a meaning that is eternal. And that meaning is that God loves us all. Everybody needs love and we need love every single day of our life. Love the Lord and love your neighbors. This is the meaning of life.