Why is it so hard for people to believe that? To believe or know, that God exists, or multiple Gods exist, requires evidence. Science requires evidence yet can never “prove” anything; in the end, a person has to reach a conclusion based on the evidence, evidence that can be measured. While this is like faith, mathematical proofs exist. Philosophers and Physicists have used mathematics to “prove” the existence of God, through reasoning and logic. Lookup Gödel’s Ontological Proof[1] in Wikipedia to find out more. Other such scientific articles can be found at Scientific American[2], BBC Future[3], and Understanding Science[4]. There are plenty of good books to review, such as Finding God in Science[5]
Another view is experiential. People throughout the ages have had spiritual experiences that have been documented. Near death experiences[6] come to mind. Physicians have seen these many times, even though they can’t say why. In addition, there are recorded historical accounts, witnesses to encounters, and observations made by others, even animals. There is so much evidence that a supernatural, non-material, invisible world exists, that it’s hard not to believe. “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.” Funny, but it points out the logic in believing through experience and observation. There is also historical evidence.
Throughout history, evidence shows that humans have been conscious of spirits. Every ethnic culture has stories involving spirits, from as far back as we can look[7]. People have had experiences that convinced them that there were invisible beings. There are also many similarities among them, from the creation theory, the flood and people and places mentioned in the Bible. Check out how many civilizations had belief in a creator God[8]. Most of them have embellished the basic facts, but they have the same foundational truths.
Shared with Christianity, Hebrew and Islam, these other belief systems have the great Void, out of which comes something, who gives birth to something else that becomes the Creator who makes the Earth, the heavens, space and stars, humans, animals, and all other things. They are all fascinating to read, especially when you can see how these people applied the facts to different stories with the same basic truths. Christianity adds one more character to the picture, Jesus, which in many ways is the creator of the ancient stories, being born from the original “being”. There’s a lot more evidence, some circumstantial, and some physical, so let’s just agree, that God exists.
[1] Gödel’s ontological proof – Wikipedia
[2] Can Science Rule Out God? – Scientific American Blog Network
[3] Can physics prove if God exists? – BBC Future
[4] Science and religion: Reconcilable differences – Understanding Science (berkeley.edu)
[5] Finding God In Science: The Extraordinary Evidence For The Soul And Christianity, A Rocket Scientist’s Gripping Odyssey by Michael O’Connell | Goodreads
[6] Near-Death Experiences Evidence for Their Reality – PMC (nih.gov)
[7] Prehistoric religion – Stone Age, Cultures, Beliefs | Britannica