Does God really exist?

This age-old question is almost as old as man himself.  Since the very beginning people have divided themselves into Creationists and Evolutionists, those who do and do not believe in the existence of a supernatural is referred to as God.

Imagine the massive implications of a definite answer to this question.  Let us consider the two scenarios, one proving that God does not exist and the other proving that God exists.

Scenario One: It is proved that God does not exist

Religion as we know it would totally disappear.  Churches, mosques, synagogues and monasteries would be demolished or replaced by community and other centers.  Historical and contemporary religious personalities would be written off as tricksters.  There would be a quick demise of all religious leaders and TV evangelism would be no more.

Countries where there is a state religion embedded in the consititution would face a constitutional crises. Without any sense of moral restraint crime would rocket sky high and the family structure would suffer a severe jolt. Above all, a certain sense of chaos would come about particularly in the mind of those who had believed in creation. Why, is all this around us a coincidence? How could it create itself? Evolutionists would beat themselves silly by patting each other on the back and we would all have an exponentially increased regard, even a sense of worship, for our forefathers, the moneys. Hedonism would become the god of the world.

Case two: It is proved that God does exist.

Secularism as we know it would disappear competely. There would be deep sense of awe, even shock in the minds of everyone. Even those who had believed in God would shiver that blind faith or belief had turned into the certainty of knowledge. The mere realization that there was a super natural being watching over us, expecting actions from us and judging us would take us out of this trance we call materialism. Crime would be drastically, reduced, almost to non-existent levels and a global effort would be undertake to make a fresh start and to have a renewed relationship with God. All other issues would drift away into the background. Politicians, judges and other high ranking officials would realize that there was added responsibility on their shoulders, a responsibility that if shirked would hold them accountable. As shocking as it seems, we might even have honest government. With the truth coming out, people of different religions and nationalities would unite together in harmony.

Proving our case

To prove our point, one way or another, we have to first establish parameters and definitions on the type of proof necessary. Sensory perception, one might say, is the best form of proof. Some may say ‘seeing is believing’. Others may contend ‘hearing is knowing’. Yet others may advocate ‘touching and feeling is the surest way’. However all these forms of proof break down because they are too individualized. Imagine someone saying ’I saw God’. Even the few (that would not question the sanity of whoever were to make such a statement) would certainly think that there was a case of mistake identity, misjudgment, illusion or just too much of the bubbly. It would simply not be enough to convince the next person, let alone the world as a whole.

It might seem that we have reached a dead end. “Well how can I prove that God does or does not exist?” you might complain. “What kind of proof can I possibly find?.” We find that we can make a giant leap forward in our attempt to define the type of proof necessary by making a simple assumption and then testing that assumption. Let us assume that a supernatural being exists who is omniscient and omnipotent. Then let us try very hard to test this assumption.

An omniscient, omnipotent creator of then universe would have created us for a reason, would expect certain behavior on our part and would have a method of communicating with us. He would not remain anonymous. To do so would not make any sense. More importantly, this creator would give us a type of proof of HIS existence that is:

1. Not localized or individualized to a certain time, location or person 2. Proof that is indisputable, examinable and verifiable 3. Proof that is physical and tangible 4. Proof that is inimitable yet recognizable and appreciable 5. Proof that is acceptable by scientific and auditing standards 6. Proof that is simple enough to understand by people of all ages, education and languages. Note that all current forms of ‘proof’ do not meet any of the conditions above. Carl Sagan, noted astronomer and television personality, in his book ‘Contact’ talked about a fictional message from outer space that was mathematically composed beyond human ability. Certainly this would meet all the above conditions. To quote Carl Sagan ‘everyone would become a believer’. Says Carl Sagan ‘It is my fondest hope that the ideas presented in this book are made obsolete by the pace of real scientific disovery’. Has Carl Sagan’s fondest hope come true? Or did Carl Sagan know something we don’t? Was he writing fact or fiction? Let us assume for now that such a mathematical code exists in a document sent to this world. With the advent of this type of incontrovertible proof for the existence of God, the scenario of Case Two: It is proved that God does exist, with all its implications and consequnces would become very real. The message containing such a ‘superhuman’ code would then become the focus of analysis for all humans. It would seem almost certain that this message would contain divine wisdom that would provide solutions to our most pressing problems and answers to our most burning questions, answers and solutions given by an Almight Creator who would be communicating with us. Given that the very existence of such a proof is in itself sufficient to indicate willingness on the part of the Divine to communicate with us in this manner, the credibility of the information contained in this mathematically coded message would be unquestionable. One would also expect the information contained in this mathematically coded message to ‘guide us to all the truth’. I know everyone is waiting to see with curiousity and skepticism what kind of proof I am going to pull out of my bag of tricks. Whatever the proof is, the information contained in this document would give us answers to our most intolerable questions like why has God chosen to remain hidden, why all the suffering in this world, why are we here, why babies die and so on. My next article, ‘Answers to our most intolerable questions’ will be addressing this