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- Our Human Nature Needs God
Thomas Aquinas described the condition of mankind when he said “There is within every soul a thirst for happiness and meaning.” Since the dawn of time, mankind has pursued fulfillment of that thirst with everything imaginable. The existence of this personality trait in ALL cultures is perhaps the most telling reason for us to believe in God – not only that, but a God of Love (when we think of it this way, it becomes obvious, doesn’t it!) Without love in our lives, virtually all other successes pale and seem insignificant. This indicates a common denominator need in all humans, that would clearly be there if the assumption of the Creator of the Universe searching for us were true. He left in us an indicator of His character!!
We have what has been called ‘signals of transcendence’ within us, that point toward something beyond what we can see or explain (Peter Berger – Intellectuals Don’t Need God" And Other Modern Myths; Alister McGrath; pg 16). If a Maker has made man in His image, as Christianity proclaims, then it is not surprising that we would attempt to find our creator. Some of those indicators of another reality are described below:
Intuition – There is something about us, way deep inside, that causes us to consider that both we and the universe around us are products of God. Indeed, if a creator is drawing us near to Him, it would make sense that God Himself would have placed this awareness within each of us, creating a natural vacuum, or thirst for knowledge, that leads us to consider Him. Indeed, God explains to us that He has done just that:
"He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end… God does it so that men will revere Him." Ecclesiastes 3:11b, 14b.
Morality – The basis for morality has been a philosophical conundrum for ages. Immanuel Kant has summarized the issue: “Two things fill the mind with admiration and awe, the starry heavens above and the moral law within.” This is a ‘sense of ought’ that not only exists in all times and cultures, but drives each of us to a standard that we can only guess at where it comes from. We have a clear sense of obligation, each person does, whether we live in the United States or the remotest reaches of Africa. They may not all be the same beliefs and obligations, but their mere existence universally demands explanation. There can be no simple scientific answer for a base instinct that is the result of chemical reactions in the brain! We even try to pass laws to enforce our internal desires for justice and morality. We should not be surprised that our internal moral law reflects that of the law of God:
"Indeed, when Gentiles…do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves…since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them." Romans 2:14-15.
In short, in the most personal ways God has revealed Himself to us is through our very nature. Going beyond our existence in the first place, when we consider the nature of our beings we cannot trivialize the consideration that the desires we experience were set in motion for us to begin the search for the answer – namely our creator and His personal nature.
Indeed, in virtually every culture there is some sort of worship of a deity – once again proving the general desire in man to transcend himself and the surrounding and long for something much higher than himself and his surroundings. It appears to me to be no coincidence that the Bible itself does not spend much time trying to prove the existence of God – there is simply affirmation that God exists. This makes it kind of obvious, doesn't it??!!
While these arguments will not convince a committed skeptic, they clearly provide an objective basis for consideration, that there could be something more out there. Now we just need to find out exactly what that something may be…