My View on "Prove God"

I thank all of you who replied. Your input is valuable to me and the subject at hand is a very fundamental yet sometimes, poorly covered. I don't claim to cover it any better than anyone else, but these are my observations after seeking God's guidance and discussing the question with other people.

The most common answer I received is that we are to tell people to "look at God's Creation." God has created a magnificent world around us and has allowed us to witness all the miraculous happenings from day to day. In fact, Creation is probably the most blatant proof of God's existence. However, since we live in this miracle everyday, our view of its splendor can be dulled. A constant stimulus of nearly any sense will eventually become much less noticeable after only a short time. If I lay a brick on you hand, you feel the weight quite well and may be uncomfortable. But if that brick remains and you do not move your hand, its existence will become less apparent. So, Creation is great proof of God but it seems much less magnificent to many people as time goes on.

So what else? How about anomalies in life that "science" cannot specifically explain? We call them miracles. I drowned when I was nine years old. My brother found me in much shallower water than I was swimming in. I was not breathing for more than ten minutes. I have no permanent brain damage after that ordeal. The water that was in my lungs while in the ambulance disappeared once we got to the hospital. There are many events that day that cannot be explained by a scientific method, however, people will try and deny facts. "Well, maybe you didn't really go that long without air." "You probably drowned in much shallower water than you remember and suffer from short term memory loss." "Maybe the EMTs were mistaken when they thought they heard water in your lungs." This was my experience and the experience of the people who were there, so it is much less believable to people who did not witness the miracle. My experiences are not evidence of God's existence to people who did not witness the same thing. There is always the belief that I may engorge the story so as to look more tragic and awesome than it really was, so MY experience is often discredited.

How about the history found in the Bible? There were such and such many prophesies that Jesus fulfilled in His life and to do that is impossible. But people who do not believe in God do not trust the Bible either. They don't believe it is the inspired Word of God sent to man in order for them to understand. So the Bible's historical evidence is no evidence to people who don't have faith in God already.

Sounds kind of vain. Here's what I have witnessed:
Depending on the circumstances, there are two reasons a person might ask you to prove God. One type of person will only want to argue. It's useless to engage in that conversation. If they come to you to argue, they want to prove you wrong, not hear the Truth. Proverbs 23:9 says, "Do not speak in the hearing of a fool, For he will despise the wisdom of your words."
The other kind of person you may encounter is really interested in your view and what you can tell them. These people are very few and far between. Engage them in conversation, they want to hear. Don't deny someone who is seeking the Truth.

Remember, everyone comes into a conversation with a preconceived belief about the subject. A objective person will be able to disregard their expectations but a non-objective thinker is hard to convince.

So again, if you do end up getting asked by someone to prove God and they are truly interested in the Truth, what do you tell them?

My answer? I cannot "prove" God to anyone. God never asked me to defend is existence. He will exist regardless of people's belief in Him. When Jesus was entering Jerusalem on a colt he explained to the Pharisees who told him to stop the praises that, "I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" Luke 19:39

God doesn't need proven, but his Gospel needs spread. We were instructed to share the Good News with all creation. (Mark 16:15) So do that. Share with those who ask you to prove God, the Gospel. God proves Himself to people, that is not our job. We are to live lives that glorify God and be an example of God's love for man. 2 Corinthians 6:2-3 speaks of the "Day of Salvation." Verse three specifically says, ". . . giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited."

One last thing; every man knows of God's existence. Don't believe me? Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse." God is the God who reveals Himself to creation.

I always welcome your input. Please leave a comment if you have something say.

All verses are taken from the New American Standard Bible translation.
Joshua