Experience God Through Skepticism

Atheists categorically believe that there is no God. Agnostics hold the view that any ultimate reality (as God) is unknown and probably unknowable. Agnostica are therefore not committed to believing in either the existence or the nonexistence of God.

Christians believe in the Holy Bible, which to atheists, agnostics, and some religions is a mere book and consequently CANNOT prove the existence of God whose name is Jehovah in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. However, the proposition herein is to be a skeptic and end the controversy.

Miguel de Unamuno, a Spanish philosopher said, “The skeptic does not mean him who doubts, but he who investigates or researches, as opposed to him who asserts and thinks that he has found.” His definition of a skeptic and what Diderot said about skepticism coincide. Namely, skepticism is the first step toward truth.

Given what the two philosophers said being a skeptic about the reality of God could prove that He is whom the Bible says or it is the biggest lie ever perpetrated on humanity. However, confirmation of Him would come only from ones’ earnestness in deciding to want to know.

Albert Einstein said, “Ethical axioms are found and tested not very differently from the axioms of science. Truth is what stands the test of experience.” Therefore, if the Bible is true, there would be an experiential validation. Namely, on the premise of Unamuno’s definition of a skeptic, the investigating or researching because of sincerely wanting to know the truth would cause God to reveal Himself experientially to the extent that it would override skepticism to cause the individual to want to worship Him. Whatever level a sincere skeptic’s IQ is, God has a strategy for reaching the individual.

Note the declaration that God [as the incarnated Jesus Christ] made in the New Testament recorded in John 14:21, “He who has [knows] my commandments and keeps [obeys] them, it is he who loves [revers] Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”

The declaration would equate to an acid test, i.e, the ultimate test. Given what Jesus it would be justifiable to assume that He promised to initiate experiences that would be evidence to validate Himself. Faith would consequently be ignited in one wanting to know Him. His manifestations would continue so the Faith of believers would be perpetually strengthened. His manifestation(s) would squelch all assertions from individuals and arguements based on doctrines of other religions proporting that He was just a mere man and not the Son of God. Jesus’ manifestation(s) would validate the Bible, which would conversely prove sacred books of other religions to be mere books and the religions to be ideologies.

The doctrine of Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ of the New Testament is the incarnated Jehovah of the Old Testament and therefore both God and man: a mystery (Refer to the tab, The Trinity Of The “One God”.). The doctrine is based on the Old Testament prophecy recorded in Isaiah 7:14:, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” The New Testament fulfillment is recorded in Matthew 1:23: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.” Therefore, Jesus could be translated, “Jehovah with us”.

Given that Jehovah is eternal one aspect of the ultimate test for John 14:21 would be experiencing Jesus performing His mission statement for us now as recorded by the physician, Luke, in Luke 4:18-19: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel [the good news of Jesus’ incarnation as God and what He brings to humanity] to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Consider the following analogies:

• to preach the gospel to the poor: redemption for lives void of the joys of living
• to heal the brokenhearted: emotional healing from bad experiences whether the victim or the perpetrator
• to proclaim liberty to the captives: deliverance from addictions, habits, life-styles, and/or situations that prohibits a productive and fulfilling life
• recovery of sight to the blind: despair replaced with hope
• to set at liberty those who are bruised: takes the pain out of the hurts from the past
• to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord: an admonishment to submit and pray to God in humility now before something too big for one to master alone causes her/him to plead in desperation later

The love that Jesus Christ has for individuals that conform to His teachings is evident in what He promises to those who serve Him as recorded by John, the Apostle, in John 15:7-11:

7. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
8. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit [influence others to serve Him by what they witness about you]; so you will be My disciples.
9. As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
10. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.
11. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

The Apostle, John, reiterated vs. 10 in his writings in 1 John 3:24:

24. Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

(Please refer to The Fellowship-Relationship: The Evidence Of Born-Again for Biblical doctrine about the correlation between the Holy Spirit and the human spirit in being Born-Again. The experiential evidence it produces would be realities that give believers perpetual confirmations that Jesus Christ is whom the Bibles says He is and thus would sustain their Faith. Otherwise, with no discernible realities, Jesus would be equated to an ideological object of worship.)

Thus, Jesus manifesting Himself would unequivocally accomplish two things:

1. validate the Bible
2. distinguish Jehovah [incarnated in the Person of Jesus Christ] from other deities

Being an atheist or agnostic is one’s right. However, to proclaim the nonexistence of God without compliance to the condition for which He said He would manifest Himself is a gross injustice and does not exemplify the integrity that one innately possesses.

As in laboratory experiments to validate laws of physics, the proper environments must be created for the possibilities of obtaining the anticipated results. The same is true in this instance, the proper condition must exist before the “ultimate test” for John 14:21 can be manifested.

The only prerequisite one must meet is having 100% earnestness for wanting to know if God is whom the Bible says He is. Compliance to the teaching of Jesus would prove the earnestness. Jesus would respond in ways He deems necessary prove that He is real, i.e., the God Who will manifest Himself for those that worship Him. The process WOULD NOT be complicated. Otherwise, the Bible would be ambiguous and thus could not be validated as inspired by God.

The Ultimate Experience

Given that the God of the Bible is a Spirit the human psyche is the only medium by which an experience could indisputably prove Him to be Whom the Bibles says He is. This concurs with Romans 8:16, “The Spirit Himself bears witness [communicates] with our spirit that we are children of God . . .” Otherwise, without the Spiritual communication with the Almighty God, the Bible would be just another book and endeavoring to use only it to comprehend God would be absolutely impossible to achieve.

One personally experiencing interventions by the God of the Bible would be convinced that living according to its principles is a very small sacrifice to make. One example would be Divine intervention when he/she is besieged by an adverse episode that is common to life and the individual does not have the capability to escape it or resolve it.

The most amazing experience would be the Almighty Heavenly Father intervening when a person’s spirit-being cries to be freed from habits, lifestyles, the consequential effects thereof, and/or the emotional effects of previous bad experiences whether the individual was the perpetrator or the victim. Such an intervention would be evidence that our Heavenly Father would disallow bad experiences and wrong decisions in the past to control the present or dictate the future.

If one is willing, the Almighty God [Jesus in the New Testament] would miraculously empower her/him to live the disciplined life, which would equate to a Spiritual transformation; a Spiritual rebirth. This would empower her/him to avoid succumbing to temptations for what the Bible refers to as sin. But, if she/he does happen to succumb, the Bible teaches that God will forgive sin if the confession is sincere. (See The Fallen Christian.)

God would also reciprocate with tangible blessings for allowing the empowerment. He can cause us to excel far beyond what our personal resourcefulness (intellectual, financial, and etc.) can carry us. The Biblical principle to validate that is in Ephesians 3:20: “Now to Him [God] who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power [His presence] that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever.” This would be another experience, which would be evidence that would validate the authenticity of the Bible and thus the God of the Bible.

The ultimate reward would be spending eternity with God in the place that the Bible calls heaven after the earthly demise. But, until then, one should concentrate on being a good productive citizen as a testimony to her/his profession of Christianity.

(Unfortunately, too often the characters of the people that profess to serve Jesus Christ are the opposite of what the Bible says about Him. Therefore, dismiss any preconceived opinions from discussions, reprehensible reports by the news media, or any religious tyranny that occurred in the name of Jesus Christ but were inconsistent with the peace and love He proclaimed. Just as Jesus had Judas, hypocrites (clergy and laity) are amongst Christians today.)

Examine what the Bible says about Jesus. Experience what He said by complying to His teachings. As Einstein said, “. . . Truth is what stands the TEST of experience.” Discover whether He is who the Bible says or if He is the biggest lie ever perpetrated on the world.

IF God is whom the Bible says and IF one will commit to obeying His teachings, THEN He will unequivocally do the foremost thing regarding anyone’s past bad experiences, wrong decisions, and sins: not allow them to control the present or dictate the future. (See my personal testimony on the tab, My Past Was Holding Me Hostage.)

This brings about experiencing the peace the Apostle Paul mentioned in one of his writings: Philippians 4:7, “. . . and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” God’s peace brings fulfillment impossible to be experienced from intellectual achievements, accumulation of assets, prominence in society, or genuine friendships. In defiance to logic, God’s peace keeps the psyche calm during turbulent episodes of life in general because it gives assurance of His interventions.

The humanity that the Bible ascribes to the incarnated Jehovah, Jesus Christ, would cause Him to understand how one could be blindsided by the consequences of past actions and/or experiences. Those consequences and regrets could cause one to say, “if I knew then what I know now, I would not have . . .”

IF God is whom the Bible says He is, THEN a fellowship-relationship with Him will be bidirectional. It will be comparable to Newton’s 3rd law wherein every action has a reaction.

Given the promise that Jesus made to manifest Himself to individuals that obey His teachings one would know Him experientially. Thus, being a skeptic as defined by Miguel De Unamuno could be the ultimate strategy to test what the Bible says about Jesus Christ.

If this text makes sense, say the following prayer. It’s a suggested way of demonstrating humility and expressing your willingness to God to embrace living by Biblical principles and experiencing the consequential effects. Sincerity would will draw God to you like a magnet attracts metal.

A Personal Prayer Our Father in heaven, I want to know from my personal experience the reality of who You are in the Person of Your Son, Jesus. I want to experience the realities that come from having the daily fellowship with You that results from serving Him. Thus, all doubt would be removed. I have lived life my way: doing whatever I wanted to do without giving consideration to any action being categorized as sin. But, right now I humble myself before You by asking You to forgive me of all sin. Give me understanding as I read the content of this site. This I ask in the name of Jesus. Amen (So be it as it has been stated)

See The Fellowship-Relationship: Evidence of Born Again for a Biblical explanation for “Born-Again”.