The development of science through human understanding is a marvelous accomplishment. It is a testimony to the innate ability of humans to perceive and understand the natural world we all live in. But I think the proponents of science have gone too far when they try to use science to prove that God does not exist. I was carried along by this presumption for a long time, but now, in my mature old age, I have some very serious problems with this presumption.
It’s easy to ponder the physical universe and eventually discover the universal laws of nature that seem to regulate the properties of matter, energy, space, and time. I think the problem lies in presuming that God also has to abide by these laws and anything he creates would have to function within those laws. I don’t think this is correct. God not only created the entire universe: he created all the laws that govern it. He actually has the ability to create anything he wants. He could have created a perfect world where there is no suffering, no sickness, no death, and especially where there is no injustice inflicted on anybody. It would have been just a easy for him to create a world like that as it was for him to create the present world.
When you come right down to it, why would he create the present world as it is? I don’t think he gets any pleasure from seeing the world as it is today. It’s extremely beautiful on the surface, but underneath it appears to be a brutal jungle: tooth and fang, survival of the fittest, extermination of the weak, dog eat dog, etc. Having infinite ability, why would he want to create something as brutal and uncompromising as that? It’s a good thing for me that God made a revelation. I think there is a purpose why God created the world as he did, and that purpose revolves around me and all my fellow human beings.
I think the scientific explanation of why I exist: that I simply evolved from lower life forms, shaped by a series of chance events, without the guidance of God or any intelligence—this misses the whole point of why I or any human being exists. I exist because God wants me to exist. Far from being just an evolved animal, I am a sovereign person, gifted with the power to choose, never to be subjected by force against my free choice. I am similar to God in that respect. God wants my allegiance because he deserves it, and I really owe it to him. But nobody is permitted to force me. I should choose allegiance of my own free will. This is why I exist: I’m free to choose, but I must choose allegiance to God.
The present world with all its defects is exactly as God wants it to be. It will remain that way until I and every other human being make up our minds and make our final choices. Then God will make a new world that will show what God can really do when everybody loves God and is eager to serve him.
Maurice A. Williams
RETURN HOME