How do you know there is a God?

Question

Particularly for people who didn't believe in God before, and know do, but also for people who have always believed--what sustains that belief?

This sounds very Christocentric, but it goes for any religion.

I am searching.

Answer 1

I was searching, too, although at the time, I didn't know it. The best way that I can explain it is through what I have written on my Yahoo profile. I wrote it only today, and have been a Christian for not yet two weeks. I searched for 32 years. Here's the copy/paste. I hope it helps you to understand how I finally reached this conclusion.

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About me: By now, most of you have learned the news about my *outing,* and I don't think there are more than a dozen of you that I haven't heard from, lol.

The two questions everyone is asking are: Is it true that you are a Christian? How did this happen?

Yes, as of Sept. 25, it's true. How it happened is a little more complicated, but I'll try to be brief.

For 32 years I demanded proof of God's existence. I asked for signs and wonders, all of which were delivered. But for 32 years, I shut my eyes, refusing to see.

A series of events that spanned years could finally be ignored no longer. There were answered prayers, small miracles, life-saving events, and uncanny occurrences. On their own, they were nothing more than coincidence. Put together, they formed a picture more wondrous than ever I could have imagined.

I'm still the same person, my morals and values haven't changed. I continue to stand for the same things, except I no longer believe that I stand alone.

Answer 2

Two important principles:

I. Each and every idea is born in the mind of a person, which can then be accepted by others because of three things: trust, consistency and personal experience. Since truth starts at an individual level, it also has to be experienced and accepted at the individual level; there is no absolute truth or proof which humanity can embrace all at once or collectively share.

II. A proof can only be provided for those things which exist in the present and are close to us in space and time, allowing themselves to be tested. No absolute proof can ever be provided for an event that happened in the past or could happen in the future, nor for any object that is beyond our reach.

Answer 3

truthfully!!! It grew to become into something greater formal, yet I used to communicate to Him however the clarification and because I saved forward to my very own ambition and desires, whilst He gave me avertisements I saved none and did my way going into further and further trubles! Into an end, interior a deep depresion, He saved my existence (!!!) the very 2nd I left away of all my deep needs... There, empty coronary heart, i grew to become into crammed with God's gentle and Peace and Love - an entire New existence, a sparkling physique, a sparkling imaginitive and prescient over the final and the destiny :) :) :) sure, he's my Saviour!!!

Answer 4

Jesus answered, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." John 14:6

The difference in Jesus, the Son of God and other gods is that Jesus beat the grave. He died on the cross for our sins and then arose on the third day.

There are more than 500 witnesses.

I know, that I know...that I know God is real. My faith grows stronger in Him everyday.

Oh...and I'm not the person I used to be. That is of God because even though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. I remember the pit He brought me up out of...again, I just know that I know.

If you seek the living God, you will find Him. Knock and the door will open. Seek and yea shall find.

Answer 5

How does a blind person know the sun is shining they cannot see the sun, can they? but they know it's shining. How?They can feel its effect on them! We too can know that there is a God, because we exist, he sustains our life, keeps us alive by providing all the things neccessary for us to live, air, water food sunshine,what sustains belief and faith is knowledge andreading the Bible reaffirms the knowledge and faith as well as belief.

Answer 6

Know is the key word in your question. We're almost all wondering the same thing. Let's just say, we hope so. But, what bugs me is why, when there's a terrible catastrophe, its called, 'an act of God'. I've racked my brain and can't remember an instance when something good was 'an act of God'. Maybe something awfully nice happening is 'an act of Satan.' I just cannot tolerate headlines referring to children killed by an earthquake, as 'an act of God.' Anybody clarity that anomaly?

Answer 7

God has spoken to me both in my spirit(strong urging) and audibly once in my life. Maybe twice. Also, I have had dreams with God in them speaking to me about was going to happen or what He was working on in my heart and these things came to pass. Just constant, continual stuff like that. Whether I hear God or not for a season I still pray and seek Him cause He manifests so much for me and a lot others. Also something that helped me believe early on was I would see evil spirits in the form of black shadows/tall beings/etc and sure it was scary as crap but it let me know there was a spiritual realm so I then wondered who was the head or boss....and I found out that the name of Jesus was the only thing that drove them away and the name of Jesus was the only thing that instantly cut through me and struck some chord of truth like I recognized a friend that had always been there but was like "oh, sorry for not noticing you, yeah....come hang out with me".

Revelation 3:20
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.

He was standing at the door the whole time through these scary experiences, all I did was invite him in and ask him to forgive me for my sins....He did the rest.

Answer 8

This is my answer to a previous poster with the same question:

Why do I think God exists? I've been pondering that one quite a bit lately, after visiting some Atheist forums. On an emotional level, I believe that there is such a thing as "right", "wrong", "truth", etc., and that our deepest experiences and emotions are not meaningless. Without God, I think it's hard (though many have tried) to reconcile those beliefs with an Atheist viewpoint. I also believe, looking through the eyes of faith, that many of the events of my life have been shaped/guided by God, and that some of my prayers have been answered.

From a scientific standpoint, I believe that it is very difficult to conceive of a way for something to come from nothing, for life to come from lifelessness, and for self-awareness/consciousness, emotions, reasons, etc. to come from non-sentient life forms (i.e. bacteria, cells, etc), without God to either design a process to produce such a sequence, or without God to directly intervene. To be clear, we are very much physical beings--many have argued this as evidence against there needing to be a God; but I view it differently. I think that our physical bodies and our souls are related, metaphorically speaking, in the same way as a prism is with light. In a prism, every part of the prism's crystals and structures influence how light fills the prism, how it reflects the light, and so on--yet, the prism, though directly related to the manifestation of the light, does not produce the light in and of itself. Similarly, we have each been endowed by God with a light made in His image (having some of His characteristics) that is manifested, in varying ways, through our physical being. (and so in this context, Christianity's insistence on a "bodily resurrection" is very prophetic I think). We are "two in one", spiritual and physical--distinct, yet united--in the same sense that a married couple can be two in one.

Of course, my view is just one of many diverse views held by Christians.

If you're interested, you can find some good theological perspectives from the works of C.S. Lewis (former atheist who converted to Christianity)--the book "Mere Christianity" is the best one to start with I think.

Answer 9

When you do the will of God you will experience him.

MY EXPERIENCES

I experienced God many of times, when you fellowship with him. I received the Holy Spirit one day before I came to the church that I am attending now. The power of the Holy Spirit was so powerful that it was a force that rippled from my feet through my body and up to my head. It removed the pain and depression that I had at the time and it caused a great sensation of peace (to this day, I was never water baptized). He will be there for you; he knows your needs and wants. One night after doing the will of God (ministering to someone against the book of James) I was driving back home and I continued to fall asleep on the fwy. On the third time, my ears popped opened, like a loud explosion, I felt a rush of pins and needles swirling around the inside of my head, I felt pins and needles from my elbows to my hands and then I was wide awake, like I had slept for days. I knew it was God and I drove all the way home and when I got into the driveway I started to fall a sleep again. Once he picked me and my motorcycle up, while riding in the mountains after I was about to crash. I blacked out and when he set me back on the path, I woke up. Once he sent an angel down to stop me from doing something stupid, this angel looked like a human but when I turned away for a second and then back he vanished. I can go on and on. Have faith, sit in a church and learn God's word. You need to find a home church, be obedient, follow his word, be baptized with the holy spirit, show your self approved and do the will of God (Mark 16: 15 - 18)

Answer 10

I look into my sweet daughter's face and know that something far more powerful than I helped bring her into being. And for that, I am truly thankful to the Lord every day in every way - even during the tough times because during those times, I have my husband who I am certain I would never have found without the Lord guiding me to him.