by M.J. Webb

Created on: November 08, 2010

Any question that begins ‘why would God...’ cannot be used as evidence against the existence of the God of the Bible. Let me unpack that. Questions that ask ‘why would God do this?’ or ‘if God exists then why does this happen?’ assume that if God existed, we would be able to understand how and why He acts. Likewise, such questions assume that the only kind of God capable of existing is one who conforms to my level of reasoning, or a God who would not allow certain things to happen, and that I am the one who will dictate which things God shall and shall not allow. Therefore, if I cannot understand ‘why’, then God must not exist.

Why is this? Why would God have to be ‘this’ or ‘that’? After all, the notion of God or gods is a varied notion across the faith systems of the world, describing God in a myriad of ways. Each description carries its qualities and characteristics attributed to God. Yet the statements ‘if God existed then why...’ suggest that God could only exist if He fitted within the parameters of my notion of God. This thinking begins with an Atheistic world-view. Beware the definition of God from an Atheistic world-view! The statement beginning ‘if God did exist...’ already assumes that God does not. Therefore, the statement is affirming that ‘I believe God to be fictional. But if He hypothetically existed, He could only exist in accordance with my hypothesis.’ This is little better than saying ‘if Martians existed, they would have to have green skin’. In the same way that we might stereotype aliens as being green-skinned, likewise we stereotype God. Unfortunately, the stereotype matches little with the revelation of God in the Bible. And indeed, should we derive a stereotype of God from any place, surely it must be from the place that claims to reveal God to us, rather than from a pre-set Atheistic world-view.

Let me stress, I do not feel that it is wrong to ask these question. On the contrary, I feel that such questions are necessary cries of despair and desperation, often through tears. The issue is rather that, having asked the question ‘why would God...’, we conclude that God could only exist if I find a suitable answer. I would like to follow this train of thought, to see step by step, how this logic must progress.

The question is asked ‘if God exists, then why did this happen?’ No answer is given (at

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>