Day 1 – the universal starting point
If we refuse to discuss the existence of God, we are simply avoiding the central issue. –ELTON TRUEBLOOD
The first leg of each of our religious journeys is the existence of God. No matter how far our paths may later diverge, our initial steps are the same. We first must decide in our hearts and minds whether or not “He is there.”
Most people throughout history have come to the conclusion that God does exist. Some have restricted their worship to one deity, as seen in the three great monotheistic faiths: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Others have embraced a plethora of gods, Hindu polytheism being a prime example. Regardless, all religions have as their common denominator a belief in some type of divine being. A religion without a god would be as meaningless and impossible as a water molecule without hydrogen. A godless religion is no religion at all.
Our answer to the question of God’s existence is thus the first fork in the road. If we say “yes”, we head in one direction. If we say “no”, we travel a different path, one that leads quickly to a dead end. It is a waste of time to continue a religious journey without a belief in God.1
Daily Quotation
D. Elton Trueblood, General Philosophy (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1963), 209.
1When I say it would be foolish to proceed forward if God does not exist, I am not implying that your mind must be completely made up about God's existence before the subject of His nature can be considered. I am aware of several people, now professing and practicing theists, who looked at these two aspects of God simultaneously as they made their decision. While remaining unconvinced that God was real, they tried to imagine what He would be like if He was. I see no problem with this approach, except that it can incline the seeker to ask appropriate questions at inappropriate times, often with disastrous consequences. (Take, for example, the temptation to use the presence of evil and suffering in the world—a discussion relevant to God's nature—as a reason to deny His existence.) If the seeker can keep his or her mind clear that the subjects of God's existence and nature are two separate legs of the same journey and will not forget the differences inherent therein, then to proceed along these dual fronts should not be discouraged.
I do, however, think it ludicrous to go any further when one has already made up his or her mind that there is no God. And if it were ever proven that he or she is right, then it would be foolish for any of us to continue. It would be a waste of anyone's time to try to figure out the nature of a nonexistent God.
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