Life without God ignores the question you don't want to answer

Life without God has become a way of existence for millions of people. Are you one of them?

Let me say right away that I can't change you and it's not my duty to. You have to do that yourself, and up 'til now, you haven't wanted to.

I do, however, ask if you're open-minded enough to explore with me this simple question:

My struggle
with pride

Maturity takes time. For much of my life I was immature and stubborn. I struggled with low self-esteem, and as a result, I found it almost impossible to admit when I made a mistake. I believed it made me look stupid, reinforcing my low opinion of myself.

Needless to say, I was frequently a pain to be around. I finished fourth in my high school class and hung my shaky self confidence on my intellect.

But when I entered the university, I quickly discovered many of the other students were smarter than me. Much smarter. It was a humbling experience. Even though I learned that I didn't know as much as I thought I did, I still had trouble acknowledging that I could be wrong.

You may be one of those people who's much smarter than me. But are you as honest as me? Can you say this and mean it:

"I know enough to make up my mind"

When it comes to life without God, many people believe they've exhausted the subject. They feel they've acquired enough knowledge about the topic to make up their mind. They've researched it, sometimes very thoroughly, and have concluded there is no God.

But even scientists would admit that's a dangerous attitude. Science, you see, never stops exploring. Science never leaves a subject alone. Scientists always want to learn more than they already know.

Take electricity. Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, believed direct current was the way to go. But Charles Steinmetz kept exploring and convinced the world that alternating current, the kind of power we use today, was more efficient and cost-effective.

For the past 100 years, scientists have been exploring how to make batteries smaller and more powerful. Today hearing aids and other subminiature devices run on batteries smaller than a shirt button. But scientists are still exploring. They're currently working on a way to transmit electricity without wires!

Choosing a life without God takes the opposite approach. It's as if you're saying, "What I don't know can't hurt me."

What if the usual arguments are wrong?

You already know the usual arguments against Christianity. Jesus was a myth, invented by the early Church. If Jesus of Nazareth did exist, he was only a man, not God. The resurrection of Christ was a legend; it never happened. The Bible is not a reliable historical account; copiers changed it over the centuries. The Bible's only fiction, like Greek mythology. There is no scientific proof God exists, including so-called intelligent design.

But what if those arguments are wrong? What if they're as wrong as the belief that man cannot build a battery smaller than an unabridged dictionary?

Why should you give God less benefit of the doubt than scientists gave electricity? Why should you stop exploring? What if the answer is knowable, but you haven't found it yet because you've stopped looking?

What if life without God is not a fact but an interpretation of reality? What if you've closed your mind because it would force you to re-evaluate your comfortable belief system?

Whoa. That exposes a few possible prejudices, doesn't it?

The proof I couldn't disprove

Okay. I haven't convinced you that life without God is a "less than" life. But are you honest enough to ask yourself the question now, "What if I'm wrong?"

The ramifications are enormous. Life without God remains an option, but is it the best one?

Here's what decided me. I knew mind-stopping fear. I knew the kind of panicky terror you only experience if your life is threatened. I had cancer in 1976 and the outlook wasn't good. I got so scared I literally couldn't think straight. The same thing happens when somebody's shooting at you or you're in a serious accident and you think you're going to die.

That's how I know exactly what Jesus' 11 disciples were going through right after he was crucified. They had just seen the most torturous, gruesome execution possible, and they thought it was going to happen to them, too. They hid out in a locked room, so scared they couldn't think straight.

Then something happened that totally changed those men. Not only did they leave that room, but they started preaching so boldly that they didn't even care if they were executed that same way.

I believe the thing that transformed them was seeing, talking with and touching the bodily resurrected Jesus Christ.

Nope, they didn't hallucinate. Hallucinations are individual, not group things. They didn't see insubstantial "visions" of Jesus. Thomas wouldn't believe without physically touching Jesus' body. Jesus ate with them. Visions don't consume food.

Except for John, all those apostles died brutal deaths as martyrs. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't sacrifice my life for a myth or propaganda. These men had firsthand knowledge of what you don't know yet: Jesus Christ rose from the dead and every word he said is absolutely true.

You can keep exploring until you discover that yourself, as I did, or you can continue a life without God. But if you choose the latter, you'll be troubled by that other question for the rest of your life:

Places to keep exploring

Here are some sites that raise points you may not have considered. If you watch videos on these sites, you'll quickly realize that Christians are not naive and simplistic. These are brilliant intellects dealing with the idea of life without God. Do you have an open mind? Are you willing to listen and explore? Great! Then here are some places to do it:

Dr. Gary Habermas

Evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Christianity.about.com

One of the most information-packed sites on the Web.

Back to the Bible

Making the Bible easy to understand.

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