In last week’s newssheet I started outlining why I’m a Christian, beginning with how atheism requires a person to suspend reality. Using the Kalam Cosmological argument, I explained that to believe the universe burst into existence (i.e. the Big Bang) out of nothing is a metaphysical absurdity. You cannot get something out of nothing.
Yet being a theist (one who believes in God) poses an important question. What does this God think about my sin? If I am to meet my maker one day, will he not demand an account for my sinful actions? While some may be content living what Socrates called ‘the unexamined life’, the big question all rational adults must answer is ‘what am I going to do about my Sin?’
This fundamental question is why many chose atheism. It’s not that they believe God doesn’t exist; it’s that they don’t want him to. The reason being that if God is real, and he cares anything about justice, then I’m cooked. I believe it was C. S. Lewis who once advised that if one ever wanted to know just how sinful they actually are, all they need do is try stopping a particular sin in their life. Their complete failure will highlight the depths of their sinful nature.
Now just like being a theist doesn’t make one a Christian, so too is admitting one is sinful. But it does inspire a person to keep searching. For if I am to stand before my Maker one day and he asks ‘why should I let you into my heaven’, I’d better have a pretty lock-tight answer. The one exam you don’t want to ‘wing’ is the one about where we will spend eternity.
So, (i) knowing beyond reasonable doubt that God exists, and (ii) knowing for certain that I am sinful, makes me want to find out which world religion, if any, leads to the real God. We will turn to this question next week.
