Is Theism Irrational?

Is it irrational to believe in God? To be irrational is to be against reason. Is theism against reason? If something is against reason, is it wrong? Is reason the ultimate judge of truth? How do we know that? Because reason tells us so? But reason is only a tool: we use it to advance a logical progression of thought. It can take us to different conclusions, depending on the premises we assume--such as, “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be” (Carl Sagan), or “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). 

Has science proven that God doesn’t exist? Science can explain so much when it comes to how the universe operates. But can it prove that God doesn’t exist? The subject of scientific investigation is the physical universe. The spiritual realm is outside the domain of science. Is it scientific to assert that non-material entities, such as God or angels or demons, don't exist? Science must assume that nothing exists outside the physical realm; it cannot prove that. 

Similarly, theists cannot scientifically prove the existence of God, who is not a physical being. Many demand that He prove His existence through miracles. But no number of miracles will be able to convince a skeptic, who is committed to materialistic naturalism. To him, a supernatural event will be just a brilliant magic trick, for which there has to be a scientific explanation. Even if science can't explain it now, he believes that someday it will. All I'm pointing out is that there is a fundamental, presuppositional commitment on the part of materialists, which doesn't allow any other alternative. 

We cannot prove God’s existence. Nor can we prove the opposite. To be a materialistic atheist is an act of faith as much as it is to be a theist: one looks out into the world and only sees a physical universe, seeing its delicate design merely as an accident; another looks out into the world and sees through its delicate design the Grand Designer of it all. 

The Bible does not try to prove God's existence: it assumes it as self-evident. In fact, it declares that everyone knows Him deep inside. God placed the knowledge of God in every human soul. According to the Bible, atheism is not an intellectual problem (not knowing that God exists) but a moral one (not wanting to believe in God because we don’t want to be accountable to Him, Romans 1:18-19). 

One of the strongest pieces of evidence of the supernatural (and God) is man himself. He is a hybrid of the natural and the supernatural: though he is made up of lifeless, mindless particles, he is alive, conscious of his being as well as his environment. Though he finds himself in an a-moral universe, he cannot shake off the thoughts of morality and justice. Though he has only one life to live, his deepest longing is not so much to live long as to live well (i.e., for something greater than himself), even if it costs his life. 

But the greatest evidence of the supernatural (and God) is the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as testified by His disciples. The end of everything in this world is destruction and death. “Nature is a sinking ship,” slowly but surely burning itself out. But, by His resurrection, Jesus showed a power that comes from outside of this physical universe, a power that is stronger than death, even than the Second Law of Thermodynamics. On the basis of Jesus' resurrection, the Bible calls on you to turn away from unbelief and immorality, reminding you that death is not your end but that a day of reckoning awaits all. You can stand alone to defend yourself before God, or you can have Jesus as your Advocate, who died for your sin and rose again for your eternal life. Put your faith, not in a sinking ship but in a resurrected Savior for the gift of eternal life in the presence of God!