Why Should They Believe?

WHAT kind of reasoning leads one to a belief in the existence of God? The Bible gives us a guide. It says: “[God’s] invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made.”—Rom. 1:20.

Considering the “things made”—the creation itself—has led many to a realization that there must be something or someone behind it all. Einstein, whose theories have influenced so much of modern scientific thought, said: “Everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble.”

Look at Yourself

The Bible says: “The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and of the work of his hands the expanse is telling.” (Ps. 19:1) And how eloquently they do so!

However, we do not have to view the vast starry heavens to see demonstrations of God’s power and qualities. Just consider yourself.

Look at your hands. Are they holding the magazine that you are reading? If so, no doubt your arm is bent so as to keep the magazine at the right distance from your eyes. Each finger is exerting just enough pressure to prevent the magazine from falling, but not so much that you tear the paper. Did you think all of this out before you started to read? Of course not. Your body organized the whole thing for you, with just a minimum of decision-making by you.

Although your body is comparatively at rest, what are your eyes doing? They are automatically focusing on successive words or groups of words. The visual impressions are being changed in the back of your eyes to electrical impulses. These are being carried to your brain. If you are concentrating, the brain is storing up information for future use and comparing new material with what was received previously.

Meanwhile, without your giving a thought to it, your heart is busily pumping, sending blood on its complicated journey through your body. That blood is carrying essential substances to places where these are needed, then carrying waste products to locations where these can be expelled from the body.

Additionally, the movement of the diaphragm is filling your lungs with oxygen, then squeezing them to get rid of the carbon dioxide.

If you have eaten recently, your food is now being digested, without your conscious direction. The food is either being mixed with acids in your stomach to break it down to its basic constituents or being squeezed by a complicated muscular action known as “peristalsis” through your intestines, allowing the nutrients to be absorbed into the bloodstream.

There is much other activity going on too. Your bone marrow is making replacement blood cells. Your skin is manufacturing new parts to replace the worn-out surface cells. Your toenails, fingernails and hair are growing. Glands are manufacturing complicated substances to keep your body chemistry balanced. All of this is happening right at this moment even when your body is apparently resting!

The technology of our bodily mechanisms is incredibly more advanced than anything man has been able to accomplish in this space age. Is it logical to view such a masterpiece as the product of mere chance?

The theory of evolution says that mankind is a product of the working of natural laws, but it does not explain who the “lawmaker” is. In effect, it says that we made ourselves. But is it not more logical—more according to the way we know things really happen—to follow the reasoning of the Bible writer who proclaimed: “In a fear-inspiring way I am wonderfully made”? And: “Know that Jehovah is God. It is he that has made us, and not we ourselves”?—Ps. 139:14; 100:3.

Let’s Face Reality

Because of the materialistic trend of thinking in the West, many persons feel uneasy about admitting that there is a God and acknowledging a spiritual answer to the question: “Where did we come from?” One freethinker stated: “We can be sensible and rational only when we express ourselves in terms of and within the realm of present knowledge.” But is that really so?

There are many things that scientists know exist but are unable to explain. Such things as the human mind, our conscience, our instinct for worship—they all certainly exist. But science cannot explain them in terms of “present knowledge.” What about life itself? What is this powerful “life energy” that differentiates living things from the nonliving? Scientists cannot say. Yet it is a part of our everyday experience. In fact, it is so common that we tend to forget how truly miraculous life itself really is.

The familiar law of cause and effect states that every effect must have a cause. There must have been a “cause” for the wonderfully delicate machinery that makes up the human body. Today we are in a better position than any previous generation to see how wise that first “cause” must have been. Yet even more, there must have been a “cause,” a Producer, of such things as the human mind, the human conscience and of life itself. Really, these things can never be satisfactorily explained except in the way that the Bible does. Addressing the God he worshiped, a Bible writer said: “With you is the source of life.” (Ps. 36:9) There is no basis in our “present knowledge” for coming to any other conclusion.

Why, Then, Do Bad Things Happen?

While considering the above arguments, one Filipino atheist raised the following problem: “To some extent there is order, wonder and beauty in nature. But this is only one half of the picture. The other half is terrible chaos.” Then, after explaining what he means by “chaos”—such things as natural disasters, pestilences and the like—he goes on to say: “A religious person gazes lovingly at the order in nature that strengthens his religion, but looks away from the chaos that weakens such creed.”

Do you do that? Or could it be that the atheist is looking away from the “order, wonder and beauty in nature” that weaken his creed of disbelief?

For example, in complaining about pestilences, he is telling only part of the story. He fails to mention the wonderful healing power of our bodies, which itself testifies to the existence of a Maker with wonderful powers. On one occasion, Napoleon’s surgeon-general was thanked by the emperor for healing so many of his soldiers. The surgeon’s answer, according to one version, was: “I tended them, God healed them.”

Besides, does man have a moral right to question God’s existence because of the diseases and other problems that exist? Is it not true that man’s misrule, his wars, crime, dishonesty, and so forth, cause most of these problems? How many pestilences—such as heart disease or cancer—are largely a result of the environment and living habits that man himself has developed? How many other diseases could be controlled but for the fact that a huge proportion of the human race lives in poverty and squalor?

Nevertheless, it is true that not all of man’s problems are directly his own fault. Why does God allow them to happen? Do they prove He does not exist?

An illustration may help us to see this point more clearly. On an island off the west coast of Ireland, there is a place known as the Abandoned Village. It is a small village where nobody lives anymore. As may be imagined, the houses are in a bad state. The roofs are off. The doors are gone. In many cases, walls have collapsed.

In view of the ruinous state of the village, would you say that it is unlikely that anybody designed and built the houses there? Or, would you rather instinctively agree with the Bible’s statement: “Of course, every house is constructed by someone”—yes, even a house now ruined? (Heb. 3:4) Despite the neglected state of those houses, we know they were built by someone. We know, too, that their present condition is not necessarily the fault of the builder. There are ways of preventing houses from deteriorating. But the owners abandoned them. Hence, they are now in ruins.

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WHO DESIGNED THE HUMAN BODY?

BRAIN: A living computer so complex that best man-made models are toys by comparison. Memory and learning capacity estimated at a billion times more than used in present human lifetime.

EYE: A fully automatic, self-focusing, nonblurring, color motion-picture camera that takes instant three-dimensional pictures needing no laboratory development.

HEART: A pump far more efficient than any machine of any kind devised by man. Pumps 1,500 gallons (5,700 L) or more daily, doing enough work to lift your body 500 feet (150 m) straight up.

LIVER: An extremely complicated and versatile chemical laboratory with more than 500 functions, including storage and release of blood, vitamins, minerals and nutrients as needed. Manufactures over 1,000 different enzymes to promote chemical conversions.

BONES: A structural frame weighing only 20 pounds (9 kg), yet strong as iron girders—superbly rigged and balanced to anchor muscles and to shield vital organs.

NERVOUS SYSTEM: A massive communications network that receives and/or acts on 100,000,000 sensations a second through electrochemical impulses. Reaches every square millimeter of skin, every muscle, blood vessel bone and organ.

Help to Recognize the Existence of God

In the West, most people know what is meant by the term “Supreme Being,” although many claim not to believe in him. In the East, the problem is more difficult. Many do not understand the expression. A former non-Christian said about his onetime fellow religionists: “Most of them lack imagination as to the existence of the Supreme Being.”

For both these kinds of person, however, the first step in helping them to know God has often been to point to the creation and the reason that there must be an original Maker, an original Designer. One Christian who has served a long time in Japan explained: “We make use of illustrations. It takes an intelligent person to make a watch, camera, etc., but these things are without life. Look at a flower, a bird or the human body. Who designed these?” With such reasoning, he tries to build up in the Oriental mind the idea of the existence of God.

Helping Them to Know God

To progress from recognizing that a creative force exists, to coming to know God as a loving, heavenly Father is quite a big step. Even Einstein, evidently, could not accept that the creative spirit that he discerned behind the universe was really a personality who could be approached by mankind. He once commented: “The main source of the present-day conflicts between the spheres of religion and science lies in the concept of a personal God.”

How have persons who now believe become acquainted with God as a person? Here, they had to rely on God himself. In a large country, most of the citizens may know about the existence of their head of state. Their lives are affected daily by him. Nevertheless, those who become his friends are only those to whom he makes himself accessible. Similarly, we can learn from the creation about the undoubted existence of God, and our lives are daily affected by him, in that we enjoy his gifts of food, air, sunlight, rain, and so forth. Nevertheless, we could never get to know him unless he made himself accessible to us.

Happily, he has done this. How? Well, one way is by means of the Bible. In that book, he has had recorded his dealings with mankind over the years. He has shown us his qualities, and even given us a name by which we can speak to him. That name is “Jehovah.” (Ps. 83:18) Hence, those persons who have truly come to know God have first had to cultivate an appreciation for that amazing book.

Most people recognize that there is something different about the Bible. It has been translated into far more languages than any other book. It is the all-time best seller. It has survived over the centuries despite determined efforts to destroy it. It goes farther back in history than any other book. What many do not accept, however, is the Bible’s own claim to be inspired. But the Bible clearly states: “All Scripture is inspired of God.” (2 Tim. 3:16) Can this claim be demonstrated as true? Yes, and persons who at one time did not believe, but now have come to know Jehovah, were willing to take the needed time to examine the evidence personally. What did they find?

They saw in the Bible hundreds of prophecies that have come true. They realized that no human could have known all these details of human affairs centuries, even thousands of years, in advance. The Bible itself indicates that the ability to prophesy correctly is one proof of godship. (Isa. 46:8-10) Regarding Bible prophecies that had been fulfilled up to his time, one of God’s ancient servants said: “Not one word out of all the good words that Jehovah your God has spoken to you has failed. They have all come true for you. Not one word of them has failed.” (Josh. 23:14) Those who are convinced of this have also found that fulfillment of prophecy is not simply a thing of the past. More prophecies are coming true in our own day. As they have examined the facts, they have felt compelled to acknowledge that the Bible must be God’s inspired word.—See Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21; 2 Timothy 3:1-5.

They have found to be equally impressive the counsel and guidance in the Bible. Gradually they realized that these bespeak an intelligence that is much higher than mere folk wisdom. They saw before them the knowledge and understanding of someone who has observed mankind for thousands of years and who knows what is best for us. They found the Bible’s advice for married couples, for youths, for poor and rich people, to be a constant source of wonderment because of the insight it reflected and its practicality. (See, for example, Colossians 3:5-8, 18-25; 1 Timothy 6:9-11, 17-19; Matthew 6:24-34; Proverbs 7:1-27.) As they personally began to apply this counsel, they experienced the truth of Psalm 119:2: “Happy are those observing [God’s] reminders; with all the heart they keep searching for him.”

Other Ways to Get to Know God

In Japan, a few years ago, a gentleman happened to ride a train several days in succession with a group of Christians attending an assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Their conduct impressed him so much that he investigated. Long ago, the apostle Paul told all Christians to “become imitators of God.” (Eph. 5:1) Just as children often become reflections of their parents, so true Christians try to reflect their heavenly Father in their lives and conduct. It was the fruitage of these efforts that so impressed the Japanese gentleman referred to here, and helped him to come to know Jehovah. Now he, too, is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Similarly, a lady from another Eastern country, when asked to list the things that helped her to come to know God, mentioned among other things: “The knowledge of the governing laws and principles that are able to unite all kinds of men, regardless of racial differences, as proved by the example of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” And: “Observing the personalities of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Hence, in the conduct and activities of his worshipers, the Creator reveals himself to seeking ones.

The above-mentioned lady also referred to another thought-provoking thing that led her to know the Creator. She said: “Many of my personality traits have been changed—to my own amazement!” How was that possible? The apostle Paul said we should expect such a thing to happen. He told Christians: ‘Be made new in the force actuating your mind. Put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.’ (Eph. 4:23, 24) Honest people try to quell bad tendencies that they find in themselves. It is difficult. But those who worship the Creator have a ‘force actuating their minds’ that enables them to do it. This is fortified by God’s own holy spirit. Strengthened by this “force,” some have been cured of drug addiction, sexual perversion, criminal tendencies, and so forth. They have become loving, joyful, peaceful, long-suffering, kind, good, faithful, mild and self-controlled. (Gal. 5:22, 23) This has been a strong confirmation to them of God’s existence, and of his desire to help them.

Prayer is another way by which they have come to know God. The apostle John said: “No matter what it is that we ask according to his will, he hears us.” (1 John 5:14) Of course, God does not answer the prayers of everyone. “Jehovah is far away from the wicked ones, but the prayer of the righteous ones he hears,” says Proverbs 15:29. However, those who serve God faithfully do pray, and their prayers are answered. It is difficult not to believe in someone that you talk to constantly, and who answers you in various ways.

Yes, Jehovah Exists

Yes, Jehovah God does exist. Of this there is no doubt. And he wants his creatures to know him. He has revealed himself by means of his created works, by means of the Bible, as well as by the way his spirit works on his organization and on individuals.