The Search for God
Search, Ask, Submit
What a tremendous metaphysical question! STOP. My wife would stop reading right here. “Stop using such big words!
“Metaphysical is simply relating to a reality beyond what is perceptible to the senses.”
Search and ask more questions
I hate when I ask a simple question and big words get thrown in my face.” Or worse, a statistic you can’t refute. But please keep reading.
At a basic level, we are asking how can we find something we cannot see? From a young age, we know there is a reality beyond what we can see, from a microwave heating up your pizza to a cell phone calling a family member in across the country.
All around us, we are bombarded with the question of what is beyond our senses of hearing and sight.
Days Of Old
In Ancient Times, people thought of God in statues and temples or in nature and animals, something physical we can put our hands on or perceive. But we know…
God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.
Jn 4:23-24
Or how about when the bible says in Psalms 139:7-10
Where can I go from your spirit? Or Where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.
The Psalmist
The idea here and throughout the bible is that God is everywhere. God is spirit; He is an unseen person.
Here is the Difficulty
Is God like microwave radiation and cell phone signals that we can discover like some impersonal force of nature? Or is he an invisible person formed of an unknown spirit substance?
Do we find God, or does He find us?
So, What is God?
When we ask the question, How do I find God? Do we already have in our mind what God is like? Are you trying to find your definition of God, or are we looking for the truth?
In the first premise, we are the same ancient person thinking God is some being in a statue, some part of nature, or the universe; when in reality, GOD’s substance, His or Its being, is not subject to our wants or desires.
Just like the sun radiates whether we wear sunblock or close our eyes, existence, and being are independent of our thoughts and hope. So the definition of God is truth, whether a force of nature or a being with personality.
So let’s Assume God is a Being with a Mind, not a force.
God’s existence and being areunconstrainedindependentseparateautonomoussovereignfrom our thoughts and hope
First Step – Ask Questions
If you disagree with the previous assumption, then please review these three articles, because the first step is to ask questions.
Ask questions with a critical but open mind.
- What is God?
- Why must God reveal himself?
- Why are you searching for God?
- Review my postulates (assumptions)
Most of us have no problem asking questions with a critical mind, but few of us retain an open mind. We have opinions about God and religion that are deeply held and go to the core of our being.
Why did God say that? Why did God do that?
A critical mind will help you so that you are not deceived, but an open mind allows you to explore a topic or religion fully. Pride is the root of all sin. I want more for myself than I want God. This problem can permeate our search for God and Truth.
When we pridefully search for God, we are unwilling to rid ourselves of bias, which places blinders on, keeping us from considering competing theories. We become like a cart horse with blinkers that restrict our vision.
Therefore, we are often unwilling to accept what God claims is true. Basically, we are saying, God, “I need you, so I don’t go to hell.
Please carry me away from eternal death.” But, I don’t need you to tell me to stop using drugs; to stop abusing my workers, wife, or children; to stop watching pornography; to stop having premarital sex or homosexual relations.
You are only sufficient where I think you are needed. Our critical mind but not a humble mind.
The thing I learned most from Islam is rooted in the very definition of the word. SUBMISSION.
Will We Pass the Test?
The search for God is not only a search for TRUTH but also a test of whether we will submit to that truth. Math and science are searches for truth but also tests of submission.
You can write 2+3=5 all you want or believe the earth is flat, but on tests, you will be wrong.
- If I were to find God, would I submit?
- If God speaks, will I not only listen but follow?
Step Two – What Has God Said?
The first step to finding God is to find places where God claimed to speak or where someone claims God spoke or visibly acted.
Here, God moves from an invisible spirit realm into a visible human world. This is paramount; by visibly working in our world, God can be confirmed by more than just one person.
Today, as in ancient times, there are many reports of people claiming to have a conversation with God, but others struggle to agree without the testimony of three or more witnesses.
With over 40 authors, 66 separate books spanning over 1500 years, and numerous prophecies; God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds.
…who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high —
Heb 1:1-3
If you do this; If you look for people who claim to have experience with the God of the universe, you will find three main extant trees.
- The Abrahamic tree (Judaism, Christianity, Islam being the three most prominent)
- The Buddhist tree
- The Hindu tree
- If you want to undertake a journey comparing religions, check out my postulates.
Step Three – How Much is Enough?
How much evidence is enough? How much research have we done or do we only refer to hearsay, “well such and such said….” or “my favorite source says…” Have we gone to read the original documents with a critical but open mind?
Then have we compared each religion for TRUTH claims.
What evidence would be required for you to believe?
The Quran says Jesus did not resurrect from the dead, the bible says Jesus did resurrect with over 100 witnesses. ONLY ONE CAN BE TRUE.
What evidence would be required for you to believe whether God spoke? Before you begin your search, how much is enough? Will we dismiss each claim one by one, or once an objection is answered, will we say “I was wrong” and begin to wonder what else I have been wrong about.
For me, I came to the conclusion that if God spoke either Judaism or Christianity were and are correct, but you know what I didn’t want to believe.
Why? I didn’t want to submit. I didn’t want to change. When God speaks there is a requirement upon my life.
Why do you call me Lord, Lord, yet don’t do what I say?
Jesus in Luke 6:46
and again, James says
But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works
James 2:18
- Search for evidence
- Compare evidence
- Determine what level of evidence is required
- Act upon that evidence
What if I don’t want to read primary sources?
There are numerous books available. From the Christian perspective check out…
- Evidence that Demands a Verdict
- The Case for Christ
- More Than a Carpenter
- Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus
Next Steps
Chronicle your journey, write these answers down.
- Ask questions – Search – with a critical but humble mind
- Ask yourself honestly, will you submit?
- Examine Religions claiming that God spoke (review my postulates)
- How much evidence will be enough?
The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples made by human hands.
God intended that they would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
Apostle Paul Acts 17:24,27 Speaking to the Greeks in the Areopagus
What Next?
- What is the crucial concept?
- Why is that significant?
- If you agree, the next steps
- If you disagree, please consider reading