HOW DO WE KNOW GOD EXISTS? The question has been very much in public thought lately, with several books on the bestseller list arguing against the existence of God. So how is it that in the face of so much turmoil and suffering in the world, Christian Science can insist not only that God exists supreme, all-powerful, always present, but that there is a way for the yearning heart to prove it?
There is an old joke about a sidewalk preacher giving a sermon in a downtown park. He is loudly praising God as he describes the Biblical account of Moses parting the Red Sea, leading the children of Israel through it, and finally seeing Pharaoh's army destroyed in the deluge. The preacher is interrupted by an atheist who tells him that he's done a lot of research and come to the conclusion that the events described must have happened at a place called the "Reed Sea," where the water was only six inches deep and could easily have been divided by a naturally occurring steady wind. Having stated his case, the atheist leaves for lunch satisfied that he has debunked the preacher's ill-placed faith. But when he returns sometime later, the preacher is thanking God even more loudly than before for His miracle in saving the children of Israel. The atheist pulls him aside and says, "I thought I told you this didn't happen at the Red Sea." The preacher says, "Yes, I know, I'm not testifying about the miracle of parting the water anymore. I'm praising God for the fact that He managed to drown the entire army of Pharaoh in just six inches of water."
One's perspective makes all the difference! The same is true in thinking through the issue of whether God exists. If you start with the questioning words, "Is there?" you arrive at a very different place than if you start with the affirming words, "There is."
