How Can We Be Sure God Exists?

“There is no God. If there is a God, then why does bad things happen to good people”?

Welcome back friends. Today we will be taking a look at the response to this skeptic’s question. This is a very common question and believe it or not, a reason why many choose to not believe in God. Because this is such a common response, we will visit this topic again in a later post with another (different) apologetics response.

Do not get tripped up on this response and question from the skeptic. Focus on the main topic first (“There is no God”) and then after presenting your case and letting it sink in for a couple moments, answer the question of, “Why does bad things happen to good people?” We will explore this question in another post.

When first hearing this response/question, as Christians, it’s our first instinct to reply with a verse(s) from Scripture. However, we should restrain from doing this as our first response. We must remember the basics of apologetics (use a reply in which the skeptic can relate to that will cause him/her to question their stance and belief). Keep in mind that many have not read or even touched a Bible. So quoting Scripture right out the gate in defense, will usually result in your words falling on deaf ears. Today, I’m going to give two examples of the use of apologetics. The first is an illustration that my wife showed me from a social media post.

The illustration goes like this: A pastor walks into a barbershop, sits down and get his hair cut.

The barber and pastor begin talking and then the barber (skeptic) says… “So what do you do for a living?”

(Christian) “I’m a pastor.”

(Skeptic) “There’s no such thing as God. I don’t understand why you would choose that job.”

(Christian) “What makes you think there’s no God?”

(Skeptic) “Well if there is a God, then why do bad things happen to good people?”

(Christian) “Hmm. That’s a good question.”

The pastor ends up leaving, tips and thanks the barber, paid the barber, and steps outside. He looks across and sees a very hairy and dirty homeless man laying down on a bench. He walks over, and says “Come with me”. They both go into the barbershop.

(Christian) “Hey barber. There’s no such thing as a barber.”

(Skeptic) “What are you talking about?”

(Christian) “Well if barbers exist, then why is this man so hairy and scruffy like this?”

(Skeptic) “The problem isn’t that I don’t exist. It’s that he never came to see me.”

Here is another example. The Christian is in a break room at work with other co-workers and hears them talking about God and joins the conversation.

(Skeptic) “There is no God. If there is, then explain to me why bad things happen to good people.”

(Christian) “So from what I understand, you’re saying that God does not exist. Am I correct?”

(Skeptic) “Yes.”

(Christian) “Have at any point in your life, you woken up happy and full of joy and didn’t know why? Or just suddenly felt happy for no reason?”

(Skeptic) “Yes, I can remember that happening quite a few times.”

(Christian) “Well that was actually God our Father kissing your spirit and reminding you that He loves you. So, tell me… how would you like to have that joy all the time?”

(Skeptic) “Of course. Who wouldn’t?”

At this point, you can throw the net.

“I am persuaded that men think there is no God because they wish there was none. They find it hard to believe in God, and to go on in sin, so they try to get an easy conscience by denying his existence.” – Charles Spurgeon

“God maintains a delicate balance between keeping His existence sufficiently evident so people will know He’s there and yet hiding His presence enough so that people who want to choose to ignore Him can do it. This way, their choice of destiny is really free.” – J. P. Moreland

“I solemnly charge you before God and Christ Jesus, who is going to judge the living and the dead, and because of His appearing and His kingdom: Proclaim the message; persist in it whether convenient or not; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching (2 Timothy 4:1-2 [HCSB]).”

Thank you for spending your precious time with me. May the Lord continue to strengthen you and bless you with good health as you go and do.