Evidence for Sceptics

I often ask sceptics and atheists “What would it take for you to believe in God? What would your criteria be?

Most answer that they would have to experience some sort of personal miracle or revelation from God. A young man named Liam pondered this question and told me that he would need “some sort of undeniable truth” personally revealed to him, and that to be fair all people would need to have the same experience.

With almost 8 billion people in the world, not to mention the billions that come before and after us, I wonder how that would look. Could it be “personal” and “fair” at the same time?

I also often ask believers in God how they came to faith. Many just take it for granted with a childlike trust and can’t remember a time when they didn’t believe at least in God’s existence. Others can point to a specific experience, but often just a quirky coincidence that others would scoff at, and relatively few point to a earth-shattering miracles like, say, Paul experienced on the road to Damascus.

I know in debates with sceptics it often seems to me like they are moving the goalposts. They might say they don’t require much evidence, but when some is provided they always need just a little more. I didn’t want to get into this kind of chess match in a debate with Liam, but basically told him what the Bible says – that though we might get all the evidence we want, we do get all the evidence we need.

I think Jesus said as much to the sceptic “Doubting Thomas”, to whom he had appeared personally: “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Thomas and the rest of the disciples were blessed to personally see Jesus resurrected from the dead, but Jesus knew countless millions would still be blessed with faith based only on their eyewitness testimony. Still countless others are blessed with faith based on the eyewitness testimony of believers who have experienced Jesus actively working in their lives.

Who knows? Maybe Liam could be one of them. Our chance encounter there on the sidewalk may just have been that personal, undeniable truth that Liam said he is looking for. It didn’t seem to be while we were talking, but, then again, God isn’t through with any of us yet :)