What has always dumbfounded me is why people wrestle so anxiously and aggressively with the concept of God having created the world, the universe, us...
Resorting to theories like the Big Bang and Darwin's theory of evolution only seems to serve the human angst of not believing what they cannot apprehend and prove with their five bodily senses, and yet - though no-one was present at the time of creation, be it the fabled Big Bang, evoltion being witnessed or Adam being formed from the soil and fashioned into the image of God and the breath of life being breathed into his nostrils by the Creator, people persist in their hell-bent belief in apparently scientific theories about the origin of life, deliberately neglecting to investigate scientific data that would certainly support the creation story as presented in the first chapters of Genesis which would thereby undermine their existing belief system that life came into being by some grand accident, devoid of an intentional Creator God.
It's called cognitive dissonance.
Cognitive dissonance occurs when a person's behavior and beliefs do not complement each other or when they hold two contradictory beliefs. It causes a feeling of discomfort that can motivate people to try to feel better. People may do this via defense mechanisms, such as avoidance. | Medical News Today
Of course, the motives of a man's heart are complex and distorted by the relentless human desire to live life on their own, self-based terms. And I wonder if I should even begin to attempt the unpacking of these inescapable urges of the soul to hide themselves away from a God who allows us to exercise our free will in choosing or rejecting a relationship with Him.
This morning I came across a pertinent little meme that said:
You can't chase down every lie or fight off every rumour. Sometimes you just need to let people believe what they want, and focus only in serving Jesus.
I think of how I have tried, over all the many years I have believed in Jesus as my Saviour, to learn the scientific, archaelogical and logic-based arguments supporting the statistical and historical validity of the Scriptures, the forensic facts of Jesus' resurrection (and more) but how, in the end, it somehow became a futile expenditure of time and attention. I came to realise that it was infinitely more precious to the Lord and more beneficial to me, to expand my own personal knowledge of Him and continually pursue the deepending of my close relationship with Him - and to literally live out the Gospel in my daily life: directing my steps, informing my decisions, filling my heart with His love for those around me - believers and those who reject Him outright alike.
Paul Washer's short answer to someone who asked how they should share Jesus with a devoutly atheist family member:
We do not need bulletproof forensic arguments. We do not need to defend God. He does not need defending. We do not need to be, and actually, must not be a little tribe of public relations soldiers.
And so, on that point, we shall instead here endeavour to truly study and investigate His Word - not to prop up our societal positions as proudly knowledgeable experts on all things Christian apologetics - but to draw closer and closer to His heart so we can live a life worthy of our calling. And that includes not being a prideful Pharisee but a humble, gently loving lamp of His love - a city perched for all to see on a hill in the darkest night, that all who may see His light, might see - and believe.
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